Sun Ra

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Lore & Background

Born Herman Poole Blount in Birmingham, Alabama, Sun Ra was a skilled pianist from childhood, composing and sight-reading by age 11 or 12. He attended segregated Industrial High School, studying under John T. "Fess" Whatley, and later received a scholarship to Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, where he studied music education before dropping out after a year. He claimed that in 1936 or 1937 he had a visionary experience in which he traveled to Saturn and was told to stop attending college and to speak through music. This story, which he told consistently for the rest of his life, cannot be dated by his closest associates earlier than 1952, and he also said it occurred in Chicago, where he did not settle until the late 1940s. Ra became involved in the Chicago jazz scene during the late 1940s, soon abandoning his birth name for Le Sony'r Ra, shortened to Sun Ra after the Egyptian god of the Sun. He denied ties to his prior identity, stating, "Any name that I use other than Ra is a pseudonym." From the mid-1950s until his death, he led The Arkestra, a musical collective featuring artists such as Marshall Allen, John Gilmore, and June Tyson. Performances often included dancers and musicians in elaborate, futuristic costumes inspired by ancient Egyptian attire and the Space Age. Following Ra's retirement in 1992 due to illness, the band remained active as The Sun Ra Arkestra and, as of 2026, continues performing under the leadership of Marshall Allen.

Reader's Guide

Sun Ra's significance lies in his role as an innovator in free improvisation and modal jazz, and his early use of electronic keyboards and synthesizers. His widely eclectic and avant-garde music echoed the entire history of jazz, from ragtime and early New Orleans hot jazz to swing, bebop, free jazz, and fusion. His compositions ranged from keyboard solos to works for big bands of over 30 musicians, along with electronic excursions, songs, chants, percussion pieces, and anthems. Though his mainstream success was limited, he was a prolific recording artist and frequent live performer, recording dozens of singles and over 100 full-length albums, comprising well over 1,000 songs, making him one of the most prolific recording artists of the 20th century. His mythical persona and cosmic philosophy made him a pioneer of Afrofuturism, and he remains widely considered an innovator for his music and persona.

Did You Know?

• Sun Ra was born Herman Poole Blount, named after the vaudeville stage magician Black Herman, who had deeply impressed his mother.
• He claimed his trip to Saturn occurred in 1936 or 1937, a full decade before flying saucers entered public consciousness with the 1947 encounter of Kenneth Arnold.
• By his teens, Blount suffered from cryptorchidism, which left him with nearly constant discomfort and sometimes severe pain.
• He attended Birmingham's segregated Industrial High School, where he studied under music teacher John T. "Fess" Whatley, a demanding disciplinarian whose classes produced many professional musicians.
• Following Ra's retirement in 1992 due to illness, the band remained active as The Sun Ra Arkestra and, as of 2026, continues performing under the leadership of veteran Ra sideman Marshall Allen.