Kid Ramos (born January 13, 1959) is an American

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplifier, amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the ...

and

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

guitarist, singer and songwriter. Ramos has released four solo albums since 1995 on Black Top and

Evidence Records Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

. He has worked with

James Harman James Gary Harman (June 8, 1946 – May 23, 2021) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. The music journalist Tony Russell described Harman as an "amusing songwriter and an excellent, unfussy blues harp player". Biogra ...

Roomful of Blues Roomful of Blues is an American blues and swing revival big band based in Rhode Island. With a recording career that spans over 50 years, they have toured worldwide and recorded many albums. Roomful of Blues, according to the ''Chicago Sun-Tim ...

, the Big Rhythm Combo,

The Fabulous Thunderbirds The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974. Career After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...

The Mannish Boys The Mannish Boys are an American blues band based in Los Angeles. They play classic blues in West Coast, Texas and Chicago styles. Founded by bandleader Randy Chortkoff, the band is named after the song "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters. Led by v ...

, Bobby Jones and Los Fabulocos.

Life and career

David Ramos was born in

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Sa ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, with both of his parents being professional opera singers. After playing at the parties of friends and at local

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s in his teenage years, he turned fully professional when joining

's band in 1980. He stayed playing his guitar for Harman until 1988, when he briefly helped out with

. However, at this point, Ramos took a break from music to raise a family, and worked as a water delivery man. In 1994, Ramos joined forces with Lynwood Slim to form the Big Rhythm Combo. Ramos' debut solo album, ''Two Hands One Heart'', was released the following year. Ramos had joined

in 1993, following an invitation from their singer,

Kim Wilson Kim Wilson (born January 6, 1951) is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for the Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s, " Tuff Enuff" (which was the group's only Top 40 ...

. As well as regularly recording and appearing with them up to 2002, Ramos also continued to release his own albums, with ''Greasy Kid Stuff'' (2001) being his most recent. Ramos appeared at the 2005

Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival The Edmonton Blues Festival (formerly Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival) is an annual blues music festival in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, which was first held in 1999. The festival runs for three days (a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) in mid-August a ...

, playing along with

the Mannish Boys The Mannish Boys are an American blues band based in Los Angeles. They play classic blues in West Coast, Texas and Chicago styles. Founded by bandleader Randy Chortkoff, the band is named after the song "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters. Led by v ...

. He also formed the roots quartet,

Los Fabulocos Los Fabulocos is an American, Cali-Mex band that is led by Jesus Cuevas, a vocalist and accordion player who used to be with the Blazers, an East Los Angeles-based group.Delta GroovLos Fabulocos Bio:/ref> It also features Kid Ramos, who has in th ...

, who released their debut album in 2008. In 2009, Ramos backed Bobby Jones at the

Notodden Blues Festival Notodden Blues Festival (NBF) is one of the largest blues music festivals in Europe and the largest in Scandinavia. The festival is held in Notodden, Norway, usually in early August. It has been running annually since 1988. The festival does not ...

. In August 2012, Ramos was diagnosed with

Ewing's sarcoma Ewing sarcoma is a type of cancer that forms in bone or soft tissue. Symptoms may include swelling and pain at the site of the tumor, fever, and a bone fracture. The most common areas where it begins are the legs, pelvis, and chest wall. In about ...

, a rare form of cancer, and underwent chemotherapy treatment the following month. He was expected to require radiotherapy, surgery and further chemotherapy during the course of the next twelve months. A medical appeal was launched to assist with the costs of his treatment. Kid Ramos received the Orange County Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award on March 7, 2014. At the event he announced that he had completed his treatment and recovered from the cancer.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos, Kid 1959 births Living people American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers American male singers Blues rock musicians Electric blues musicians Songwriters from California Musicians from Fullerton, California Singers from California American people of Canarian descent Guitarists from California The Fabulous Thunderbirds members 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters