Born in Los Angeles, California on 15th March 1947, Cooder first attracted attention in the 1960s, playing with Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band, after having worked with Taj Mahal in The Rising Sons.
He was a session guitarist on various recording sessions with the Rolling Stones in 1968 and 1969; Cooder's contributions most notably appear on the Stones' Beggars Banquet where he shares a prominent credit with pianist, Nicky Hopkins on the back cover. He continued to appear on the succeeding albums, Let It Bleed, and Sticky Fingers, on which he contributed the haunting slide guitar solo to "Sister Morphine". Cooder is reputed to have taught Keith Richards to play in open-G tuning, now a Richards hallmark, as well as to have written the open-G signature riff of "Honky Tonk Women". He was briefly considered to fill the departed Brian Jones' place in the Rolling Stones, but reportedly Cooder and Keith Richards did not get along very well. For some time after the sessions, Cooder accused Keith Richards of "ripping him off" musically, but now refuses to talk about his experiences with the Stones. Cooder played slide guitar for the 1970 film Performance, which contained Mick Jagger's first solo single, "Memo from Turner" on which Cooder played guitar.
Throughout the 1970s Cooder released a series of Warner Brothers albums that showcased his guitar work, to some degree. In this respect, Cooder's guitar work on these records is not unlike the guitar playing of Robbie Robertson on the Band's albums: Both virtuosos emphasized song over solo. Cooder's 1970s albums spotlight, more than anything, a wide-ranging taste in music. Cooder has been seen as almost a musicologist, exploring bygone musical genres with personalized and sensitive, updated reworkings of revered originals. Cooder's 1970s albums (with the exception of Jazz) cannot be neatly pigeonholed by genre, But - to generalise broadly - it might be fair to call Cooder's first album blues; Into the Purple Valley, Boomer's Story, and Paradise and Lunch, folk + blues; Chicken Skin Music and Showtime, a unique melange of Tex-Mex and Hawaiian; Jazz, 1920s jazz; Bop till You Drop 1950s R&B and blues; and Borderline an eclectic mix of Tex-Mex with blues, R&B, and country and Get Rhythm, with more rock-based excursions.
Cooder has worked as a studio musician and has also scored many film soundtracks, of which perhaps the best known is that for the 1984 Wim Wenders film Paris, Texas. Ry Cooder based this soundtrack, and the haunting title song "Paris, Texas" on Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground)", which he described as "The most soulful, transcendent piece in all music from the US." His other film work includes Walter Hill's The Long Riders (1980) and Southern Comfort (1981).
In recent years, Cooder has played a role in the increased appreciation of traditional Cuban music, due to his collaboration as producer in the Buena Vista Social Club (1997) recording, which was a worldwide hit. Wim Wenders directed a documentary film of the musicians involved, Buena Vista Social Club (1999) which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2000. Cooder worked with Tuvan throat singers for the score to the 1993 film Geronimo: An American Legend.
Cooder's solo work has been an eclectic mix, taking in dust bowl folk, blues, Tex-Mex, soul, gospel, rock, and almost everything else. He has collaborated with many important musicians, including the Rolling Stones, Little Feat, the Chieftains, John Lee Hooker, Gabby Pahinui, and Ali Farka Toure. He formed the Little Village supergroup with Nick Lowe, John Hiatt, and Jim Keltner.
Cooder's 1979 album Bop till You Drop was the first popular music album to be recorded digitally. It yielded his biggest hit, a disco/R&B cover of Elvis Presley's 1960s recording "Little Sister".
Let's Work Together
Ry Cooder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Divided we'll fall
Come on now people
Let's get on the ball
And work together
Come on, come on
Let's work together
(Now now people)
Every boy, every girl and man
People, when things go wrong
As they sometimes will
And the road you travel
It stays all uphill
Let's work together
Come on, come on
Let's work together
You know together we will stand
Every boy, girl, woman and man
Oh well now, two or three minutes
Two or three hours
What does it matter now
In this life of ours
Let's work together
Come on, come on
Let's work together
(Now now people)
Because together we will stand
Every boy, every woman and man
Ahhh, come on now...
Ahhh, come on, let's work together...
Well now, make someone happy
Make someone smile
Let's all work together
And make life worthwhile
Let's work together
Come on, come on
Let's work together
(Now now people)
Because together we will stand
Every boy, girl, woman and man
Oh well now, come on you people
Walk hand in hand
Let's make this world of ours
A good place to stand
And work together
Come on, come on
Let's work together
(Now now people)
Because together we will stand
Every boy, girl, woman and man
Well now together we will stand
Every boy, girl, woman and man
The lyrics of Ry Cooder's Let's Work Together call for unity among people. The song opens with the statement "together we'll stand, divided we'll fall," which emphasizes that collective effort is what leads to success, while division only leads to failure. The lyrics urge people to get together and work towards a common goal, irrespective of their gender or age, highlighting that everyone has an equal contribution to make.
The song acknowledges that life can be challenging, and things may go wrong, but it is essential to work together as a team and support each other during difficult times. The lyrics further emphasize that time is not a constraint - be it two or three minutes or hours, what matters is that people come together and work towards a goal that benefits everyone. The song concludes on a positive note, calling for people to make someone happy, make someone smile and work together to make life worthwhile.
Line by Line Meaning
Together we'll stand
If we join forces and collaborate, we'll be strong and resilient.
Divided we'll fall
If we're separate and work against each other, we won't succeed and may even fail.
Come on now people
Let's get started and work together as a team.
Let's get on the ball
Let's start working together and get things done.
And work together
If we collaborate and cooperate, we can achieve more.
Come on, come on
Let's get moving and start working together.
Because together we will stand
If we unite and collaborate, we'll be able to handle any obstacles or challenges that come our way.
Every boy, every girl and man
Everyone can contribute and work together toward a common goal.
People, when things go wrong
When unforeseen problems arise,
As they sometimes will
as they inevitably do,
And the road you travel
and the path you take,
It stays all uphill
may seem difficult or impossible at times.
You know together we will stand
If we collaborate and support each other, we'll be able to overcome any challenges.
Oh well now, two or three minutes
Whether we work together for just a few minutes or a few hours,
Two or three hours
the amount of time doesn't matter.
What does it matter now
What's important is that we work together now.
In this life of ours
In this journey we call life.
Ahhh, come on now...
Let's get started and work together.
Make someone happy
Let's do something that brings joy to someone else's life.
Make someone smile
Let's do something that makes someone's day a little brighter.
And make life worthwhile
If we work together to make a positive impact, life becomes more meaningful.
Oh well now, come on you people
Let's all work together, everyone.
Walk hand in hand
Let's support and guide each other along the way.
Let's make this world of ours
Let's work together to improve and better our world.
A good place to stand
So that everyone can live in a world they are proud of.
Contributed by Jayden K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.