William Riser III (November 8, 1954 – December 23, 2013), better known as Ricky Lawson or Ricky Remo, was an American drummer and composer. A native of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

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, he worked extensively as a

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, collaborating with

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, Earl Klugh, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and other artists. He co-founded the jazz-fusion band Yellowjackets and won the 1987 Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance for "And You Know That" from their album '' Shades''.

Life and career

Lawson started playing drums at the age of sixteen. He would borrow his uncle's drum set and carry it to his house across town via the Detroit bus system. In high school, Lawson played in his high school jazz band, which consisted of only five members, including the director. Lawson played for The Sons of Soul, who performed at the 1969 Michigan State Fair, opening for The Jackson Five along with The Blazer, a band from Cooley High School in Detroit that included La Palabra. Also in high school, he played such sports as water polo and swimming. His swimming talent eventually earned him a scholarship to college. He only spent one year at college, being invited to play drums for Stevie Wonder. In the '80s and '90s, he played drums for Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston. He played on Whitney's famous hit, " I Will Always Love You". Lawson has a one note "solo" in the song, where he hits the toms before Whitney's dramatic vocal finale. He said that this was his favorite solo of his career. In addition to the artists listed above, Lawson collaborated with

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, Russell Ferrante, Toto,

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and ...

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, and

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. He also co-authored

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' hit "Uh-Uh", and co-produced their album '' Serious Slammin''' and the Fattburger hit "Good News". He was the drummer for Michael Jackson's Bad Tour in 1987-1989 and Dangerous Tour in 1992–1993. He was the drummer for Phil Collins' Both Sides tour in 1994-1995 and the Dance into the Light Tour in 1997. He also performed with Phil Collins for his

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session in 1994. Lawson appeared on Steely Dan's '' Two Against Nature'' studio album, as well as their live album and tour DVD, '' Two Against Nature: Steely Dan's Plush TV Jazz-Rock Party''. He also appeared on Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds' ''

'' live album and DVD in 1997. Lawson became disoriented while performing at the Spaghettini jazz club on December 13, 2013, in

Seal Beach, California Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. It was originally known as Bay City before it was incorporated into Orange County under its current on October 24, 1911. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,242 ...

. He was diagnosed with a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a cerebral aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder characterized by a localized dilation or ballooning of a blood vessel in the brain due to a weakness in the vessel wall. These aneurysms can occur in an ...

and treated at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. He died on December 23, 2013, aged 59, when he was removed from

life support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform bas ...

after ten days. In one of his final studio recordings, Lawson appears on 8 of 13 tracks of well-known bassist and Fourplay founding member Nathan East's eponymous album, released in March 2014. The album dedication ''In memory of Ricky Lawson'' appears as the final statement in the liner notes.

Solo album

In 2001, Lawson released the solo album ''Ricky Lawson and Friends'', on which he performed, arranged, produced, and wrote all of the songs in collaboration with leading artists Gerald Albright,

, Sheila E.,

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass guitarist and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts ...

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, Jon Herington, Robben Ford, James Ingram, Boney James,

, Kirk Whalum, Vesta Williams, and others. The album is a blend of R&B, pop, and jazz.

Christmas album

In 2008, Lawson put together a classic Christmas CD, ''Christmas with Friends'', with special guests Ron Reinhardt and Philippe Saisse on acoustic piano, Rick Braun on trumpet, Richard Elliot, Michael Paulo, and Steve Alaniz on sax, Paul Brown, Adam Hawley and Iam Keene on guitar, Lenny Castro on percussion, Roberto Vally and Sekou Bunch on bass.

Discography

With Yellowjackets

*1981: '' Yellowjackets'' *1983: '' Mirage a Trois'' *1985: '' Samurai Samba'' *1986: '' Shades''

As leader

*1997: ''First Things 1st'' *2001: ''Ricky Lawson and Friends'' *2008: ''Christmas with Friends''

As sideman

*1975: '' Mystic Voyage'' ( Roy Ayers Ubiquity) *2000: '' Two Against Nature'' (

) *2014: ''

References

External links

* *
Ricky Lawson on The Steely Dan News Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Ricky 1954 births 2013 deaths American jazz drummers American rhythm and blues drummers Drummers from Detroit Deaths from intracranial aneurysm Jazz musicians from Michigan Yellowjackets (band) members Cooley High School alumni Steely Dan members American male drummers The Brothers Johnson members