Richard John Beato (born April 24, 1962) is an American YouTube personality, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer and educator. Since the early 1980s, he has worked variously as a musician, songwriter,

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

, and record producer, and has lectured on music at several universities. Based in Black Dog Sound Studios in

Stone Mountain Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome Inselberg, monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park, east of Atlanta, Georgia. Outside the park is the small city of Stone Mountain, Georgia. The park is the most visited tourist site in the state o ...

, a suburb of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia, he has produced for and worked with bands such as

Needtobreathe Needtobreathe (stylized as NEEDTOBREATHE) is an American rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Seth Bolt (backing vocals, bass), Josh Lovelace (backing vocals, keys), Randall H ...

Parmalee Parmalee is an American country music band consisting of brothers Matt Thomas (lead vocals, guitar) and Scott Thomas (drums), along with their cousin Barry Knox (bass) and Josh McSwain (guitar), who is a best friend since childhood. They are si ...

, and

Shinedown Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed by singer Brent Smith in 2001 after the dissolution of Dreve, his previous band. Smith, still under contract with record label Atlantic Records, recruited the band's original l ...

. He is now known for his YouTube channel, Everything Music, on which he covers different aspects of rock, jazz, and popular music, and he interviews well-known musicians and producers.

Early life and education

Beato was born into a large family in

Fairport, New York Fairport is a village located in the Town of Perinton, which is part of Monroe County, New York, United States. Fairport is a suburb east of Rochester. It is also known as the "Crown Jewel of the Erie Canal". In 2005, it was named as one of th ...

, a suburb east of

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

. After graduating from

Fairport High School Fairport High School (FHS) is a public high school serving the tenth through twelfth grades in the Village of Fairport and most of the Town of Perinton, New York. It is part of the Fairport Central School District. The Principal, as of the end ...

in 1980, he studied at

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

, obtaining a bachelor of arts degree in music. He earned a master's degree in

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 ...

studies from the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

in 1987.

Career

Beato has been a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

, university lecturer, songwriter,

studio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...

, mixer, and record producer. He has lectured at several universities, including the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

and

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

Studio

Beato owns Black Dog Sound Studios in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, and he began recording bands there in 1995. He ran the record label 10 Star Records with business partner Johnny Diamond.

Writing credit

" Carolina", which he co-wrote with

in 2007, reached number one on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

chart on December 20, 2013, and has sold a million copies.

Signature guitar

In 2021,

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

previewed a Rick Beato signature Gibson Les Paul Special Double Cut. The guitar is offered in a special TV Blue Mist finish with P-90 pickups and Beato's signature on the truss rod cover. This model is one of Gibson's few signature guitar models not associated with an artist or associated with a particular act.

Other contributions

* ''

Welcoming Home the Astronauts ''Welcoming Home the Astronauts'' is the debut album from Flickerstick. It was originally independently released in 2000 on 226 Records, but after the band won VH1's '' Bands on the Run'', a reality television show for unsigned music acts, Flick ...

'' (2001 Sony/Epic) by

Flickerstick Flickerstick is an American alternative rock band from Fort Worth, Texas. Band history Band formation and early years Flickerstick was formed in Fort Worth, Texas, by high school friends Brandin Lea (lead singer, guitarist) and Cory Kreig (gu ...

, was produced in part by Beato- including the songs "Smile", "Got a Feeling", and "Beautiful". * '' Broken People'' by

Muddy Magnolias Muddy Magnolias was a rock band from Nashville, Tennessee, formed by Jessy Wilson and Kallie North in 2014. After their performance at the CMA Music Festival that August, ''Rolling Stone'' deemed them best unsigned duo, describing their performa ...

, was produced in part by Beato. *'' Herbie Fully Loaded'' (2005), producer: "More Than a Feeling" *''

Raising Helen ''Raising Helen'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama film directed by Garry Marshall and written by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler. It stars Kate Hudson, John Corbett, Joan Cusack, Hayden Panettiere, siblings Spencer and Abigail Breslin, and Helen M ...

'' (2004), writer: "Never Be the Same"

YouTube career

A YouTube video of his eldest child, Dylan, who has

perfect pitch Perfect commonly refers to: * Perfection, completeness, excellence * Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages Perfect may also refer to: Film * ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama * ''Perfect'' (2018 film), a science ...

and is able to identify individual notes within complex chords after just one hearing, received three million views, causing Beato to decide to parlay this social-media fame into a full-fledged YouTube channel. , the YouTube channel has 3.2 million subscribers. Beato's channel is under his own name, although he introduces every video with the title "Everything Music". One series in the channel is called ''What Makes This Song Great?'', in which Beato deconstructs and discusses the elements of popular songs. The videos in the series regularly get over one million views. In one video, Beato enlists the help of

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

guitarist

Phil X Theofilos Xenidis (born March 10, 1966), better known as Phil X, is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Since 2013, he has played lead guitar with Bon Jovi and officially replaced former lead guitarist Richie Sambora in 2016. Career Early ...

and

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...

guitarist

Eric Johnson Eric Johnson may refer to: Music *Eric Johnson (guitarist) (born 1954) an American guitarist and recording artist * Eric D. Johnson (born 1976), member of multiple indie-rock bands including Fruit Bats, The Shins and Califone Politics * Eric Joh ...

to reinterpret the guitar solo on

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

's "

Stairway to Heaven "Stairway to Heaven" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant for their untitled fourth studio album (often titled ''Led Zeppelin IV'') ...

". Beato and Phil X play the guitar solo in the styles of

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

and

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded along ...

, respectively, while Johnson plays it in his own style. Several of Beato's YouTube videos, including those about

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

and

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

, were issued take-down notices because of copyright claims. In July 2020, Beato testified about his experiences on YouTube before a

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

reviewing the

Digital Millennium Copyright Act The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a 1998 United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or s ...

and considering limitations and exceptions such as

fair use Fair use is a doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests ...

. Beato has been satirized by fellow YouTuber

Pat Finnerty Pat Finnerty (born 1980) is an American musician and YouTube personality based in Philadelphia. As a singer-guitarist, his projects include Okay Paddy, And the Moneytones, Pat Finnerty and the Full Band, and August is Falling. On social-media ch ...

, most especially by his ''What Makes This Song Stink'' series of videos.

Bibliography

*''The Beato Book – A Creative Approach to Improvisation for Guitar and Other Instruments''.

References

External links

Official website
* *
Discography at AllMusic.comRick Beato ''Everything Music''
YouTube channel
Songview entry
at

Broadcast Music, Inc. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 20.6 milli ...

* and {{DEFAULTSORT:Beato, Rick 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male musicians American male guitarists American music educators American session musicians Ithaca College alumni 1962 births Living people Music YouTubers Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) Musicians from Rochester, New York New England Conservatory alumni Record producers from Georgia (U.S. state) Record producers from New York (state) Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Songwriters from New York (state) American male songwriters American people of Italian descent American YouTubers American male YouTubers