1. William Riser III, better known as Ricky Lawson or Ricky Remo, was an American drummer and composer.
18 Facts About Ricky Lawson
1. 2.
Ricky Lawson would borrow his uncle's drum set and carry it to his house across town via the Detroit bus system.
3.
In high school, Lawson played in his high school jazz band, which consisted of only five members, including the director.
4.
Ricky 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.
5.
Ricky Lawson only spent one year at college, being invited to play drums for Stevie Wonder.
6.
Ricky Lawson played on Whitney's famous hit, "I Will Always Love You".
7.
Ricky Lawson has a one note "solo" in the song, where he hits the toms before Whitney's dramatic vocal finale.
8.
Ricky Lawson said that this was his favorite solo of his career.
9.
Ricky Lawson co-authored the Pointer Sisters' hit "Uh-Uh", and co-produced their album Serious Slammin' and the Fattburger hit "Good News".
10.
Ricky Lawson performed with Phil Collins for his MTV Unplugged session in 1994.
11.
Ricky 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.
12.
Ricky Lawson appeared on Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds' MTV Unplugged live album and DVD in 1997.
13.
Ricky Lawson became disoriented while performing at the Spaghettini jazz club on December 13,2013, in Seal Beach, California.
14.
Ricky Lawson was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and treated at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center.
15.
Ricky Lawson died on December 23,2013, aged 59, when he was removed from life support after ten days.
16.
In one of his final studio recordings, Ricky Lawson appears on 8 of 13 tracks of well-known bassist and Fourplay founding member Nathan East's eponymous album, released in March 2014.
17.
The album dedication In memory of Ricky Lawson appears as the final statement in the liner notes.
18.
In 2008, Ricky 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.