1. Ricky Byrd was born on Richard Scott Bird; October 20,1956 and is a rock and roll guitar player, singer, songwriter and producer.
19 Facts About Ricky Byrd
1. 2.
Ricky Byrd spent over a decade as a member of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, where he contributed music and background vocals to two platinum albums, I Love Rock 'n Roll and Up Your Alley, the gold certified Album, and four others for the band.
3.
In recovery for over thirty years, Ricky Byrd performs at benefit shows to raise awareness and money for drug and alcohol treatment facilities, and is a certified recovery coach and drug and alcohol counselor.
4.
Ricky Byrd coined the phrase, "Recovery Troubadour", as he leads recovery music groups at treatment facilities around the United States.
5.
Byrd grew up in the Bronx borough of New York City, but his family moved to Flushing, Queens when he was around age seven and he grew up in the shadow of Flushing High School, where Ricky eventually attended and graduated from.
6.
Ricky Byrd began playing guitar after seeing the Rolling Stones and The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.
7.
At 21 in 1977, Ricky Byrd joined the Power pop band called Susan,.
8.
Ricky Byrd was a Blackheart with Joan Jett from 1981 to 1991, recording guitar, vocals and co-writing various songs for the followup platinum-selling Album in 1983, Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth in 1984, Good Music in 1986, the platinum-certified Up Your Alley in 1988, The Hit List and Notorious in 1991.
9.
When he left the Blackhearts, Ricky Byrd signed a deal with Sony Music Publishing.
10.
In 1999, Ricky Byrd released his debut solo album, Tough Room.
11.
Ricky Byrd released the record on his own label, Kayos Records.
12.
Now sober from drugs and alcohol, Ricky Byrd began performing at recovery-related fundraisers at treatment centers after the Del Fuegos' Woody Geissmann invited him to play at Right Turn, a Boston treatment facility he founded.
13.
Ricky Byrd performed "Broken is a Place" live at these recovery-type of shows.
14.
When Ricky Byrd was 30 years clean and sober, in October 2015, he released his third solo album, Clean Getaway, 12 songs focusing on the struggles of drug addiction and the positive side of recovery that he wrote or co-wrote with Richie Supa and Mark Hudson.
15.
In February 2023, Ricky Byrd released "Glamdemic Blues" as a digital and 7-inch single.
16.
Ricky Byrd became a certified recovery coach and a drug and alcohol counselor in 2018, and leads recovery music groups at drug treatment facilities.
17.
That year, Ricky Byrd joined Michael Des Barres, Liberty DeVitto and Paul Ill at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland for a talk and performance of songs about addiction and recovery.
18.
At the Fourth Annual Gala of the Rockit Live Foundation in August 2019, Ricky Byrd was honored for his work with young artists, in music education, and recovery.
19.
Ricky Byrd performed live for the event that benefit the Rockit Live Foundation Scholarship Fund.