Rick Roberts
Rick Roberts (born August 31, 1949 in Florida ) is an American singer / songwriter who became known in the 1970s and 1980s for his work with the music groups The Flying Burrito Brothers and Firefall .
biography
childhood
Roberts was born in Florida in 1949 and was a huge Byrds fan early on. He later lived in Washington, DC, South Carolina and Colorado, where he performed in clubs as a singer with guitar. At 19, he hitchhiked to Los Angeles to be accepted into the upper class of musicians. He had to knock on every door for a year before Ed Tickner, manager of the Flying Burrito Brothers, noticed him.
A dream came true for him when he was initially allowed to contribute to the Byrds LP Untitled Background Vocals, even if he was not mentioned on the album cover.
The Flying Burrito Brothers
In 1970 he was finally accepted into the Burritos, which had fought as a quartet since breaking up with Gram Parsons . At the side of the ex-Byrds Chris Hillman (vocals, bass, guitar, mandolin) and Michael Clarke (drums) as well as Bernie Leadon (vocals, guitar) and Sneaky Pete Kleinow (pedal steel guitar), he went on an extensive tour through Europe in 1970 part during which he developed an intense songwriting partnership with Hillman. With new song material, the burritos returned to the recording studio in the winter of 1970/71. In early 1971 their third LP 'The Flying Burrito Bros.' was released, on which three of Roberts' original compositions ( Four Days Of Rain , Colorado and Why Are You Crying ) were among the strongest and most convincing songs on the album.
Shortly after the LP was released, Pete Kleinow left the band and was replaced by Al Perkins (pedal steel guitar) in April 1971 . Country fiddler Byron Berline joined the group in June . Disappointed because Rick Roberts had moved him to the second row as lead singer, Bernie Leadon also left and first joined Linda Ronstadt's backing band in August before he founded the Eagles with other musicians from this formation .
Chris Hillman, who had started his musical career as a bluegrass mandolin player, strengthened the country section of the group with Kenny Wertz (guitar, banjo) and Roger Bush (double bass) and soon divided their stage program into a part with classic burrito songs and groovy rhythm and blues and new Rick Roberts songs as well as one with pure bluegrass under the working title 'Country Gazette'. A compilation of live recordings of this program from late 1971 was released as an album in early 1972 under the title 'Last Of The Red Hot Burritos', the last record of the original Flying Burrito Brothers.
After Hillman, Clarke and Perkins had also left the group, but the Burritos had to fulfill further performance obligations, they undertook a tour through Holland and Scandinavia, now under Roberts' direction, reinforced by the musicians Don Beck (Pedal Steel) and Eric Dalton ( Drums). The band now toured under the name 'The Hot Burrito Revue'. Rick Roberts long refused to release recordings of this tour because he recognized their poor quality, but finally agreed after a Dutch record company put enormous pressure on him. Ariola Records finally released the double LP 'Live in Amsterdam' in 1973. In 1974 the recordings reappeared on two different albums, 'In Concert' with the Country Rock program and 'Bluegrass Special' with the Country Gazette program.
solo
After the tour, the band broke up and Roberts began a solo career. He recorded two albums, Windmills (1972) and 'She Is A Song' (1973), the latter produced by Chris Hillman and published by Stephen Stills' publishing company .
Firefall
1973 Ex-Byrd / Ex-Burrito Gram Parsons died . His co-singer and band continued to perform under the name Emmylou Harris and The Fallen Angels. The band's guitarist was Jock Bartley . They shared the stage with Rick Roberts when they performed in New York. Bartley and Roberts became friends and formed the band Firefall in 1974, together with Mark Andes (vocals, bass) and Larry Burnett (vocals, guitar) . Shortly afterwards, the drummer, ex-Byrd and ex-Burrito colleague, Michael Clarke (drums) joined them. The band's stage manager was Dallas Schoo , who also played guitar on the Elan album . By 1981 Firefall had several chart hits, including their greatest hit 'You Are The Woman' (No. 9 on the Billboard charts).
Since 1982
After Firefall broke up, Roberts made his way as a solo singer, at a time when new wave and punk music were popular and country rock musicians were no longer given contracts with major record companies. Two ex-Byrds, who felt the same way, Gene Clark and Michael Clarke, secured their existence from the mid-1980s through appearances with so-called Byrds tribute bands. The fellow musicians took turns, depending on availability. Rick Roberts was particularly active here in 1985/86 and again in 1990, together with Gene Clark and Sneaky Pete Kleinow. In 1991 Firefall went on tour again. Rick Roberts participated until 1993. After that, he largely withdrew from the music business.
On April 10, 2008 Bartley organized a Firefall Reunion concert, in which, except for Michael Clarke, who died in 1992, all previous band members took part. Rick Roberts was also present, but could not go on stage for health reasons.
In 2010 Rick Roberts returned to music. He released three 4-song EPs on iTunes and launched his website.
Discography
Flying Burrito Brothers
- 1971: Flying Burrito Bros. (A&M)
- 1972: Last Of The Red Hot Burritos (A&M)
- 1972: Live in Amsterdam (Ariola)
- 1974: Bluegrass Special (Ariola)
- 1974: In Concert (Ariola)
solo
- 1972: Windmills (A&M)
- 1973: She Is A Song (A&M)
- 2010: Phases (4-song EP, iTunes)
- 2010: Same Mirror, Different Reflections (4-song EP, iTunes)
- 2011: Full Bloom (4-song EP, iTunes)
Firefall
- 1976: Firefall (Atlantic)
- 1977: Luna Sea (Atlantic)
- 1978: Elan (Atlantic)
- 1979: Undertow (Atlantic)
- 1980: Clouds Across The Sun (Atlantic)
Web links
- The Flying Burrito Brothers: Bio and Discography
- Firefall website
- Byrds Lyrics Page (with Flying Burritos & Firefall)
- Official website
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Roberts, Rick |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American singer and songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 31, 1949 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Florida , United States |