Lita Ford | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Lita Rossana Ford |
Born | London, England [1] | September 19, 1958
Origin | Long Beach, California, U.S. |
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Formerly of | The Runaways |
Website | litafordonline |
Lita Rossana Ford (born September 19, 1958) [7] [8] is a British-American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She 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. The 1989 single "Close My Eyes Forever", a duet with Ozzy Osbourne, remains Ford's most successful song, reaching No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100. [9]
Ford was born to Harry Lenard Ford and Isabella Benvenuto in London, England; her father was British and her mother was Italian. [10] When she was in second grade, she moved with her family to the United States, eventually settling in Long Beach, California. [11] [12]
Inspired by Ritchie Blackmore's work with Deep Purple, she began playing the guitar at the age of 11. Her vocal range is mezzo-soprano. [13]
In 1975, at age sixteen, Ford was recruited by recording impresario Kim Fowley to join the all-female rock band The Runaways. The band soon secured a recording contract and released their first album in 1976. The band garnered significant media attention and the Runaways became a successful recording and touring act during their late-1970s heyday. Ford's lead-guitar playing became an integral element of the band's sound until their eventual break-up in April 1979. [14]
In 2016, Ford published her autobiography, Living Like a Runaway: A Memoir, through Dey Street Books. In the book, Ford claimed that she left The Runaways temporarily in 1976, after coming to the conclusion that her bandmates "were all into girls. All of them except for Jackie [Fox]', a situation she didn't feel comfortable with. [15]
In 1977, internal conflicts were erupting within the Runaways, who had by that time already parted ways with producer Fowley, lead singer Cherie Currie, and bassist Jackie Fox. Vocalist/guitarist Joan Jett wanted the band to shift to a more Ramones-influenced punk rock sound, while Ford and drummer Sandy West wanted to continue playing the hard rock-oriented songs the band had become known for. [16] With neither faction willing to compromise, the band finally broke up in April 1979. [16]
In 1982, Ford signed with Mercury Records and set about launching a solo career. Her debut solo album, Out for Blood , released in 1983, was a commercial disappointment. Her next release, Dancin' on the Edge (1984) achieved moderate success, and Ford's popularity began to rise. Dancin' on the Edge included the single "Fire in My Heart", which reached the Top 10 in several countries outside the United States. The follow-up single, "Gotta Let Go", performed better. Ford said in an interview that she recorded an unreleased album with RCA Records, and Tony Iommi did not perform on it. [11]
Ford signed with RCA Records, hired Sharon Osbourne Management, and re-emerged with a more radio-friendly pop-metal sound. In 1988, she released her most commercially successful album, Lita . The album featured several singles including "Kiss Me Deadly", "Back to the Cave", "Close My Eyes Forever", and "Falling in and Out of Love", a song co-written by Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe. The ballad "Close My Eyes Forever", a duet with Ozzy Osbourne, remains her most successful song, reaching No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100. [9] Ford followed up the success of Lita with the album Stiletto (1990). Stiletto featured the singles "Hungry" and "Lisa" (a song dedicated to her mother). However, the album failed to match the success of her previous release. Ford's next release was Dangerous Curves (1991), which featured her last charting single to date, "Shot of Poison". Ford's final album prior to a lengthy recording hiatus was Black on the German ZYX Records.[ citation needed ]
By the mid-1990s, Ford had turned her attention towards raising her two young sons, causing her music career to become less of a priority. Following the release of Black in 1995, Ford did not release new material until Wicked Wonderland in 2009.
In June 2008, Ford re-emerged with a new band with Stet Howland (W.A.S.P.) on drums, playing several warm-up gigs under the moniker Kiss Me Deadly prior to Rocklahoma in Pryor, Oklahoma. [17] In June 2009, she toured the United States and Europe with a new line-up on her last fourteen shows, consisting of former Guns N' Roses guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, drummer Dennis Leeflang, and Deepfield bassist PJ Farley. [18] [19]
After a long recording hiatus, Ford released Wicked Wonderland on 6 October 2009, on the JLRG Entertainment label. [20] In an interview with ExclusiveMagazine.com, Ford spoke about her new material: "I just wanted to kick ass! I don't know what's popular, or the flavor of the day. I just wanted the music to rock! The lyrics are very personal and that's it. I wasn't going to come out in sandals with hairy armpits!" [21]
In May 2011, 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. "A lot of people have told me that they want a real Lita Ford album, and I know what they mean. They are going to get it", she was quoted as saying at the time. [22]
Living Like a Runaway was released in June 2012 on SPV/Steamhammer Records. True to her word, the album was much more in line with her earlier work. The title is also celebratory, as Ford had recently settled differences with her former Runaways' bandmates. [23] During 2014, she was bestowed with The Certified Legend Award by Guitar Player. [24]
In November 2014, Heaven Below guitarist Patrick Kennison joined Ford's band. [25]
In 2016, 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. [26]
In the mid-1980s, Ford was briefly engaged to guitarist Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath. [27] Iommi co-produced her album The Bride Wore Black, which was never released. Ford said in a 1989 interview with Kerrang! that "there's a certain amount of bad blood between Tony and I". She claimed in her autobiography that Iommi physically abused her throughout the relationship. [28]
Ford was married to W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes in the early 1990s for a short time. After the couple divorced, Ford met former Nitro vocalist Jim Gillette in 1994; the couple were married after knowing each other for only two weeks. They have two sons, James and Rocco. The family moved to Turks and Caicos, where Gillette operated a small construction and real estate development business. [29]
The marriage to Gillette began to crumble after he entered into negotiations with TLC for a reality TV show, tentatively titled The Gillettes: An Extreme American Family. In a March 2011 interview on the Classic Rock Revisited website, Ford claimed that she had taken a business trip to Los Angeles to discuss the show with TLC executives, and returned home to find her husband and sons not speaking to her. [30] Ford also 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. [31] She subsequently claimed that Gillette began encouraging her sons to physically attack her, a situation which prompted her to seek a divorce. [32] In a February 2011 radio interview, Ford acknowledged that her marriage to Gillette was indeed over, [33] ending any plans for a television series. Following the end of her relationship with Gillette, Ford became an advocate for the awareness of parental alienation.
During her solo career, Ford endorsed musical instrument manufacturer B.C. Rich and exclusively used several of the brand's guitars, most notably the Warlock. The 1992 TV series Howie , starring Howie Mandel, saw Ford as a regular guitarist for the house band. Ford also had a small role in the 1992 horror/comedy film Highway to Hell , playing a character called "The Hitchhiker", and played herself in a 1993 episode of Fox comedy television series Herman's Head. [34] Ford was also 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. [35] Ford contributed her likeness and voice to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC video game Brütal Legend . She appears as the character Rima, alongside Jack Black, Tim Curry, Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Halford, and Lemmy Kilmister. Her song "Betrayal" is also one of the 100+ songs that appear in the game.
In 2010, a major Hollywood motion picture chronicling the career of Ford's first band, The Runaways, was produced. Ford was portrayed by actress Scout Taylor-Compton in the movie, entitled The Runaways . 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. Among other things, she alludes to verbal and sexual abuse endured by the band members at the hands of their management, specifically Kim Fowley.[ citation needed ]
In 2013, Ford reunited with former Runaways bandmate Cherie Currie to record a Christmas single. [36] The single tied into work Currie and 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. [37]
Ford appeared on the May/June 2013 cover of Making Music Magazine to discuss her life and career. [38]
In 2014, Ford narrated The Life, Blood, and Rhythm of Randy Castillo . [39]
Ford competed on the reality cooking show Chopped in hopes of raising $10,000 for her charity. [40] Ford made it through the first round, but was eliminated in the second round.
Ford released her autobiography Living Like a Runaway in June 2016. [41]
In 2018, Ford and Jim Cara started Lita Ford Guitars, creating guitars and experiences for fans and players. [42]
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
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1978 | Rock 'N Roll Sports Classic | Herself | |
1991 | Highway to Hell | The Hitchhiker | |
1992 | Howie | Herself | |
1993 | Herman's Head | Herself | |
2005 | Edgeplay | Herself | |
2011 | Big Time Rush | Herself | |
2016 | Indeed commercial | Herself/Music Teacher | commercial |
Year | Game | Role | Notes |
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2009 | Brütal Legend | Rima |
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English musician and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adopted the nickname "Prince of Darkness".
The Runaways were an American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. Formed in 1975 in Los Angeles, the band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are "Cherry Bomb", "Hollywood", "Queens of Noise" and a cover version of the Velvet Underground's "Rock & Roll". Never a major success in the United States, the Runaways became a sensation overseas, especially in Japan, thanks to the single "Cherry Bomb".
Joan Jett is an American rock musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for founding and performing with the Runaways, who recorded and released the hit song "Cherry Bomb". With the Blackhearts, Jett is known for her rendition of the song "I Love Rock 'n Roll" which was the number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks in 1982. Jett's other notable songs include "Bad Reputation", "Light of Day", "I Hate Myself for Loving You" and her covers of "Crimson and Clover", "Do You Wanna Touch Me " and "Dirty Deeds".
Cherie Ann Currie is an American singer, musician, actress, and artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of the Runaways, a rock band from Los Angeles, in the mid-to-late 1970s. She later became a solo artist. Currie and her identical twin sister, Marie Currie, released the album Messin' with the Boys in 1980 as Cherie & Marie Currie. Their duet "Since You Been Gone" reached number 95 on US charts. She is also known for her role in the 1980 film Foxes.
Anthony Frank Iommi Jr. is an English musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader, primary composer, and sole continuous member for over five decades. He is considered one of the pioneers of heavy metal music and is responsible for inspiring numerous subgenres of metal, most notably doom metal. Iommi was ranked number 13 on Rolling Stone's 2023 list of the “250 Greatest Guitarists of all Time.
Kim Vincent Fowley was an American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed the Runaways in the 1970s. He has been described as "one of the most colorful characters in the annals of rock & roll", as well as "a shadowy cult figure well outside the margins of the mainstream".
William Thomas Ward is an English musician. He was a co-founder and the original drummer for the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Ward helped found Black Sabbath in 1968 alongside bandmates Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi (guitarist), and Geezer Butler (bass).
Dancin' on the Edge is second solo studio album by English/American rock musician Lita Ford. It was her final release with Mercury Records, as she departed to sign with RCA Records in 1987. The album was a moderate commercial success, reaching No. 66 of the US Billboard 200 chart. The album was also nominated for a Grammy Award in category of Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
Stet Howland is an American drummer, best known as former drummer of W.A.S.P. and the current drummer of Metal Church.
Queens of Noise is the second studio album by the American rock band the Runaways, released on January 7, 1977, through Mercury Records.
The Runaways is the debut studio album by American rock band the Runaways, was released on March 16, 1976, through Mercury Records.
Waitin' for the Night is the third studio album by American all-female rock band the Runaways. It was originally released on 7 October 1977, on the Mercury label. This is the first album to feature the band as a quartet, as rhythm guitarist Joan Jett took over lead vocals in the wake of the departure of Cherie Currie for a solo career and Vicki Blue replaced Jackie Fox on bass. Though it failed to chart in the US, it was successful in Europe. The album entered at No. 34 on the Swedish Albums Chart, and the lead single 'School Days' peaked at No. 29 in Belgium.
Sandra Sue Pesavento, known professionally as Sandy West was an American singer, drummer and songwriter. She was one of the founding members of The Runaways, the first teenage all-girl hard rock band to record and achieve widespread commercial success in the 1970s.
Jacqueline Louise Fuchs is an American former musician. Under her stage name Jackie Fox, she played bass guitar for the pioneering all-girl teenage rock band The Runaways. She is the sister of screenwriter Carol Fuchs and sister-in-law of Castle Rock Entertainment co-founder Martin Shafer.
Victory Tischler-Blue is an American film producer, director, writer, musician and photographer. She was born and raised in Newport Beach, California. Tischler-Blue began working in the entertainment industry at age 17, using the name Vicki Blue as the bassist in the American all-girl teenage rock band The Runaways. After the demise of the band, she was cast as Cindy by director Rob Reiner in This Is Spinal Tap. Her film Edgeplay was based on her tenure in The Runaways.
Flaming Schoolgirls is an album by the rock band the Runaways. It was released in 1980, a year after the band had broken up as Kim Fowley believed he would make money due to the fact that Cherie Currie was starring in the film Foxes. A compilation of previously unreleased recordings, the album consists of one alternate version and three unreleased tracks from the sessions for the 1977 album Queens of Noise, five live tracks left over and a studio recording of a song from the 1977 album Live in Japan, and two Cherie Currie demo recordings. The album was not released in the U.S.
The Runaways is a 2010 American biographical drama film about the 1970s rock band of the same name written and directed by Floria Sigismondi in her screenwriting and feature directional debut. It is based on the book Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway by the band's lead vocalist Cherie Currie. The film stars Dakota Fanning as Currie, Kristen Stewart as rhythm guitarist and vocalist Joan Jett, and Michael Shannon as record producer Kim Fowley. The Runaways depicts the formation of the band in 1975 and focuses on the relationship between Currie and Jett until Currie's departure from the band. The film grossed around $4.6 million worldwide and received generally favorable reviews from critics.
"Cherry Bomb" is the debut single by the all-female band The Runaways from their self-titled debut album, released on March 16, 1976 through Mercury Records. "Cherry Bomb" was ranked 52nd on VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs and peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.
Living Like a Runaway is the eighth solo studio album from American rock-musician Lita Ford, released in June 2012. This is the first album of Ford's to be released on SPV/Steamhammer Records. "SPV gets who I am, my work, and what it takes to bring this project to life. I'm very excited to have them on my team," says Ford.
Reverie is the third full-length studio album by Cherie Currie. Released on iTunes March 16, 2015. Cherie released the CD version of this album June 5, 2015 on her eBay page cheriecurriedirect, 35 years after her previous full-length studio album, 1980's Messin' with the Boys.
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