Lita Rossana Ford was born on 19 September 1958 and is an English-born guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter.
28 Facts About Lita Ford
2.
Lita Ford was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, and then embarked on a successful glam metal solo career that hit its peak in the late 1980s.
3.
Lita Ford was born to Harry Lenard Lita Ford and Isabella Benvenuto in London, England; her father was British and her mother was Italian.
4.
In 1975, at age sixteen, Lita Ford was recruited by recording impresario Kim Fowley to join the all-female rock band The Runaways.
5.
Lita Ford's lead-guitar playing became an integral element of the band's sound until their eventual break-up in April 1979.
6.
In 1982, Lita Ford signed with Mercury Records and set about launching a solo career.
7.
Lita Ford's debut solo album, Out for Blood, released in 1983, was a commercial disappointment.
8.
Lita Ford said in an interview that she recorded an unreleased album with RCA Records, and Tony Iommi did not perform on it.
9.
Lita Ford signed with RCA Records, hired Sharon Osbourne Management, and re-emerged with a more radio-friendly pop-metal sound.
10.
In May 2011, Lita Ford promised to release a "real comeback album" later in the year with drummer Chuck Spradlin, saying that 2009's nu metal-inspired Wicked Wonderland was too much of a collaborative project with ex-husband Jim Gillette.
11.
The title is celebratory, as Lita Ford had recently settled differences with her former Runaways' bandmates.
12.
In 2016, Lita Ford released Time Capsule, a collection of songs she discovered on old analogue tapes from the 1980s, featuring recordings she had made with Billy Sheehan, Gene Simmons, Bruce Kulick, Robin Zander, Rick Nielsen, Dave Navarro, Rodger Carter, and Jeff Scott Soto.
13.
Lita Ford claimed that Gillette turned the couple's children against her by insinuating that she was going to do harm to them, after she had assumed a greater level of control in the proposed series.
14.
Lita Ford subsequently claimed that Gillette began encouraging her sons to physically attack her, a situation which prompted her to seek a divorce.
15.
In 2016, Lita Ford published her autobiography, Living Like a Runaway: A Memoir, through Dey Street Books.
16.
Lita Ford wrote that she found it "strange" that they never spoke about boys with her and were "always giggling about other girls".
17.
Lita Ford was asked by VH-1 to join the cast of the seventh season of the reality television program The Surreal Life in 2007, to which she declined.
18.
Lita Ford contributed her likeness and voice to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC video game Brutal Legend.
19.
Lita Ford appears as the character Rima, alongside Jack Black, Tim Curry, Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Halford, and Lemmy Kilmister.
20.
Lita Ford was portrayed by actress Scout Taylor-Compton in the movie, entitled The Runaways.
21.
Lita Ford is featured extensively in the 2005 documentary film Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways, in which she spoke candidly about her time in the all-female band.
22.
In 2013, Lita Ford reunited with former Runaways bandmate Cherie Currie to record a Christmas single.
23.
The single tied into work Currie and Lita Ford both have done on behalf of Toys for Tots, a charity run by the US Marine Corps, which gives holiday toys to children of need.
24.
In 2014, Lita Ford narrated The Life, Blood, and Rhythm of Randy Castillo.
25.
Lita Ford competed on the reality cooking show Chopped in hopes of raising $10,000 for her charity.
26.
Lita Ford made it through the first round, but was eliminated in the second round.
27.
Lita Ford released her autobiography Living Like a Runaway in June 2016.
28.
In 2018, Ford and Jim Cara started Lita Ford Guitars, creating guitars and experiences for fans and players.