Back in the "Pack" : Ashland vocalist returns to first love after hiatus
By Josh B. Wardrop /News Staff Writer
Thursday, May 22, 2003


Ashland resident Ralph Graham was 5 years old, by his estimation, when he wrote his first song, Music, he says, was all around him as a child.

"My father sang in a gospel group," says Graham, recalling his days growing up in Roxbury. "And my uncle on my mother's side — the Rev. John Thomas — actually founded the New Hope Baptist Church, which is still in the South End."

Since those days, Graham has experienced the highs and lows of the music business — from a recording deal with RCA Records and an accomplished career as a songwriter, to a more than decade-long hiatus, during which time music left his life almost entirely. Today, however, he's returned to the scene to do what he loves best —writing songs and performing from coast to coast. This Sunday, Graham performs an evening of songs popularized by Frank Sinatra and the other members of "The Rat Pack" at (appropriately enough) Framingham's Rat Pack Cafe.

Graham spent his teen years singing, teaching himself to play keyboards, and voraciously absorbing all manner of popular music. "I had a very different take on music, I guess, than the people I was growing up with," he laughs. "I listened to early Elton John albums, and loved them. And nobody where I lived was listening to Elton John, you know?"

Eventually, Graham drew the interest of record labels, and signed with RCA in the 1970s. After recording a few discs of pop/soul music for the label, Graham also began to find himself in demand as a songwriter. "I wrote a song called 'Differently,' which was recorded by a number of people — Jose Feliciano and Thelma Houston each did versions of it," he says. "And, I did some writing for Lou Rawls and Patti LaBelle."

Graham's musical career was proceeding nicely, but a tragedy in his personal life in the early '80s caused him to re-examine his priorities. "I lost my first wife to cancer," says Graham, and I suddenly had two little boys to think about. So, I walked away from music, and I didn't look back for 15 years."

During that time, Graham says, he worked in sales — eventually settling upon his current position in the home security field. And for close to a decade, he didn't even listen to his own music.

"I really had no plans of ever getting back into music," Graham admits. "But, one night, I was having dinner with some friends at Ken's Steak House, and I was asked to sing a couple of songs with Linda Chase, who was performing that night. And, then that turned into being asked to come in every week and do a couple of songs. And that became a couple of nights a week."

Before he knew it, Graham was back. In addition to the weekly gigs at Ken's and occasional shows at the Rat Pack, he's started playing corporate functions and weddings. In recent months, he's played gigs in Sacramento and Saratoga. He's sung in churches and at birthday parties. And the response, he says, has been incredible.

"When I sing, I want to feel as though what I'm doing has an effect on the listener," he grins. I love to watch older couples who get closer and closer to each other over the course of the evening — when some old guy reaches out and takes his wife's hand...I love that

"I was singing at a church-sponsored concert a while back, and at the end, this man who was about 70 or so came up and asked if he could hug me!" Graham laughs. "It's things like that which make me feel I'm on the right track."

Whereas Graham was accustomed to playing with a band when he started out, today he plays his gigs solo, singing to a pre-recorded musical track. This is due, in part, to the fiscal realities of playing small venues, but Graham says the simplicity and autonomy has also been essential in rekindling his love for performing.

"One of the conditions I had for getting back into music was being able to just sing, write and perform — I didn't want to tour, and I didn't want a band," he says. "I didn't want to have to contend with assembling musicians, and going to rehearsals. Because, I don't care how good they are as musicians — when you have a band, Its almost impossible to get four or five people who are as dedicated to the music as you are.

I don't want to worry about who can't make it to practice, or who's got a conflict with another gig, says Graham, with a world-weary chuckle. "I just want to sing."

The songs Graham sings today run the gamut from contemporary ("I still like to be current..I'll do uptempo stuff by Brandy, J.Lo and Sisqo, but in my own style") to originals (one of Graham's newest is a smooth and mellow r&b ballad called "If I Should Lose You"). But the majority of his performances consist of Graham putting his silky baritone to work on the classics.

"A song has to have some substance, lyrically, for me to want to sing it," says Graham. "Once I choose a song, I like to put my own phrasing to it — I try never to sing it like the original artist, but I also don't go too far away from the song people know, either. When you have a great song to work with, there's no need to reinvent the wheel —you just need to make sure that your energy comes through.

Graham had no problem choosing great songs for the Sinatra concert this Sunday. In fact, the difficulty may have come in having too many to choose from. "I'll be doing things like 'Fly Me to the Moon,' 'It Was A Very Good Year,' 'Summer Wind' ...the list just goes on," says Graham. "Sinatra's voice just had such style ...his sense of phrasing was so extraordinary."

Today, Graham is excited about music again, and is continually busy writing new songs of his own. He's even planning a recording project with former bandmates from the RCA days.

In the meantime, however, he's perfectly happy to sing the old songs — the songs that make people laugh, cry and feel.

"Performing is my first love," he says. "And those moments — those moments when you really touch someone with the emotion of a great song — make everything worthwhile."

Ralph Graham performs Sunday, May 25, at 8:45 p.m., at The Rat Pack Cafe, 50/60 Worcester Road, Framingham. Admission of $20 includes concert, hors d'oeuvres and one drink. For more information, call 508- 628-1842.

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