My bio, which originally appeared on the Bass Musician Magazine website:
Rick Suchow has been an in-demand bassist on the live New York music scene for three decades, logging nearly 4000 live performances in a career that has taken him from Lincoln Center to the White House. He continues to perform nearly a hundred gigs per year, appearing in many notable NYC clubs, hotels and venues, and has played numerous major events for some of the biggest names of our time, including two U.S. Presidents (George W. Bush and Bill Clinton) and a who's who of A-list celebrities.
Rick is also a songwriter who's written several Billboard hits, a tune for the all-time best-selling jazzbook The New Real Book, and even a song for one of the Beatles. As a bass journalist, his written articles have appeared frequently in various magazines, and have included interviews with Stevie Wonder's Nathan Watts, Eddie Gomez, Will Lee, Marcus Miller, the Yellowjackets' Jimmy Haslip, Motown's Bob Babbitt, and many others. His literary work on legendary Motown bassist James Jamerson is published in the African American National Biography, the "largest repository of black lives ever assembled in our nation's history by almost tenfold", according to publisher Oxford University Press.
Originally a keyboardist, Rick picked up the bass guitar in his teens. When a friend gave him a copy of bassist Jaco Pastorius' debut album, his entire musical life changed. Primarily self-taught, Rick eventually went on to study with bassist Lincoln Goines, and for a brief period was a bass instructor himself as well.
Rick is a Grammy-voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, as well as a member of the American Society of Composers Authors & Publishers, the American Federation Of Musicians and the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. His list of artist credits includes Ringo Starr, Angela Bofill, Joan Osborne, Deodato, Roberta Flack, TKA, Motown's Martha Reeves, Larry Graham, Jay Black, Bettye LaVette, Gary U.S. Bonds, and many others, and he has shared the stage with many world class drummers including David Garibaldi (Tower Of Power), Jai Johnny Johnson (Allman Brothers), Roy Burns (NBC Orchestra), and the late Jim Chapin.
Rick brings a lifetime of bass experience to Bass Musician Magazine, and welcomes the opportunity to contribute as a staff writer.
From the Scrapbook...
Not long after recording my tune "What Goes Around" for his '92 album Time Takes Time, Ringo kindly signed my White Album. He drew an arrow to his picture so I would know which Beatle he was...
In 2004 I played at the White House for the Bush family Christmas Party, just a month after he was elected to his second term in office. I had the opportunity to chat quite a bit with George, Laura and the twins, and was allowed to roam freely around the entire White House during the night. Very cool event, easily my most memorable gig ever.
I can say that I wrote a number one hit in my life. "SOS Fire In The Sky" reached #1 on the Dutch Top 40 back in the mid 80's. It was also #1 in France and Top 10 in the U.S. on Billboard's Dance Chart.
All in the family: My wife Camille received 4 gold albums and one multi-platinum (6 million in sales) for singing on the smash hit "Come Baby Come" with hip-hop artist K7, which has been released on nearly 30 compilation albums to date.