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Guitarist
Rick Vito was born Darby, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. Though he
was very young. Rick distinctly remembers the impact of the early
years of Rock & Roll and the effect it had on his interest in
playing the guitar. "Everyone, of course, was crazy about
ELVIS and I was too. Also, I was a faithful watcher of the "BANDSTAND"
TV show which was broadcast every day from Philadelphia. This
started even before Dick dark hosted it. Bandstand was the center
of the universe as far as Rock & Roll went for me. Most of the
classic rockers made their debut on this show before they got to
Ed Sullivan, and I remember being fascinated with guys like JERRY
LEE LEWIS, FATS DOMINO, and LITTLE RICHARD. But it was the guys
with the guitars that really got to me. My mom had played Hawaiian
lap guitar as a young girl and we still had her old Oahu acoustic.
We have a videotape (transferred from 8mm film) of me about six
years old going nuts with that guitar doing my Elvis bit in the
living room. It's proof that I'm a bona-fide 50's rocker!"
Rick tried lessons a few times around this time but soon abandoned
them preferring instead to work things out by ear. Another weekly
TV show had a great impact on the young Vito. "THE ADVENTURES
OF OZZIE AND HARRIET" usually featured the teen-age RICKY
NELSON with his band every week at the close of each episode
performing one of his hit Rockabilly tunes, Playing in Nelson's
band at the time was lead guitarist JAMES BURTON, who most often
would be given the spotlight to flash out a dazzling solo on his
vintage Telecaster, an impression which mesmerized Vito. "I
couldn't wait to see that show. Everybody called me Ricky at the
time, so naturally I imagined myself as Ricky Nelson up there on
the stage. Except I also wanted to be James Burton too! To me,
along with SCOTTY MOORE, these were the first real Rock & Roll
lead guitarists, the first ones to mix Blues and C & W
together. James probably influenced the electric guitar more than
anyone ever realized back then, and you can still hear his style
in many, many players today."
From this point, Rick picked up bits and pieces from the likes of
DUANE EDDY, CHUCK BERRY, THE VENTURES, and whatever else could be
seen and heard on radio and TV. He found that his father's
business also contributed to his interest in music in a unique
way.
"My father managed my grandmother's corner bar in Wildwood NJ
during the summer months, and it had an old Seeburg jukebox. At
the end of the season we got to keep all the records, so we had a
great collection of Rock & Roll, many of which I still have on
my own Seeburg at home. I learned a lot from those."
Sometime during the summer of 1959 Rick's mom took him to see his
first live Rock & Roll show at the Steel Pier in Atlantic
City. He remembers: "At the time, you paid one price and got
to see the World Famous Diving Horse, take a ride in the
Underwater Bell, see a movie (I saw "Ma and Pa Kettle")
and finally, see a live show. We saw the EVERLY BROTHERS, an
experience which I can never forget. It was loud and cool and I
loved it! There was this guy with them, JERRY COLE, who danced
around playing this little white Supro electric. I knew then, I
had to have an electric guitar. My fate became sealed."
Rick's first stage performance came about in 1963 appearing with
some friends at a local teen dance. The lone guitarist with five
guys in long black leather trenchcoats, slick-backed hair and
cuban heels. Rick was the accompanist to doo-wop singers, "JOHNNY
AND THE INSPIRATIONS". Although Rick remembers the group as
sounding "terrible", the combination of terror and
exhilaration from being onstage in front of an audience left it's
indelible mark on Rick. Later in the year saw the coming of the
British Invasion, and for Rick that meant the ROLLING STONES.
"For some reason I was immediately drawn to their music and
the rebellious image they projected. I didn't realize it at first,
but it was the Blues influence in their music that I really felt.
That and the Chuck Berry thing that I'd already been trying to
learn. Through the Stones I learned about different kinds of
R&B and Blues, and about artists like MUDDY WATERS, JIMMY REED,
and HOWLING WOLF, and so on, I forgot about sports and whatever
and devoted my time to becoming as good a guitarist as KEITH
RICHARDS. Over time I mastered every lick from every Stones record
every day after school. After awhile I started to sound pretty
good. At least I thought I did. I knew I was getting somewhere at
least."
Rick, at this point, became immersed in learning to perfect his
Blues playing by studying the styles of the great Blues masters.
At the top of this list was the great B.B. KING, and also included
such stellar musicians as ELMORE JAMES, MAGIC SAM, SLIM HARPO,
OTIS RUSH, FREDDIE and ALBERT KING, EARL HOOKER and many others.
Vito also took much inspiration from second generation
interpreters of the music, such as JOHN HAMMOND, PAUL BUTTERFIELD
with MIKE BLOOMFIELD, TAJ MAHAL with JESSE ED DAVIS, and PETER
GREEN. Rick recalls: "I went to see the original FLEETWOOD
MAC with Peter Green at The Electric Factory in Philadelphia
around 1968, and thirty years later, I'm still in awe of his
performance that night. Peter was a master of taste and tone, sang
great songs amazingly well, and was obviously the guiding force
behind his band. He was just about everything I wanted to be as a
musician. I'm still working on it!"
Through his college years Rick continued to perform in the eastern
Pennsylvania area in a variety of bands which included stints with
the MATRIX, THE WRIGHT BROTHERS, and the VITO - VALENTI BLUES
BAND. Vito and singer-harmonicist RICK VALENTI made their way to
New York city and their first professional recording date,
produced by fellow Philadelphian, TODD RUNDGREN. This resulted in
the placing of one of their songs with Chicago harp-man JAMES
COTTON on his Bearsville Records album, "TAKIN' CARE OF
BUSINESS", also produced by Todd.
Soon after this. Rick had an experience that was to change the
course of his professional life. Having heard and loving their
first two records, Rick decided to introduce himself to the
musical duo DELANEY and BONNIE BRAMLETT, and play them the tapes
he had made in New York. The three hit it off and Rick was invited
to sit in at their show. This experience both blew the roof off
the joint, and left Rick with the undeniable realization that
there would be no other course in life for him other than music.
He decided then to take Delaney's advice and move to the heart of
the music business, Los Angeles, California.
Moving to the Hollywood Hills in the summer of 1971, Rick did his
first pro work on tour with Delaney & Bonnie. Soon after, he
began to establish himself as a respected recording session player
first appearing on Todd Rundgren's classic album, "SOMETHING
ANYTHING". At this time Rick also worked with such artists as
LITTLE RICHARD, BOBBY WHITLOCK, JOHN PRINE, and DOBIE GRAY.
Late in 1974 Rick received an invitation to join a new band being
formed by British Blues pioneer, JOHN MAYALL, with whom Rick
worked with subsequently on four albums. In the following years,
Rick was a member of ex-BYRD ROGER MCGUINN's group, THUNDERBYRD,
and also a founding member of Los Angeles club favorites, the
ANGEL CITY RHYTHM BAND. With the ACRB, Rick had a unique
opportunity to back many of the Blues greats he had been
influenced by.
Performing regularly at the Topanga Canyon Corral club on Monday
Blues nights, they regularly held court with ALBERT COLLINS,
LOWELL FULSON, BIG JOE TURNER, and GEORGE 'HARMONICA' SMITH, among
many others.
By 1980 Rick had recorded two albums worth of material and was
starting to place more songs with other artists such as MCGUINN
CLARK & HILLMAN, and DAVID SOUL. At the same time he began a
long association with slide-guitar queen, BONNIE RAITT, appearing
on her rocking LP, "GREEN LIGHT", and as a member of her
touring band. Rick spent most of 1982-83 working with L.A. - based
singer/songwriter, JACKSON BROWNE. He appears on Jackson's single'
"SOMEBODY'S BABY", and on his albums, "LAWYERS IN
LOVE", and "LIVES IN THE BALANCE". In between solo
recording and live shows in the L.A. - area. Rick continued
session dates with many artists including RITA COOLIDGE, MARIA
MULDAUR, and DOLLY PARTON, when he came to the attention of
legendary rocker, BOB SEGER. Looking for a rootsy guitar sound add
to his work in progress, Bob enlisted Rick to try his hand at a
solo over two long passages in a song entitled, "LIKE A
ROCK". The result of Vito's efforts is now considered
something of a classic in expressive slide guitar bravura. Of the
experience Seger says in "GREATEST HITS" liner notes:
"My fondest memory of this recording is of (co-producer)
DAVID COLE and I listening to Rick Vito play the slide guitar solo
late one night at Rumbo Studios in L.A. It was the single most
spectacular overdub I'd ever heard!" "Like A Rock"
now been used as the soundtrack and slogan for Chevrolet trucks
for over seven years and is one of the longest running TV
commercials in history. Rick was an integral part of the hugely
successful "AMERICAN STORM" US tour and has been
featured on every Bob Seger album release since 1986.
Partly as a result of the high profile attention garnered by the
Seger album and tour, Rick soon realized that he had reached
another major turning point in his career.
"I got a call one day from MICK FLEETWOOD. We'd played
together a couple of times on a BILLY BURNETTE session and at one
of my gigs, and he liked the fact that I was a fan of Peter Green.
LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM had just been let go and Mick wanted Billy and
I to learn some Mac tunes and come over to play with the band. I
had been feeling lately that something was brewing with my career
anyway, so when I hung up the phone I turned to my wife Aimee and
said, "that's it, I'm going to join Fleetwood Mac"!"
Rick did join the band as a member in July, 1987 and began
rehearsing for the "TANGO IN THE NIGHT" world tour. The
excitement and excellence of Fleetwood Mac during this period was
captured live in a full-length concert video of the same name,
released by Warner Brothers in 1988. Vito's playing and singing is
especially well represented in a faithlul version of Peter Green's
"I LOVED ANOTHER WOMAN". Soon after, the group released
its "GREATEST HITS" album which featured two new cuts on
which feature Rick.
In 1989 Fleetwood Mac began to work on what should become
"BEHIND THE MASK", a solid collection of songs by
CHRISTINE MCVIE, STEVIE NICKS, and Billy Burnette, as well as four
original tunes written and performed by Rick Vito. Again the Mac
followed with an incredible world tour.
Work tapes of Rick's songs had found their way to Atlantic Records
president, Doug Morris through bandmate Stevie Nicks, and as a
result. Rick was signed to his first solo recording deal. In 1992
his CD, "KING OF HEARTS" was praised in GUITAR PLAYER
magazine for it's "...dazzling collection of fiery, slide
guitar-driven songs...", and featured the single, "DESIREE",
a smoldering duet with Stevie Nicks.
In 1994 Rick accompanied Stevie on her "STREET ANGEL"
tour, and during this time, made a decision to relocate from Los
Angeles to the Nashville area.
"I'd been wanting to live somewhere green again. When we
visited Nashville, I realized that not only was it a music town,
but it was also some of the prettiest country I'd seen, so
eventually I found some land, moved the family, and we built our
own house. It turned out to be a dream come true!"
Rick devoted much of 1995-96 to family interests, but in 1997 he
began recording his second solo CD, this time one firmly rooted in
a Blues vein. Recorded both in L.A. and Nashville, the CD,
entitled "PINK AND BLACK", features nine Vito original
songs plus solid treatments of others by Otis Rush, Eddie
Clearwater, and Peter Green. "PINK AND BLACK" is both a
reference to Rick's personally designed Art Deco guitar, and also
to a style of an era in music where Blues and Rock&Roll made a
passionate connection. This same passion is reflected in the music
within Rick Vito's CD. Originally released in Summer 1998 on the
Streamliner Records label, "PINK AND BLACK" has been
picked up by the L.A. based WILDCAT RECORDS. In 1999 Rick has
completed a world tour with old friend BONNIE RAITT in support of
her "FUDAMENTAL" album. During this time he appeared on
"OPRAH", "DAVID LETTERMAN", "THE TONIGHT
SHOW", "ROSIE O'DONNEL", "CONAN O'BRIEN",
VHI STORYTELLERS, as well as the LILLITH FAIR TOUR and the ERIC
CLAPTON WORLD TOUR., Rick was featured both in duet with Bonnie
and also performing songs from "PINK AND BLACK".
2000 is the year of the release of his third album "Lucky
Devils" on the German based Label HYPERTENSION. Containing
eleven original Cuts the CD "Lucky devils" picked up
where his previous CD's have left off. The listener will find it
to be "an exciting and innovative continuation of Rick's
devoting to his blues dominated syling" (Hamburg Music Review)
Bonnie has been quoted saying: Rick Vito's guitar playing just
slays me! His style is as cool and sharp as a '59 cadillac tailfin.
Perhaps bluesman KEB MO' says it best: Soulful singer, brilliant
guitar player, you got to check out Rick Vito, for sure!
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