Sugaray Rayford

2020 Grammy Nominated Best Contemporary Blues Album, Somebody Save Me, is the newest studio album from Texas-born soul blues singer, Sugaray Rayford. The Forty Below Records opening track, “The Revelator”, Rayford forcefully sings, “I’m a freak of nature / I ain’t no honey bee / I’m an unknown creature / The like you’ve never seen.” At 6’5” and 300 pounds, this cigar chompin’ ex-Marine with a voice like a force of nature holds court in any room he enters. Possessing a magnetic personality, and an old school vocal style that echoes Muddy Waters, Otis Redding and Teddy Pendergrass, Rayford is also a stellar dancer with moves reminiscent of the Legendary James Brown.

Somebody Save Me is an ambitious album that slides gracefully between the new blues of Gary Clark Jr. and Fantastic Negrito, the rock & soul stylings of The War & Treaty and the vintage Daptones soul of the late Charles Bradley and Sharon Jones, bringing a fresh take to classic sounds.
Rayford began his musical career at the tender age of seven, singing and playing drums in church, and his gospel influences definitely shine through in his music. The soulful rasp and emotive vocal style hint at his first-hand experience with hardship, and a childhood marked by poverty and loss.
Rayford’s live shows are quickly becoming re-known for their high-energy and celebratory nature, with Rayford whipping the crowds into a frenzy, like a Gospel Preacher.