Rick Rosas

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Rick Rosas (left), with Neil Young (2008)

Rick Rosas (born September 10, 1949 in East Los Angeles , California - † November 6, 2014 Los Angeles ) was an American bassist . Since 1985 he has appeared on numerous albums by Joe Walsh and Neil Young . In the course of his career he played with Jerry Lee Lewis , Tom Jones , Don Henley , Solomon Burke , Willie Nelson , Ron Wood , Keith Richards and Paul McCartney and worked in the new editions of the bands Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and Buffalo Springfield With.

Career

Rosas had Mexican and Native American ancestors and grew up in a Latin American-dominated ghetto in East Los Angeles. He started playing the guitar in 1963. A little later he switched to the bass and played in various bands - including Mark Guerrero's band Mark and the Escorts - at dance events, parties and in clubs. The repertoire included R&B, soul and surf music, as well as pieces by Elvis Presley and the Beatles . In the mid-1970s he moved to the Hollywood Hills area and became a professional musician. He played his first major concerts as the sideman of Dan Fogelberg . In 1985 he was hired for the first time by Joe Walsh, in whose band he formed the rhythm section with drummer Chad Cromwell . Enthusiastic about their energetic interaction, Neil Young engaged both in 1988 for his band The Bluenotes for the recordings of This Note's For You ; further recordings with Neil Young followed in 1989 with the albums Freedom and Eldorado . Rosas' cooperation with Joe Walsh held since the 1980s until his death uninterrupted, who was with Neil Young after a 16-year hiatus since 2005 with the albums Prairie Wind , Living With War , Chrome Dreams II and Fork In The Road again revived.

Rick Rosas was a member of Neil Young & The Electric Band, the Pegi Young Band and Waddy Wachtel's band . Rick Rosas played with the latter every Monday at The Joint club on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles, unless the band members, who are all sought-after touring musicians, were not busy elsewhere.

Rosas died on November 6, 2014 at the age of 65 in Los Angeles of complications from a lung disease. He is buried in All Souls Cemetery in Long Beach .

Influences and style

When asked about his main influences, Rosas named his colleagues John Entwistle , Paul McCartney , Wilton Felder , James Jamerson , Joe Osborn and Donald Dunn in an interview . Rick Rosas played very few notes compared to most bassists. The organic groove and the rhythmic violence of his interaction with a good drummer came about automatically, according to his own statements, when he played a few notes, but thought about every note played and even more about every note that was not played. Another trademark was his large, very well thought-out sound, which he adapted to the respective production using a very variable touch technique of his right hand and the special choice of strings, amplifiers and speakers.

Equipment

Rick Rosas originally played a 1964 Fender Jazz Bass that his parents bought new at the time. Since 1996 he has played instruments made by Lakland ; these are amplified by an Ampeg SVT top from the 1970s, which he combined with an 8x10 box or a 4x10 and a 1x15 box from the same manufacturer. Sometimes a special bass system was used that Larry Cragg had made for him in his role as a technician for Neil Young.

Web links

Commons : Rick Rosas  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. NY Info / Neil's Musicians
  2. Official website
  3. Rick Rosas dies at 65. In: Los Angeles Times of November 7, 2014 (English, accessed November 9, 2014).
  4. Rick Rosas. In: Find a Grave. Ancestry Ireland Unlimited Company, Ireland, November 8, 2014, accessed April 15, 2020 .
  5. ^ Heinz Rebellius , "Old Story, Right Concept, Rick Rosas: Bassist of the Neil Young Band". In: Guitar and Bass : Heft 10, 2008, pp. 70–78.
  6. Artist Page at Lakland. Retrieved April 23, 2014 .