Ricardo Jorge Mollo (born August 17, 1957) is an Argentine musician, producer, singer and composer. Mollo is best known as the guitarist for

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

from 1984 until the band's dissolution after Luca Prodan's death in 1987 and, shortly thereafter, a co-founder of Divididos. His work and guitar skills has been considered highly influential in the development of Argentinian rock during the 1970s and 1980s.

Early life

Ricardo Jorge Mollo was born in the

Pergamino Pergamino () is an Argentine city in the Buenos Aires Province, Province of Buenos Aires. It has a population of about 104,985 inhabitants as per the and is the administrative seat of its county, Pergamino Partido. Its UN/LOCODE is ARPGO. Histor ...

neighbourhood of

Buenos Aires, Argentina Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

on 17 August 1957, but moved to El Palomar early in his life. He is the younger brother of Omar Mollo, who would be later on a co-founder of the Argentine hard rock band MAM, and taught Mollo his first chords when they lived in El Palomar. Mollo's passion for the guitar first started when a friend, at the age of thirteen, introduced him to the works of

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

. Mollo was enchanted by his music and would later try to follow his musical style. Mollo said in an interview, "It's impressive how he played the guitar without the effects that exist today."

Career

Mollo came to receive international recognition in the 1980s as the guitarist of

, with whom he released four studio albums until 1987. After Sumo dissolved, with fellow-bandmate bassist Diego Arnedo, Mollo formed the band Divididos. Mollo is known for his virtuosity on the guitar, and particularly for his version of " Voodoo Child" by Jimi Hendrix, which he has played on his guitar using his teeth or objects thrown by the public including

carrots The carrot (''Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the Daucus ...

slipper Slippers are a type of shoes falling under the broader category of light footwear, that are easy to put on and off and are intended to be worn indoors, particularly at home. They provide comfort and protection for the feet when walking indoors. ...

sandals Sandals are an open type of shoe, consisting of a Sole (shoe), sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear ...

tennis balls A tennis ball is a small, hollow ball used in games of tennis and real tennis. Tennis balls are fluorescent yellow in professional competitions, but in recreational play other colors are also used. Tennis balls are covered in a fibrous felt, w ...

, or canes for the blind. Besides his work as a musician, he is a producer and has collaborated with several Latin American artists including Cuca, León Gieco,

Charly García Carlos Alberto García Moreno (born October 23, 1951), better known by his stage name Charly García, is an Argentine singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer and record producer, considered one of the most important rock musicians in ...

Gustavo Cerati Gustavo Adrián Cerati Clarke (11 August 1959 – 4 September 2014) was an Argentine musician and singer-songwriter who gained international recognition for being the leader, vocalist, composer, and guitarist of the rock band Soda Stereo. He is ...

, Los Piojos, Las Pelotas,

La Renga La Renga is an Argentine hard rock band, formed in 1988. They had moderate success with the albums ''A Dónde Me Lleva La Vida'' and ''Bailando en una pata'', between 1993 and 1995, but it was the release of Despedazado por Mil Partes, in 1996, ...

, and

Luis Alberto Spinetta Luis Alberto Spinetta (23 January 1950 – 8 February 2012), nicknamed "El Flaco" (Spanish for "skinny"), was an Argentine singer, guitarist, composer, writer and poet. One of the most influential rock musicians of Argentina, he is widely reg ...

.Music albums, produced by Ricardo Mollo
Retrieved December 7, 2015

Personal life

He was in a relationship with the singer Érica García between 1989 and 1999. In 2002, he married Uruguayan actress

Natalia Oreiro Natalia Marisa Oreiro Iglesias (; born 19 May 1977) is a Uruguayan actress, singer, songwriter, model, television presenter and fashion designer. She began her career in telenovelas but since 2008 she has switched to work primarily in films. O ...

, with whom he had a son in 2012.

Discography

Sumo

* ''Divididos por la Felicidad'' (1985) * ''Llegando los Monos'' (1986) * ''After Chabón'' (1987)

Divididos

* ''40 dibujos ahí en el piso'' (1989) * ''Acariciando lo áspero'' (1991) * '' La era de la boludez'' (1993) * ''Otro le travaladna'' (1995) * ''Divididos'' (1996) * ''Gol de mujer'' (1998) * ''10'' (1999) * ''Narigón del siglo'' (2000) * ''Viveza criolla'' (2000) * ''Vengo del placard de otro'' (2002) * ''Vivo Acá'' (2003) * ''Amapola del 66'' (2010) * ''Audio y agua'' (2011)

References

External links

Interview with Ricardo Mollo
(in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mollo, Ricardo 1957 births 20th-century Argentine male singers Argentine rock singers Living people Musicians from Buenos Aires Rock en español musicians Singers from Buenos Aires 21st-century Argentine male singers Argentine male guitarists Argentine male singer-songwriters Argentine singer-songwriters Argentine people of Italian descent