Rod Richards' name first became recognized beyond the confines of Detroit, Michigan, when he reached the ripe old age of 15. He worked with many established Stars in the music world, such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Del Shannon, Chuck Berry and toured with one of the biggest groups of the early sixties, Johnny & the Hurricanes where he was featured on Lead Guitar.

His innate talent as lead guitarist, composer, and vocalist, put him historically onto the rock music map when the highly successful band, RARE EARTH, was formed. As lead guitarist, Rod wowed even the most discriminating of fans. Eventually, RARE EARTH succeeded in becoming the first Caucasian group to be signed by Motown Records, quite a coup by anyone’s standards! Some of their most memorable performances occurred at Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Hall, The Atlanta Pop Festival, as well as major arenas in 47 of the 50 States.

GET READY was a multi-platinum mega-hit, along with several others that followed. Timeless, many of them became huge best sellers that continue to be purchased, heard, and universally enjoyed. To date Rod has sold over 25,000,000 records! Following his departure from RARE EARTH, he traveled to England, forming the power-trio, ROAD. Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer, Noel Redding, former bass player with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, rounded out the group along side drummer, Les Sampson. This association of three superior musicians resulted in the popular disc, ROAD, a major selling album in Europe.

During Rod’s subsequent hiatus from the high profile music scene he developed a deep interest in the Blues, never abandoning his guitar or creativity. In 2004 he recorded his first solo album, MORE THAN THE BLUES. Beginning in 2005 Rod has made Panama City, Panama, his new home. Bonding with it’s people and skyrocketing Panamanian musical talents, Rod became inspired to also create songs that celebrate the magic of a country destined to rock the world and gain the international respect it so deserves. There are two songs celebrating Panama on the 2008 release of PANAMA CITY BLUES and two more on the current release, CHEMICAL INTERACTION. This is timeless Classic Rock material, the music Rod comes from and loves the most.

Patra Kastanopolous   (Author, Lyricist, Music Lover, and Major Fan)