Rick Vito Biography
Guitarist Rick Vito was born on October 13, 1949 in 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 Clark 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 LA- 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 LA 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 to 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 his "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 LA. It was the single most spectacular overdub I'd ever heard!" "Like A Rock" has
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 lull-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 it's "GREATEST HITS" album which featured two new cuts
on which feature Rick. In 1989 Fleetwood Mac began work on what would 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 LA 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 now been picked up by the LA based
WILDCAT RECORDS, and will receive worldwide distribution in 1999. Rick has just 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".
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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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