keyboardist
A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical ins ...
who records and tours with his own bands as well as with other artists, such as
Bill Kirchen
William Knight Kirchen (born June 29, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a member of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen from 1967 to the mid-1970s and later worked with Nick Lowe. ''Guitar Player'' magazine de ...
,
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...
,
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporate ...
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,Commander Cody, and Loudon Wainwright.
Biography
Early Years
De Lone grew up in suburban
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, taking piano lessons at age 12. His early influences included
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
and
George Shearing
Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 ti ...
. After stints as a student at the
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on ...
,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, and
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, he moved to
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
. While at Harvard, de Lone composed the song "One for One," which was the first single released by
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
Eggs over Easy
Eggs over Easy were an American country rock band, of the early 1970s, who visited London to record an album, and then became a resident band in a London pub, launching what subsequently became known as pub rock.
Formation
Although both haile ...
with Jack O’Hara and Brien Hopkins.
In 1970,
Chas Chandler
Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He ...
persuaded the band to record in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, but those recordings were not released.
A four-night-a-week residency at a pub called the Tally-Ho in
Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the open ...
lasted more than a year. Eggs over Easy played a blend of blues, country, and rock that became known as
pub rock
Pub rock is a rock music genre that was developed in the early to mid-1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement which incorporated roots rock, pub rock was a reaction against the expensively-recorded and produced progressive rock an ...
. Regular attendees of their shows included members of
Brinsley Schwarz
Brinsley Schwarz were a 1970s English pub rock band, named after their guitarist Brinsley Schwarz. With Nick Lowe on bass and vocals, keyboardist Bob Andrews and drummer Billy Rankin, the band evolved from the 1960s pop band Kippington Lod ...
and
BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
disc jockey
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
. In 1972, they returned to California and released their first album ''Good 'N' Cheap'' produced by
Link Wray
Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s.
''Rolling Stone'' placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 ...
Bill Kirchen
William Knight Kirchen (born June 29, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a member of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen from 1967 to the mid-1970s and later worked with Nick Lowe. ''Guitar Player'' magazine de ...
, who had been performing with
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen were an American rock band founded in 1967. The group's leader and co-founder was pianist and vocalist George Frayne IV, alias Commander Cody (born July 19, 1944 in Boise, Idaho, died September 26, 2021 ...
. In the late 70s, de Lone joined Kirchen's side-project band, the Moonlighters. Their 1983 album ''Rush Hour'' was produced by
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...
.
De Lone and Kirchen still record and perform together. In 2016, they released their duet album ''Transatlantica''.
The Christmas Jug Band
De Lone is a member of the Christmas Jug Band, a collection of musicians who have been touring locally each holiday season since 1976, and releasing albums since 1987. The band has included musicians such as Dan Hicks, Tim Eschliman, Jim Rothermel, Lance Dickerson, Brien Hopkins, and
Norton Buffalo
Phillip Jackson (September 28, 1951 – October 30, 2009), best known as Norton Buffalo, was an American singer-songwriter, country and blues harmonica player, record producer, bandleader and recording artist who was a versatile proponent of ...
.
Richard de Lone Special Housing Project
De Lone coordinates an annual fundraiser for eventual construction of the Richard de Lone Special Housing Project, a residential facility for people with Prader-Willi Syndrome, which de Lone's son Richard is afflicted with. As part of the 2007 event, Elvis Costello reunited with
Clover
Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus h ...
, the band who backed him on his first album ''My Aim is True''.
Personal life
De Lone and his wife Lesley live in
Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 census.
Mill Valley is located on the western and ...
. Their daughter Caroline de Lone is a singer, songwriter, and recording artist who has appeared with
Buddy Miller
Steven Paul "Buddy" Miller (born September 6, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Miller is married to and has recorded with singer-songwriter Julie Miller ...
and
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporate ...
Eggs over Easy
Eggs over Easy were an American country rock band, of the early 1970s, who visited London to record an album, and then became a resident band in a London pub, launching what subsequently became known as pub rock.
Formation
Although both haile ...
* 1972, ''Good 'N' Cheap'' ( A&M)
* 1980: ''Fear of Frying'' (Squish)
* 2016: ''Good ‘N’ Cheap: The Eggs Over Easy Story'' 3 LPs / 2 CDs (
Yep Roc
Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Nick Lowe, Pau ...
) compilation
As a member of the Moonlighters
* 1983: ''Rush Hour'' (Demon) reissued by Globe Records in 2006
* 2008: ''The Missing Moonlighters: Live/Studio Closet Tapes'' (Globe)
As a member of the Christmas Jug Band
* 1988: ''Mistletoe Jam'' (
Relix
''Relix'', originally and occasionally later ''Dead Relix'', is a magazine that focuses on live and improvisational music. The magazine was launched in 1974 as a handmade newsletter devoted to connecting people who recorded Grateful Dead concert ...
)
* 1991: ''Tree-Side Hoot'' (Globe)
* 1997: ''Rhythm On The Roof'' (Globe)
* 2002: ''Uncorked'' (Globe)
* 2009: ''On the Holiday Highway'' (Globe)
As composer
* 1971: Grootna - ''Grootna'' (
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
) - track 1, "I'm Funky" (co-written with Jack O'Hara and Al Silverman); track 3, "Going To Canada" (co-written with David Henry and Al Silverman); track 4, "Waitin' for My Ship" (co-written with Al Silverman); track 9, "Your Grandmother Loves You" / "I She It" (co-written with David Henry)
* 1973: James Montgomery Band - ''First Time Out'' ( Capricorn) - track 2, "I'm Funky but I'm Clean" (co-written with Jack O'Hara and Peter Bell)
As primary artist/song contributor
* 2016: various artists - ''Christmas on the Lam and Other Songs from the Season'' (Red House) - track 2, "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin'" (with Bill Kirchen)
As producer
* 1988:
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen were an American rock band founded in 1967. The group's leader and co-founder was pianist and vocalist George Frayne IV, alias Commander Cody (born July 19, 1944 in Boise, Idaho, died September 26, 2021 ...
- ''Sleazy Roadside Stories'' (Relix)
* 1990: Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen - ''Aces High'' (Relix)
Also appears on
* 1975:
Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...
Jesse Barish
Jesse Barish is a musician and composer, most notable for writing the song " Count On Me" for Jefferson Starship; and several songs for Marty Balin, the former lead vocalist of Jefferson Starship including: " Hearts", " Atlanta Lady (Something Abo ...
- ''Jesse Barish'' (
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ar ...
Blind Pig
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies.
Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...
)
* 1989:
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 ...
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,Party of One'' (
Reprise
In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...
Jesse Colin Young
Perry Miller (born November 22, 1941), known professionally as Jesse Colin Young, is an American singer and songwriter. He was a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s group the Youngbloods. After their dissolution in 1972, Young embarked ...
- ''Makin' It Real'' (Ridgetop)
* 1994: Boz Scaggs - ''
Some Change
''Some Change'' is an album by the American musician Boz Scaggs, released in 1994.
Critical reception
''Entertainment Weekly'' deemed the album "a competent snooze for closet New Age fans."
AllMusic's retrospective review called ''Some Change'' ...
'' (
Virgin
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
)
* 1995:
Tommy Castro
Tommy Castro (born April 15, 1955, San Jose, California, United States) is an American blues, R&B, and rock guitarist and singer. He has been recording since the mid-1990s. His music has taken him from local stages to national and internatio ...
- ''Exception to the Rule'' (Blind Pig)
* 1996:
Bill Kirchen
William Knight Kirchen (born June 29, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a member of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen from 1967 to the mid-1970s and later worked with Nick Lowe. ''Guitar Player'' magazine de ...
- ''Have Love, Will Travel'' ( Black Top)
* 1999: Bill Kirchen - ''Raise a Ruckus'' ( HighTone)
* 2006:
Sammy Hagar
Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo ca ...
Rhino
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...
/ Cabo Wabo)
* 2006: Bill Kirchen - ''Hammer of the Honky Tonk Gods'' ( Proper)
* 2013: Liz Kennedy - ''Speed Bump'' (Clean White Shirt)
* 2015: Mighty Mike Schermer - ''Blues in Good Hands'' (Vizztone)