Born in a musical family in 1925 in New Orleans, Renald Richard spent his childhood filled with music. At the age of 13, he went to see a band perform at a church where he fell in love with trumpet. So he started lessons on it, and later played it in the high school band. After high school, he was sent into military service and played his trumpet in the United States Navy Band. After ending up studying music at Xavier University of Louisiana, he played clubs on the famous Bourbon Street and also toured with many bands.
In 1954, Richard was approached by Jeff Brown, the manager of musician Ray Charles. He invited Richard to join Ray Charles' new band. "To be selected by Ray Charles was an honor to me. Ray Charles was exacting. " said Richard, "He was a perfectionist and was rather demanding about his music. "
Renald Richard toured all over the South and West with Ray Charles. Sitting in the back seat of the car on the way to a concert, Richard wrote the song "I Got a Woman" for Charles, which became Ray Charles' first number one radio hit. In 1954,Renald Richard left Ray Charles' band. However, he stayed friendly with Ray Charles over the years. He became the high school's band director in his hometown until 1962. Four years later, he moved again to New York City. Over the years, Richard has written many other songs that have been recorded by artists including Joe Turner, the Beatles,the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley to name a few. Living now in Southern Florida, Richard is still active at the age of 92. As you can see, Renald Richard's musical days are by no means near an end.
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