Eddie Wilbur "Billy" Rich (born April 7, 1949) is an American electric bassist and blues musician. He is known for his association with
Buddy Miles
George Allen "Buddy" Miles Jr. (September 5, 1947February 26, 2008) was an American composer, drummer, guitarist, vocalist and producer. He was a founding member of the Electric Flag (1967), a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys (1969–197 ...
,
John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra
* Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter
* John McLaug ...
,
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
and especially
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...
, with whom he has played since 1972. Rich was born in
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
and is based out of
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
. On July 29, 2004, Billy was inducted into the Nebraska Music Hall of Fame, and is a member of the
Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame
The Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame, or the OBMHoF, is a nonprofit organization founded in 2005 to celebrate, document and honour the legacy of the many top vocalists and musicians whose musical careers began in the metropolitan area of Omaha, Nebr ...
.
Childhood
Bill Rich was born to Milton Rich and Callie "Chaney" Rich. Bill's brother,
Herbie Rich
Herbie Rich (February 23, 1944 – May 12, 2004) was an American multi-instrumentalist from Omaha, Nebraska, who was a member of The New Breed, The Electric Flag, and the Buddy Miles Express. He also played with Jimi Hendrix, Mike Bloomfield and ...
, was one of the original members of
Electric Flag
The Electric Flag was an American soul rock band, led by guitarist Mike Bloomfield, keyboardist Barry Goldberg and drummer Buddy Miles, and featuring other musicians such as vocalist Nick Gravenites and bassist Harvey Brooks. Bloomfield f ...
and also worked with Jimi Hendrix. His sister, Carolyn, was a vocalist with various bands. All three were inducted into the Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame together. Bill's father played the harmonica as a hobby. Bill said that his father was influenced by
Sonny Boy Williamson and
Lightnin’ Hopkins, and loved the song "
Stone Fox Chase".
Another brother, Bob, sang and played percussion. Billy began playing guitar at the age of seven. Together, his father and siblings they started a band called The 7 Wonders Combo. Rich's first guitar was a
Silvertone.
Bill played primarily guitar for about seven years. At one point he had a double neck
Danelectro
Danelectro is a brand of musical instruments and accessories, founded in Red Bank, New Jersey in 1947. The company is known primarily for its string instruments that employed unique designs and manufacturing processes. The Danelectro company was ...
guitar with a bass on the bottom. He found he enjoyed the bass neck, and decided to switch. His first bass was a Japanese "knockoff" of a Fender Jazz called a Conrad. Rich states his guitar influences are
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...
,
Lonnie Mack
Lonnie McIntosh (July 18, 1941 – April 21, 2016), known as Lonnie Mack, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was an influential trailblazer of blues rock music and rock guitar soloing.
Mack emerged in 1963 with his breakthroug ...
, and
Duane Eddy
Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) is an American rock and roll guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel- ...
. His bass playing influence was
James Jamerson
James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases ...
, who played bass on many
Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
recordings.
Early career
Two months after graduating from high school,
The Whispers
The Whispers is an American band (music), group from Los Angeles, California, who have scored hit records since the late 1960s. They are best known for their two number one R&B singles, "And the Beat Goes On (The Whispers song), And the Beat G ...
were on tour in Omaha and were looking for a bass player, and Rich joined. A few months later, after a tour ended, The Whispers were doing local gigs in the San Francisco Bay area. Bill's brother Herbie,
Buddy Miles
George Allen "Buddy" Miles Jr. (September 5, 1947February 26, 2008) was an American composer, drummer, guitarist, vocalist and producer. He was a founding member of the Electric Flag (1967), a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys (1969–197 ...
and
Stemsey Hunter (all from Omaha) were playing in
Electric Flag
The Electric Flag was an American soul rock band, led by guitarist Mike Bloomfield, keyboardist Barry Goldberg and drummer Buddy Miles, and featuring other musicians such as vocalist Nick Gravenites and bassist Harvey Brooks. Bloomfield f ...
in San Francisco at that time. Rich met Buddy, who invited him to join his new band,
The Buddy Miles Express
The Buddy Miles Express was a musical group fronted by American drummer/vocalist Buddy Miles. It was formed after the 1968 breakup of Miles's earlier group Electric Flag. They released four albums.
Background 1968
The Buddy Miles Express was ...
, along with his brother Herbie Rich in 1968. The three were inducted into the Nebraska Music Hall of Fame together many years later. Their first gig was at the
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boul ...
, a show in which
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
joined them on stage. Hendrix joined with Billy and with The Buddy Miles Express at various times during this period.
Billy Rich wrote the song "69 Freedom Special" for The Buddy Miles Express (on the album ''Electric Church''), and Hendrix produced it.
He was invited by Hendrix's producer, Allen Douglas, to play bass on Hendrix's ''
Band of Gypsies
''Band of Gypsys'' is a live album by Jimi Hendrix and the first without his original group, the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was recorded on January 1, 1970, at the Fillmore East in New York City with Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums, ...
'' album, but he had a prior engagement. Two months later, Douglas invited Rich to do the
John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra
* Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter
* John McLaug ...
''Devotion'' album with him in New York, which he did.
Taj Mahal
In 1972, Billy began playing with
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...
, an association which has continued on and off until today. Along with Rich, this trio started with Mahal and Kester Smith on Drums, a lineup which has changed over time, but has quite frequently featured Rich.
With Taj, Bill has toured Europe, South America, Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Fiji Islands.
Solo work and other associations
In the 1970s, Rich spent some time in
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...
. While there, he collaborated with
Paul Butterfield
Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his n ...
and
Geoff Muldaur
Geoff Muldaur (born August 12, 1943) is an American active singer, guitarist and composer, who was a founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and a member of Paul Butterfield's Better Days.
Career
Having established a reputation with the Kwe ...
. He toured with and recorded two albums with Butterfield's ‘Better Days Band’. He also toured and recorded three albums with Muldaur. His studio work includes recordings with
John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra
* Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter
* John McLaug ...
,
Seals & Crofts
Seals and Crofts was an American soft rock duo made up of James Eugene Seals (October 17, 1942 – June 6, 2022) and Darrell George "Dash" Crofts (born August 14, 1938) They are best known for their hits " Summer Breeze" (1972), " Diamond Girl" ...
,
Maxayn
Maxayn was an American soul group of the 1970s. The band took its name from the lead singer Maxayn Lewis (born Paulette Parker), former Ikette and wife of band keyboardist Andre Lewis. The band also included Marlo Henderson (guitar) and Emry Tho ...
,
Jesse Ed Davis
Jesse Edwin Davis III (September 21, 1944 – June 22, 1988) was a Native American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist and solo performer, was a member of Taj Mahal's backing band and played with musicians such as Eric Clapton, J ...
,
Jackie Lomax
John Richard Lomax (10 May 1944 – 15 September 2013) was an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is best known for his association with George Harrison, who produced Lomax's recordings for the Beatles' Apple record label in the late 1 ...
, John Simon, Roger Tillson, James Van Buren,
Alvaro Torres and others. As a session musician, Rich has gotten the chance to play different styles of music, including
Reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
,
Blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
,
Country Western
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, old- ...
,
R&B,
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
, Rock,
Samba
Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...
, Pop and
Bluegrass. In 1993 Bill played violin for
Christian Contemporary Music Top 40 Artist Daniel W Merrick on his album entitled "Aliyah" which helped inspire the singer/songwriter to release country songs in 2021 produced by "Beach Boys" cousin Randy Green of AudioTraxWest Recording studio in Portville, New York.
Bill toured for two-and a-half years with the bluegrass ensemble, The Tony Furtado Band.
Rich's work was an influence on many other musicians, such as
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. ...
and tuba player
Howard Johnson.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Billy
1949 births
African-American rock musicians
American blues guitarists
American funk bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
American rock bass guitarists
American session musicians
Living people
Mercury Records artists
Musicians from Denver
Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska
People from Omaha, Nebraska
Guitarists from Colorado
20th-century American bass guitarists
20th-century American male musicians
Buddy Miles Express members
African-American guitarists
20th-century African-American musicians
21st-century African-American people