David Ritz (born December 2, 1943, in New York City) is an American author. He has written novels, biographies, magazine articles, and over a hundred liner notes for artists such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Nat King Cole. He has coauthored 36 autobiographies, including some celebrities' autobiographies. Career and bibliography As a journalist “Happy Song: Soul Music in the Ghetto,” Ritz's first critical essay, was published in Salmagundi (1970). Dozens of other articles have followed, including “History of the Jews of Dallas,” D Magazine (1974); “Kids’ Stuff: Jackson Pollock, Jimmie Vaughan and the Architecture of Las Vegas,” Art Connoisseur (1998); “Show and Tell,” introduction to Rolling Stone's Tattoo Nation (2002); the forward to Lady Sings the Blues, the 50th-anniversary edition of the autobiography of Billie Holiday (2006); and “The Last Days of Brother Ray,” included in Da Capo's Best Music Writing of 2005. As a biographer Ritz's first collaboration was Brother Ray (1978), the autobiography of Ray Charles. Ritz has said that his initial intention was to write a biography until becoming intrigued by the idea of rendering the book entirely in Charles' voice. "That's when I discovered I had a gift for channeling voice", Ritz told the L.A. Times' Patrick Goldstein in 2012. "That discovery changed the course of my literary life." Other autobiographies co-written by Ritz include: Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye began when Ritz met Gaye in the late seventies and was published in 1985, a year after the singer's death. Rhythm And The Blues: A Life in American Music (1993) with Jerry Wexler Rage To Survive: The Etta James Story (1995) with Etta James Blues All Around Me: The Autobiography of B. B. King (1996) with B.B. King The Brothers Neville (2000) with the Neville Brothers True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself (2011) with Janet Jackson When I Left Home: My Story (2012) with Buddy Guy Soulacoaster (2012) with R. Kelly On Time: A Princely Life in Funk (2019) with Morris Day Ritz has also written an inspirational book. Messengers, a portrait of African-American gospel singers and ministers, was published in 2006. As a novelist Ritz's fiction ranges from sports fantasies--The Man Who Brought the Dodgers Back To Brooklyn (1981)-- to jazz fantasies--Blue Notes Under a Green Felt Hat (1989) and Barbells and Saxophones (1989). Ritz collaborated with Mable John on three Christian novels: Sanctified (2006), Stay Out of the