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.

In 2004 Rod recorded his first solo album, "MORE THAN THE BLUES". Next came the "PANAMA CITY BLUES" CD in 2008, followed by "CHEMICAL INTERACTION" in 2009. This is timeless classic material, the music Rod comes from and loves the most.

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