Post by Laurence Aikens

Roger "Ram" Ramirez (September 15, 1913 – 11 January 1994) was a jazz pianist and composer. He was a co-writer of the song "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" His first professional performances were in the early 1930s. In 1933 he played with Monette Moore, then with Rex Stewart and Sid Catlett in New York. He joined Willie Bryant in 1935 and toured Europe with Bobby Martin in 1937. During the first half of the 1940s, Ramirez played with Ella Fitzgerald, Frankie Newton, Charlie Barnet, John Kirby, and Catlett, in addition to leading his own band. He wrote "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" in 1942, which became a jazz standard following Billie Holiday's recording of it two years later. He was a freelance into the mid-1950s when he added electronic organ to his instruments. In 1953 he was in one of Duke Ellington's small groups, as a substitute. He again toured Europe in 1968, this time with T-Bone Walker. In 1979 and 1980 he was part of the Harlem Blues and Jazz Band, including for appearances in Germany. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence