COMPOSER

Sun Ra

1914 - 1993

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Icon of person Sun Ra

Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific output, and theatrical performances. For much of his career, Ra led The Arkestra, an ensemble with an ever-changing name and flexible line-up. Born and raised in Alabama, Blount became involved in the Chicago jazz scene during the late 1940s. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Sun Ra has received more than 2,243,598 page views. His biography is available in 32 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 31 in 2019). Sun Ra is the 657th most popular composer (up from 672nd in 2019), the 3,113th most popular biography from United States (up from 3,203rd in 2019) and the 36th most popular American Composer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 2.2M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 54.61

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 32

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.17

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.06

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among COMPOSERS

Among composers, Sun Ra ranks 657 out of 1,451. Before him are Ferdinand Hérold, Alexander Gretchaninov, Charles Lecocq, Sergei Bortkiewicz, Heinz Holliger, and Péter Eötvös. After him are Anton Schindler, Pietro Filippo Scarlatti, Oskar Merikanto, Johann Friedrich Agricola, Jacob van Eyck, and Johann Schobert.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1914, Sun Ra ranks 121. Before him are Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven, Domènec Balmanya, George Volkoff, Noor Inayat Khan, Yahya Khan, and Taisen Deshimaru. After him are Lyman Spitzer, Koichi Oita, Brunó Ferenc Straub, Paul Tortelier, Georgy Babakin, and Infante Gonzalo of Spain. Among people deceased in 1993, Sun Ra ranks 95. Before him are Frunzik Mkrtchyan, Joseph Serchuk, Bruno Rossi, GG Allin, Raymond Burr, and Euronymous. After him are Leo Löwenthal, Ugo Locatelli, Mario Evaristo, Anna Sten, Richard Jordan, and Józef Czapski.

Others Born in 1914

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Others Deceased in 1993

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Sun Ra ranks 3,113 out of 20,380. Before him are Larry Semon (1889), Annie Proulx (1935), Stephen Cole Kleene (1909), Raymond Smullyan (1919), John Waters (1946), and Jedediah Smith (1799). After him are Carmen Electra (1972), Harry Harlow (1905), Eric Stoltz (1961), Carla Gugino (1971), Grandma Moses (1860), and Leon Czolgosz (1873).

Others born in United States

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Among COMPOSERS In United States

Among composers born in United States, Sun Ra ranks 36. Before him are Ernest Guiraud (1837), Stephen Sondheim (1930), Basil Poledouris (1945), Morton Feldman (1926), Stephen Foster (1826), and Alfred Newman (1900). After him are Alex North (1910), Amy Beach (1867), Jerome Kern (1885), Dave Grusin (1934), La Monte Young (1935), and Lee Konitz (1927).

American born Composers

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