Eddie Ray at Kannapolis Library Book Fair

Yesterday the Kannapolis Library held a book fair with local authors on hand to talk about their writing and answer questions from readers; many of whom have read some of these books and showed up to meet the authors. I’m one of those. I showed up for Eddie Ray, a local celebrity and somewhat of an icon in the world of music. His achievements are too long to list here, so I will simply direct you to two sites; the first the Wikipedia link to his life; and second to the home of the NC Music Hall of Fame, of which Mr. Ray is Vice Chairman. (The title doesn’t mean a thing – so let’s just say that he is the heart and soul of the place.)

Eddie’s book, “Against All Odds”, is an aptly titled and personal story of his life. I first became acquainted with Mr. Ray just after he had begun working on it about 5 years ago and was privileged to watch it grow from a few pages to the wonderful book which it became. Here are the two links;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Wiley_Ray

http://northcarolinamusichalloffame.org/

And here’s one more about the book itself. I like this one a lot because it has a rather prominent quote from my review and a link back to this site. (Ouch! I just hurt my back while patting it!)

http://eddieraymusicman.com/

This was not the usual type of meet the author book signing; rather it was comprised of a number of separate tables for each author to meet with readers and discuss their books with the readers in a different fashion. Instead of a long program of several hours, each author on the program above got their own space and new readers could pick and choose which ones they wanted to meet. In this way the library was able to accommodate the many local authors who wanted to attend.

Check your local libraries for these types of events. They offer a chance to meet with authors in a more relaxed setting than a book store signing. Somehow; even in this day and age; the library seems to lend them an extra level of legitimacy that cannot be found in a normal commercial environment.

Eddie Ray at Kannapolis Libray

Last evening the Kannapolis Library hosted the legendary Eddie Ray for a combination book signing and question and answer session, as well as showing a film about his life and some of his accomplishments. I say “some” because a film encompassing all that Mr. Ray has accomplished during his 6 decades in the recording industry would take a film of epic proportions to cover all the bases which he has touched. In tones ranging from whimsical to witty, Mr. Ray held the audience enraptured recounting his early years in North Carolina and his path to Los Angeles via Connecticut. If that sounds confusing you'll have to read the book...

As usual, Mr. Ray took a bit of the limelight off of himself, directing it at his current “work in progress”, the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, located just a few blocks from the library in the old Kannapolis Jail house on West A Street. That little museum is a gateway to the rich and colorful history of all the varied performers to come out of our state. They represent every one of the many musical genres; from rock and roll, beach music all the way through jazz and even opera.

Eddie Ray spent so many years behind the scenes of the music industry, spotting new artists and encouraging them along the way. His name doesn't appear often on the many record jackets/CD liners of the music he was instrumental in bringing to the public’s attention, but the music you listen to today would probably be a bit different if it were not for this guy. I can’t believe I actually know him; as he colored much of the world in which I grew up with the music he chose to promote. It was a joy to see that so many people came out to meet and greet him.

His memoir, "Against All Odds" chronicles his life in the music industry; rising from the stockroom to the boardroom, and even on to Washington itself, where he served on the President's Copyright Tribunal under Ronald Reagan. You can read a review of that book here;

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2012/12/against-all-odds-by-eddie-ray-2012.html   

For more about Eddie Ray, and the NC Music Hall of Fame, please use the following links;

http://eddieraymusicman.com/

http://northcarolinamusichalloffame.org/