Brian Ray: Celeb Guitarist

Brian Thomas Ray was Born on January 4th, 1955. He is An American Session musician who has worked for both Etta James and Paul McCartney.

Brian Ray worked with Etta James for 14 years and worked with other artists afterward.

Then, he became friends with Abe Laboriel Jr. Abe, the drummer for Paul McCartney's band, who told Brian that Paul needed a guitarist to switch between guitar and bass guitar.

Abe thought Brian was fit for the job, so Brian joined Paul and the rest of his band for the 2002 Pregame to the Super Bowl.

Paul liked Brian so much that he let him join the band, and he's worked with Paul ever since.

Brian has worked on his own solo material and has his own band, the Bayonets, with his friend Oliver Leiber.

He remained friends with Etta James, and she helped him out with his solo work. He was devastated when Etta passed away in January 2012.

He honors her on his social media with posts of his most incredible memories with the women who gave him his career.

Brian Ray currently lives in Santa Monica, California, and spends his free time doing interviews, working on his own music, and playing with his friend Oliver in The Bayonets, a band he and Oliver started.

He also hosts a podcast on Iheartradio with his friends in the music industry, On Tour with Brian Ray.

He has two nephews he spends a lot of time with. He enjoys being an uncle to them and posts about their adventures often.

He grew up with two older siblings, a brother and a sister.

His brother gave him his first guitar when he was nine.

His sister Jean (of the folk duo Jim and Jean) helped him find his love of rock and roll music through her record collection.

When Brian was a kid, he saw The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show and thought it was the coolest thing.

He hoped someday he'd be able to play music for a living like The Beatles. He had no idea he'd get to play alongside one of them one day.

He started his career with Etta James in 1977 and worked with her until 1989.

He was her musical director and guitarist when he started with her at 19.

While working with Etta. He got to work alongside other acts such as Keith Richards, Santana, Joe Crocker, and John lee hooker.

After working with Etta, Brian worked with many different people worldwide. They were only short gigs, but he loved it.

In 2002, Brian was invited to play the pregame for the Super Bowl with Paul McCartney.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime gig, and Brian accepted it immediately. He learned Paul’s songs and worked hard to perform well.

After the performance, Paul said goodnight to Abe, Rusty, and Brian and told Brian he’d see him in a few weeks for rehearsal.

Brian has now worked with Paul for 10+ years.

After he started working with Paul.

Brian released some of his music, including the albums Mondo Magneto and This Way Up.

He also released a few singles through his record label, Whooray Records. After the first Bayonets album was released, it was discovered by Steven Van Zandt's wife, who recommended it to Steve, and he loved it. H offered Brian to sign with his record label, Wicked Cool Records, which Brian accepted immediately. Brian has released seven singles with Steve's record label.

Brian explained in a recent interview that working with Paul helped him create the albums he could hear in his head. It helped him realize he could make his music.

Brian also owned a French bulldog named Charlie, who passed away a few years ago. He posts about Charlie on his social media to honor his memory. Charlie loved playing basketball and watching his owner play guitar.

Brian has a huge collection of guitars, which makes him very proud. In an Interview with Gibson, he shows off his guitar collection and the pool in his backyard made to look like a Gibson guitar.

(The pool is called Les Pool.)

Brian also has his signature guitar, which is a Gibson brand. A custom SG.

Brian is also a huge car collector. He collects all sorts of old cars from around the time he was born. His favorite car is his 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham. It is possessions alongside his guitars. He's very proud of it, posts about it often, one of his prizes, and even shows it off at local Santa Monica car shows.

Brian Ray proves that dreams can come true if you work hard enough and put in the effort.

He's a very down-to-earth, friendly guy who appreciates his fans, including Paul. He interacts with them and shows them how grateful he is.

(he interacts with the author of this article by thanking her for the support.)

Brian Ray is a wonderful man and is a fantastic guitar player.

It is amazing to see him play alongside his hero, and Brian shows that by working hard, you can achieve anything.