Rick Shea (born September 22, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who lives in Southern California. His career spans four decades and in that time he has worked as a solo artist and with bands such as Chris Gaffney and The Cold Hard Facts and Dave Alvin's Guilty Men. Additionally, Shea fronts his own band, the Losin' End. His influences are many and include the hardcore honky of Hank Williams as well as a myriad of American artists and international folk musicians. Eclectic in his stance, his live shows entice audiences across the United States and Europe. He has released ten albums and continues to write, record and produce both his own music and that of other artists.

Early life

Shea was born in

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

to a military family and lived in several eastern states before moving to

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

at age eleven. As a teenager, he began playing in local coffeehouses and before long, many of the country bars and

honky-tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano (tack piano) ...

s in the area.

Musical career

Shea draws inspiration from the folk, country, blues, and rock genres and has been compared to

Tom Russell Thomas George Russell (born 1947/1948) is an American singer-songwriter. Although most strongly identified with the Americana music tradition, his music also incorporates elements of folk, rock, and the cowboy music of the American West. Many ...

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and Chuck Pyle among others. As a solo artist, he has played at The Strawberry Festival in

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

, California, The Canmore Folk Festival in Alberta Canada, The Honolulu Academy of Arts in Hawaii, and is a regular on the "Roots on the Rails" series of concerts along with his partner in crime,

Dave Alvin David Albert Alvin (born November 11, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is a former and founding member of the roots rock band the Blasters. Alvin has recorded and performed as a solo artist since the late 1980s a ...

, as well as many other Folk and Americana venues and festivals. In 1992, Shea was included in the ''Town South of Bakersfield'' series of albums that featured

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album '' Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerab ...

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayle Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums: '' Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and '' Happy Woman Blues'' (1980), in a traditional country and blues style ...

, and

Rosie Flores Rosie Flores (born September 10, 1950) is an American rockabilly and country music artist. Her music blends rockabilly, honky tonk, jazz, and Western swing along with traditional influences from her Tex-Mex heritage. She currently resides in Au ...

among others. Later, in 2001, Shea collaborated with fiddler Brantley Kearns on an album of original and cover songs called ''Trouble and Me''. Shea arranged and co-produced the album with

. In 2003, Shea worked with country singer Patty Booker on an album of country duets called ''Our Shangri LA''. The album featured original and cover songs by

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

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, Lee Hazlewood and others. Shea has played with Dave Alvin on his Grammy Award-winning album ''Public Domain'' and with

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative ...

for the soundtrack to '' Man On the Moon''. Shea has worked as a producer on his own albums and plays acoustic, electric, and steel guitar, and mandolin. He is revered as a master Telecaster player, and performs regularly in Southern California with his group, consisting of sidemen David Hallgrimson on bass, noted percussionist Steve Mugalian., and session whiz Stephen Patt. Besides his own albums, Shea has also produced albums for The Good Intentions from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and Chris Richards from

Sheboygan, Wisconsin Sheboygan () is a city in and the county seat of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populatio ...

Discography

* ''Outside of Nashville'' (1989) * ''A Town South of Bakersfield'' (1992) * ''The Buffalo Show'' (1993) * ''Shaky Ground'' (1998) * ''Sawbones'' (1999) * ''Trouble and Me'' (2001) * ''Our Shangri LA'' (2003) * ''Bound for Trouble'' (2005) * ''Shelter Valley Blues'' (2009) * ''Sweet Bernardine'' (2013) * ''The Town Where I Live'' (2017) * ''Love & Desperation'' (2020)

References

External links

* *http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rick-shea-mn0000300072 *http://www.canmorefolkfestival.com/Assts/CopyDocuments/PerformersArchive-1978-2010.pdf *http://archives.starbulletin.com/2007/10/26/features/story06.html *http://www.dabelly.com/columns/lint72.htm *Workingman's Blues by Gerald W. Haslam. University of California Pres

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shea, Rick Writers from Annapolis, Maryland 1953 births American male singer-songwriters Living people