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Gray, Christopher J. ALBANY Christopher J. Gray, 65, of Prescott St., died Wednesday, March 19, 2014 at AMCH. He was born in Long Island and was a retired musician having worked for many area venues. Survived by his brother Stephen E. Gray and several nieces and nephews.
At six feet, four inches and 150 pounds, Chris Gray was the type who usually stood out no matter how large or small the crowd. Chris had music in his blood. One of three children, he was born in 1949 when his mother was 48. His brothers, Peter and Steve, were twenty and eighteen years older, respectively. Their mother had worked as a pianist at a silent movie theater in Boston during the 1920s. Chris played clarinet in high school, but the guitar was the instrument that would eventually consume him.
Lindy Jones met Chris Gray in 1982. They were introduced by an old girlfriend of Gray’s, someone Lindy worked with who thought they would hit it off. They did. She found him to be “a soft-spoken gentleman who never swore or yelled.” He was also a die-hard Pittsburgh Pirates fan, and he had the memorabilia to prove it.
According to Jones, Gray was incredibly smart, and upon graduation from high school had received a full-ride scholarship to Union College in Schenectady, New York. Instead, he opted to attend SUNY (State University of New York) in Albany, where he majored in partying. It wasn’t long before he moved to New York City to pursue his dream of rock ‘n’ roll.
Although Jack Ruby didn’t attain rock ‘n’ roll stardom during their low-key existence, various members of the band certainly pursued the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, of which drugs were a major part. Eventually, lead singer Robin Hall decided to leave both the band and the city behind so he could get clean. Gray followed suit a few years later; by the early 1980s, he was back in Albany.
Gray spent most of his adult life working in record stores. For a while in the 1980s, he decided to get a grown-up job and work for the state. He hated it. He quit and went back to record stores. Jones said Gray would map out their vacations by getting ahold of phone books from various towns, compiling a list of book and record stores, and then buying as many items as they could afford. He had thousands of albums and thousands of books, which he viewed as an investment for their golden years, since he claimed they wouldn’t be able to afford such items when they retired.
Gray and Jones parted ways when she became determined to have a child, an undertaking he wasn’t keen on. It became one of his biggest regrets. The two remained friends, however, and he would eventually take an interest in Jones’ daughter, Zoë, as if she were his own.
Sadly, Chris Gray’s final months were spent with his brother, Steve, who was in his eighties. They were two elderly gentlemen with serious health issues, stuck in an apartment, both virtually bedridden. Although he had been sober for many years, Gray’s substance abuse during his youth had taken its toll, and he was suffering from hepatitis C, among other maladies. He died on March 19, 2014, at the age of 65.
Gray, Christopher J. ALBANY Christopher J. Gray, 65, of Prescott St., died Wednesday, March 19, 2014 at AMCH. He was born in Long Island and was a retired musician having worked for many area venues. Survived by his brother Stephen E. Gray and several nieces and nephews.
At six feet, four inches and 150 pounds, Chris Gray was the type who usually stood out no matter how large or small the crowd. Chris had music in his blood. One of three children, he was born in 1949 when his mother was 48. His brothers, Peter and Steve, were twenty and eighteen years older, respectively. Their mother had worked as a pianist at a silent movie theater in Boston during the 1920s. Chris played clarinet in high school, but the guitar was the instrument that would eventually consume him.
Lindy Jones met Chris Gray in 1982. They were introduced by an old girlfriend of Gray’s, someone Lindy worked with who thought they would hit it off. They did. She found him to be “a soft-spoken gentleman who never swore or yelled.” He was also a die-hard Pittsburgh Pirates fan, and he had the memorabilia to prove it.
According to Jones, Gray was incredibly smart, and upon graduation from high school had received a full-ride scholarship to Union College in Schenectady, New York. Instead, he opted to attend SUNY (State University of New York) in Albany, where he majored in partying. It wasn’t long before he moved to New York City to pursue his dream of rock ‘n’ roll.
Although Jack Ruby didn’t attain rock ‘n’ roll stardom during their low-key existence, various members of the band certainly pursued the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, of which drugs were a major part. Eventually, lead singer Robin Hall decided to leave both the band and the city behind so he could get clean. Gray followed suit a few years later; by the early 1980s, he was back in Albany.
Gray spent most of his adult life working in record stores. For a while in the 1980s, he decided to get a grown-up job and work for the state. He hated it. He quit and went back to record stores. Jones said Gray would map out their vacations by getting ahold of phone books from various towns, compiling a list of book and record stores, and then buying as many items as they could afford. He had thousands of albums and thousands of books, which he viewed as an investment for their golden years, since he claimed they wouldn’t be able to afford such items when they retired.
Gray and Jones parted ways when she became determined to have a child, an undertaking he wasn’t keen on. It became one of his biggest regrets. The two remained friends, however, and he would eventually take an interest in Jones’ daughter, Zoë, as if she were his own.
Sadly, Chris Gray’s final months were spent with his brother, Steve, who was in his eighties. They were two elderly gentlemen with serious health issues, stuck in an apartment, both virtually bedridden. Although he had been sober for many years, Gray’s substance abuse during his youth had taken its toll, and he was suffering from hepatitis C, among other maladies. He died on March 19, 2014, at the age of 65.
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