Growing up in Oklahoma, Richard was influenced by Hank Williams Sr., Bob Wills, The Beatles and several bands of the British Invasion Era.
In February 1964, when he saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, that's when the music bug took hold and he got his first bass guitar at 14 years old.
In 1968, he went into the Marine Corp and served his country, going overseas to Vietnam, where he was awarded two Purple Hearts for his service before he was honorably discharged. Upon coming home from Vietnam, Richard resumed his passion of music along with getting married and starting a family.
Richard has an incredible six decade career touring and recording. He's played alongside of Harlow Wilcox and the Oakies, Jim Ed Brown, Wanda Jackson, Henson Cargill, Byron Berline, Vince Gill, Suzy Boggus, Mason Williams as well as many other artists.
Both Richard and Steve Short were members of the Byron Berline Band beginning in 1997. In the 20+ years with this band they recorded over a dozen albums and toured the United States, Europe and China.
One of Richard's musical passions is Western swing. Having contributed to many projects including the Texas Playboys, he was recently inducted into the Western Swing Hall of Fame in 2019 for his work.
Along with music, Richard loves working with thoroughbred horses, which exposed him to the music of Dave Shepherd (Shep) in 1991. They played some gigs and in 2021 they met back up to record their first band album TOO COUNTRY.
Today the story continues.