Sun Ra

Sun Ra—born Herman Poole Blount on May 22, 1914, in Birmingham, Alabama—was an American composer, bandleader, pianist, synthesizer player, and poet. He was known for his experimental music, cosmic philosophy, huge output, and theatrical shows. For most of his career, he led the Arkestra, a group that kept changing its name and lineup. He claimed to be an alien from Saturn on a mission to spread peace, crafting a mythical persona and a unique belief system that made him a pioneer of Afrofuturism.

Ra grew up in Alabama and entered the Chicago jazz scene in the late 1940s. He soon dropped his birth name, calling himself Le Sony'r Ra, later shortened to Sun Ra (after the Egyptian sun god). He denied any connection to his earlier identity, saying any name he used other than Ra was a pseudonym. His music was wildly eclectic and avant-garde, drawing on the whole history of jazz—ragtime, New Orleans hot jazz, swing, bebop, free jazz, and fusion. His compositions ranged from solo keyboard pieces to works for big bands of over 30 musicians, plus electronic pieces, songs, chants, percussion works, and anthems.

From the mid-1950s until his death in 1993, Ra led the Arkestra, a collective that included musicians like Marshall Allen, John Gilmore, and June Tyson over the years. Performances often featured dancers and musicians in elaborate futuristic costumes inspired by ancient Egyptian dress and the Space Age. After Ra retired in 1992 due to illness, the band continued as the Sun Ra Arkestra; as of 2026, it still performs under the leadership of longtime Ra sideman Marshall Allen.

Though he never achieved mainstream success, Ra was a prolific recording artist and frequent live performer, and he remained influential for both his music and his persona. He is now widely seen as an innovator, noted for pioneering work in free improvisation and modal jazz, and for early use of electronic keyboards and synthesizers. Over his career, he released dozens of singles and more than 100 full-length albums—over 1,000 songs—making him one of the most prolific recording artists of the 20th century.

Ra was born Herman Blount in Birmingham, Alabama, on May 22, 1914—a fact uncovered by biographer John F. Szwed and published in his 1997 book *Space Is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra*. He was named after the vaudeville magician Black Herman, who had impressed his mother. Nicknamed "Sonny" as a child, he had an older sister and half-brother, and was doted on by his mother and grandmother. For decades, little was known about his early life, and Ra added to the mystery. He gave evasive, contradictory, or seemingly nonsensical answers to personal questions and denied his birth name. He half-jokingly speculated he was distantly related to Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam. His birthday was long unknown—he claimed years ranging from 1910 to 1918. Only a few years before his death, the date was still a mystery; Jim Macnie’s notes for *Blue Delight* (1989) said Ra was believed to be about 75, which turned out correct. Szwed confirmed the May 22, 1914 birth date.

As a child, Blount was a skilled pianist, composing and sight-reading by age 11 or 12. Birmingham was a stop for touring musicians, and he saw Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, and others. Ra once said, "The world let down a lot of good musicians." In his teens, he showed prodigious talent—acquaintances said he could attend big band performances and later produce full transcriptions from memory. By his mid-teens, he was performing semi-professionally as a solo pianist or in ad hoc jazz and R&B groups. He attended Birmingham’s segregated Industrial High School (now Parker High School), studying under music teacher John T. "Fess" Whatley, a demanding disciplinarian whose classes produced many professional musicians.

Though deeply religious, his family wasn’t formally tied to any Christian church. Blount had few close friends in high school but was remembered as kind, quiet, an honor roll student, and a voracious reader. He used the Black Masonic Lodge—one of the few places in Birmingham where African Americans had unlimited access to books—and its collection on Freemasonry and esoteric concepts made a strong impression. By his teens, he suffered from cryptorchidism, which caused constant discomfort and occasional severe pain. Szwed suggests Blount felt shame about it, contributing to his isolation.

In 1934, Blount got his first full-time music job from Ethel Harper, his high school biology teacher, who had formed a band to pursue a singing career. He joined a musicians’ union and toured with Harper’s group through the Southeast and Midwest. When Harper left mid-tour to move to New York (she later joined the singing group the Ginger Snaps), Blount took over, renaming it the Sonny Blount Orchestra. They toured for several more months before disbanding as unprofitable. Though not a financial success, the first edition of the Sonny Blount Orchestra earned positive notice from fans.