"Philadelphia" Jerry Ricks
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"Philadelphia"
Jerry Ricks was born May 22, 1940 in Philadelphia, PA. He began playing guitar
around Philadelphia area coffeehouses in the late '50s. "I played trumpet
as a child and then switched over to the guitar because I used to watch people
playing guitar in the streets," Ricks recalled in a late '90s interview.
Lonnie Johnson and a few other classic bluesmen showed Ricks his first few blues
chords while he was learning to play guitar.
Jerry has learned from and performed with possibly every Country Blues great. The blues legends "Philadelphia" Jerry Ricks has accompanied and learned from include Brownie McGhee, Guitar Wilson, Skip James, Rev. Gary Davis, Buddy Moss, Champion Jack Dupree, Sonny Terry, Memphis Slim, Mickey Baker, Blind John Davis, Willie Mabon, Washboard Slim, Furry Lewis, Big Joe Williams, Son House, Lonnie Johnson, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Elizabeth Cotton, Rev. Robert Wilkins, Mississippi John Hurt, Mance Lipscomb, Jesse Fuller, Sleepy John Estes, Sammy Price, Robert Pete Williams.
Jerry also traveled with the Buddy Guy Blues Band to East Africa under the direction of the U.S. State Department in April 1969.
In addition to performing, Ricks acted as assistant researcher for Ralph Rinzler and Mack McCormick on a field research project to the state of Arkansas for the Smithsonian Institute’s Folklife Division. Also, learned from and performed with Doc Watson in the early 1960s.
Jerry held the position of Special Instructor for the University of Colorado, Folklore Division to teach Traditional American Guitar Styles of the Southern United States.
From 1970 to 1990, Jerry lived and performed in Western Europe (1970-1989). He gave well over 2,000 performances on radio and television, at festivals and in concert halls, and for seminars and school programs. Jerry also performed extensively in Eastern Europe.
Jerry has performed at nearly every major blues and jazz festival in Eastern and Western Europe, and recorded over a dozen albums in six countries. His recordings include the first authentic blues album produced in Yugoslavia and Hungary.
From 1990 to the present, Jerry's foreign tours have included performances in Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada and England.
He has also performed at numerous festivals, concerts, and cultural activities, including Blues Week at Elkins, Port Townsend and Swannanoa, and Blues in the Schools programs. He has participated in The Center For Southern Folklore’s television broadcast in Memphis. Jerry's radio coverage includes featured artist programs and live performances broadcast on the Beale Street Caravan. He also participated in the BBC Radio 4 series, "DEEP BLUE".
In 1998, Jerry was nominated for three W.C. Handy Awards: Acoustic Blues Artist of the Year, Acoustic Blues Album of the Year, and Comeback Blues Album of the Year for "Deep In The Well" on Rooster Blues Records.
In 2001, Jerry was nominated for two W.C. Handy Awards: Acoustic Blues Artist of the Year, Acoustic Blues Album of the Year for "Many Miles Of Blues" on Rooster Blues Records.
Jerry has been featured in foreign television and radio broadcasts in West Germany, Spain, Austria, Holland, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Yugoslavia, East Germany, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Sweden, Norway, Canada, and on BBC Radio 4.
Jerry has conducted numerous seminars, school programs, and educational television broadcasts tracing blues from its history to its present day, from kindergarten through music conservatories; in many countries including Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Italy, East and West Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, England, and USA, dating back over forty years.
Jerry's performances in Eastern and Western Europe include Bosnia, Serbia, Herzogovenia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Russia, East Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Holland, West Germany, France, Italy, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and England.
Jerry has been featured in "Acoustic Guitar" and "Sing Out!" magazines. He has also performed at the Chicago Blues Festival, Ottawa Bluesfest, Kansas City Jazz & Blues Festival, Kansas City Acoustic Showcase, Clearwater On The Hudson, Philadelphia Folk Festival, and was Showcase Artists at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance.
Jerry's recent discography includes "Gary Davis Style: The Legacy Of Reverend Gary Davis" (Inside Sounds) track: medley; "Philadelphia Folk Festival: 40th Anniversary" (Sliced Bread Records) track: accompanying Mississippi John Hurt in 1963; "Legends Of Country Blues Guitar, Vol. 1" (Vestapol Video) track: accompanying Son House in mid 1960s for Camera Three TV; "Many Miles Of Blues" (Rooster Blues Records); and "Deep In The Well" (Rooster Blues Records).
CONTACT INFORMATION: N. Klein or J. Ricks, e-mail: blueshorizons@hotmail.com or Jim O'Neal, e-mail: BluEsoterica@aol.com