American cellist, composer, producer, singer, and musician. Born Charles Arthur Russell, Jr. whose work spanned a disparate range of styles. Trained in contemporary experimental composition and Indian classical music, Russell found success in downtown New York's avant-garde and disco scenes in the 1970s and 1980s, during which time he was associated with minimalism and the experimental music venue The Kitchen. Shortly after the release of World of Echo, Russell was diagnosed as HIV-positive. Though the disease caused throat cancer (forcing Russell to undergo chemotherapy), Russell died of AIDS-related illnesses on April 4, 1992.
∼Born Charles Arthur Russell Jr. Cellist, composer, singer, and musician whose work spanned the genres of classical, disco, experimental, folk, and rock. His collaborators included Philip Glass, Allen Ginsburg, David Byrne, Bob Dylan, Larry Levan, Walter Gibbons, François Kevorkian, and Nicky Siano, and he produced a 1986 demo by Mark Sinclair, who would go on to movie fame as Vin Diesel. Relatively unknown during his lifetime, his fame has significantly increased since his death from AIDS. His albums include "24 —> 24 Music," "Tower of Meaning," "Instrumentals," "World of Echo," and the posthumous releases "Another Thought," "Calling Out of Context," "The World of Arthur Russell," "First Thought Best Thought," "Springfield," and "Love Is Overtaking Me" (which includes tracks produced by John Hammond, who was integral to the success of Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen). Singles include "Kiss Me Again" (the first disco single to be released by Sire Records), "Is It All Over My Face," "Pop Your Funk," "Tell You Today," "Let's Go Swimming," "Wax the Van," "Go Bang," and "Ballad of the Lights" (with Ginsburg). In the late 1970s, he was music director of The Kitchen, a downtown New York avant-garde performance space, and his work was an important fixture in New York underground disco clubs, such as Nicky Siano's Gallery, The Loft, and the Paradise Garage. His song "This Is How We Walk on the Moon" was used in a UK television commercial for T-Mobile. He was the subject of the Matt Wolf documentary "Wild Combination" and the Tim Lawrence biography "Hold On to Your Dreams." He recorded with The Flying Hearts, Lola Blank, Dinosaur, Dinosaur L, Loose Joints, Indian Ocean, and the Necessaries, and produced using the name Killer Whale. With Will Socolov he founded Sleeping Bag Records. Musician friends have continued his legacy by recording covers of his work under the name Arthur's Landing and his songs have been covered by Jens Lekman, the Shocking Pinks, Polmo Polpo, and Tracey Thorn (of Everything But the Girl).
∼Born Charles Arthur Russell Jr. Cellist, composer, singer, and musician whose work spanned the genres of classical, disco, experimental, folk, and rock. His collaborators included Philip Glass, Allen Ginsburg, David Byrne, Bob Dylan, Larry Levan, Walter Gibbons, François Kevorkian, and Nicky Siano, and he produced a 1986 demo by Mark Sinclair, who would go on to movie fame as Vin Diesel. Relatively unknown during his lifetime, his fame has significantly increased since his death from AIDS. His albums include "24 —> 24 Music," "Tower of Meaning," "Instrumentals," "World of Echo," and the posthumous releases "Another Thought," "Calling Out of Context," "The World of Arthur Russell," "First Thought Best Thought," "Springfield," and "Love Is Overtaking Me" (which includes tracks produced by John Hammond, who was integral to the success of Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen). Singles include "Kiss Me Again" (the first disco single to be released by Sire Records), "Is It All Over My Face," "Pop Your Funk," "Tell You Today," "Let's Go Swimming," "Wax the Van," "Go Bang," and "Ballad of the Lights" (with Ginsburg). In the late 1970s, he was music director of The Kitchen, a downtown New York avant-garde performance space, and his work was an important fixture in New York underground disco clubs, such as Nicky Siano's Gallery, The Loft, and the Paradise Garage. His song "This Is How We Walk on the Moon" was used in a UK television commercial for T-Mobile. He was the subject of the Matt Wolf documentary "Wild Combination" and the Tim Lawrence biography "Hold On to Your Dreams." He recorded with The Flying Hearts, Lola Blank, Dinosaur, Dinosaur L, Loose Joints, Indian Ocean, and the Necessaries, and produced using the name Killer Whale. With Will Socolov he founded Sleeping Bag Records. Musician friends have continued his legacy by recording covers of his work under the name Arthur's Landing and his songs have been covered by Jens Lekman, the Shocking Pinks, Polmo Polpo, and Tracey Thorn (of Everything But the Girl).
American cellist, composer, producer, singer, and musician. Born Charles Arthur Russell, Jr. whose work spanned a disparate range of styles. Trained in contemporary experimental composition and Indian classical music, Russell found success in downtown New York's avant-garde and disco scenes in the 1970s and 1980s, during which time he was associated with minimalism and the experimental music venue The Kitchen. Shortly after the release of World of Echo, Russell was diagnosed as HIV-positive. Though the disease caused throat cancer (forcing Russell to undergo chemotherapy), Russell died of AIDS-related illnesses on April 4, 1992.
∼Born Charles Arthur Russell Jr. Cellist, composer, singer, and musician whose work spanned the genres of classical, disco, experimental, folk, and rock. His collaborators included Philip Glass, Allen Ginsburg, David Byrne, Bob Dylan, Larry Levan, Walter Gibbons, François Kevorkian, and Nicky Siano, and he produced a 1986 demo by Mark Sinclair, who would go on to movie fame as Vin Diesel. Relatively unknown during his lifetime, his fame has significantly increased since his death from AIDS. His albums include "24 —> 24 Music," "Tower of Meaning," "Instrumentals," "World of Echo," and the posthumous releases "Another Thought," "Calling Out of Context," "The World of Arthur Russell," "First Thought Best Thought," "Springfield," and "Love Is Overtaking Me" (which includes tracks produced by John Hammond, who was integral to the success of Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen). Singles include "Kiss Me Again" (the first disco single to be released by Sire Records), "Is It All Over My Face," "Pop Your Funk," "Tell You Today," "Let's Go Swimming," "Wax the Van," "Go Bang," and "Ballad of the Lights" (with Ginsburg). In the late 1970s, he was music director of The Kitchen, a downtown New York avant-garde performance space, and his work was an important fixture in New York underground disco clubs, such as Nicky Siano's Gallery, The Loft, and the Paradise Garage. His song "This Is How We Walk on the Moon" was used in a UK television commercial for T-Mobile. He was the subject of the Matt Wolf documentary "Wild Combination" and the Tim Lawrence biography "Hold On to Your Dreams." He recorded with The Flying Hearts, Lola Blank, Dinosaur, Dinosaur L, Loose Joints, Indian Ocean, and the Necessaries, and produced using the name Killer Whale. With Will Socolov he founded Sleeping Bag Records. Musician friends have continued his legacy by recording covers of his work under the name Arthur's Landing and his songs have been covered by Jens Lekman, the Shocking Pinks, Polmo Polpo, and Tracey Thorn (of Everything But the Girl).
∼Born Charles Arthur Russell Jr. Cellist, composer, singer, and musician whose work spanned the genres of classical, disco, experimental, folk, and rock. His collaborators included Philip Glass, Allen Ginsburg, David Byrne, Bob Dylan, Larry Levan, Walter Gibbons, François Kevorkian, and Nicky Siano, and he produced a 1986 demo by Mark Sinclair, who would go on to movie fame as Vin Diesel. Relatively unknown during his lifetime, his fame has significantly increased since his death from AIDS. His albums include "24 —> 24 Music," "Tower of Meaning," "Instrumentals," "World of Echo," and the posthumous releases "Another Thought," "Calling Out of Context," "The World of Arthur Russell," "First Thought Best Thought," "Springfield," and "Love Is Overtaking Me" (which includes tracks produced by John Hammond, who was integral to the success of Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen). Singles include "Kiss Me Again" (the first disco single to be released by Sire Records), "Is It All Over My Face," "Pop Your Funk," "Tell You Today," "Let's Go Swimming," "Wax the Van," "Go Bang," and "Ballad of the Lights" (with Ginsburg). In the late 1970s, he was music director of The Kitchen, a downtown New York avant-garde performance space, and his work was an important fixture in New York underground disco clubs, such as Nicky Siano's Gallery, The Loft, and the Paradise Garage. His song "This Is How We Walk on the Moon" was used in a UK television commercial for T-Mobile. He was the subject of the Matt Wolf documentary "Wild Combination" and the Tim Lawrence biography "Hold On to Your Dreams." He recorded with The Flying Hearts, Lola Blank, Dinosaur, Dinosaur L, Loose Joints, Indian Ocean, and the Necessaries, and produced using the name Killer Whale. With Will Socolov he founded Sleeping Bag Records. Musician friends have continued his legacy by recording covers of his work under the name Arthur's Landing and his songs have been covered by Jens Lekman, the Shocking Pinks, Polmo Polpo, and Tracey Thorn (of Everything But the Girl).
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