Randy Oda is a composer and musician who performed with

Tom Fogerty Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist for Creedence Clearwater Revival. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Biography ...

and the band

Ruby Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...

, recording the albums ''

'', '' Rock & Roll Madness'' and ''

Sidekicks A sidekick is a close companion or colleague who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to those whom they accompany. Origins The first recorded use of the term dates from 1896. It is believed to have originated in pickpocket slang of ...

''. He composed the 1982 hit song, " Think I'm in Love", which

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

also used on an exercise video. His "BART" instrumental was used by

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

School Music during intervals. His latest band is 'OPO.

Personal life and education

Randall Keith Oda was born in 1953 in

Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and List ...

. He attended Kennedy High School in

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a Richmond, California, City Council, city council.

. Oda married Michelle Jean Nugent in 1985, and their son Daniel Thomas Oda was born in 1990. In 2017 he married Theresa Michele Barranco.

Career

Beginning in late 1971, Randy Oda, his brother Kevin Oda, Art Pantoja, and Kyle Schneider formed the band "Oda", producing two albums on the Loud Phonograph Albums label. A local

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

band, they played gigs in Berkeley. They also played a reunion benefit at Concord in 2015. In the early 1970s, Oda joined

in the band Ruby, with Oda on guitar, Anthony Davis on bass, and Bobby Cochran on drums. Reviewer Phillip Elwood of the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and has been published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst and the flagship of the He ...

'' wrote, "...when Randy Oda, nominally the band's solo guitar, gets into an extended theme the band backs him with all the flair of a seasoned jazz-blues-rock orchestra." A 1978

Santa Cruz Sentinel The ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'' is a daily newspaper published in Santa Cruz, California, covering Santa Cruz County, California, and owned by Media News Group, which is controlled by Alden Global Capital. History The paper was owned by the McP ...

review of Ruby said Oda was: Oda's "BART" instrumental was used by the

during school intervals in the 1970s and 1980s. Ruby released two studio albums, ''

'' in 1976 and '' Rock & Roll Madness'' in 1978, and then disbanded. They released ''

Precious Gems A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. Certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, and ...

'', a compilation album, in 1984. Oda and Fogerty's ''

was'' released in 1992 after Fogerty died, with Oda's credits on the album listed as "Arranger, Composer, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Primary Artist, Producer". Oda composed the 1982 single, " Think I'm in Love", recorded by Eddie Money, which reached #1 on the ''Billboard''

Top Tracks Classic Vinyl is a Sirius XM Radio channel focusing on classic rock music mostly from the late-1960s to the mid-1970s, with the channel's name meant to indicate that it consists of music that first appeared on vinyl records. This encompasses mus ...

chart. It appeared on Money's 1983 album, '' No Control'', as well as '' Arnold Schwarzenegger's Total Body Workout'' video, and multiple compilation albums. Oda joined his brother Kevin Oda on drums and Michael Politeau (bass) in the band 'OPO, an acronym for its members (Oda, Politeau, Oda), which also means "to lay a foundation" in Hawaiian. 'OPO produced the album ''Getaway'' in 2011.

References

External links

'OPO band website
* (video, 5:00 minutes) * (audio, 6:25 minutes) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oda, Randy year of birth unknown 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American musicians 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American musicians American male guitarists American musicians of Japanese descent American rock guitarists Guitarists from California People from Richmond, California Rhythm guitarists Living people 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians John F. Kennedy High School (Richmond, California) alumni