Ryland "Ry" Peter Cooder, born on March 15th, 1947, Los Angeles, California, US, is a musician, songwriter, movie score composer and record producer. He's a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in American roots music, and collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries, Ry's solo work drawing upon many genres. He's played with John Lee Hooker, Captain Beefheart, Gordon Lightfoot, Ali Farka Touré, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Randy Newman, Linda Ronstadt, David Lindley, The Chieftains, The Doobie Brothers, and Carla Olson & the Textones, on record and film. Cooder formed the group Little Village, having also produced the Buena Vista Social Club album (1997), which became an international hit, Wim Wenders directing the documentary movie of the same name (1999), which was nominated for an Academy Award during the year 2000. Ry was ranked 8th on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 'The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time' in 2003, a ranking by Gibson placing him at # 32 during 2010.