Rico Mac Farland

Louis Rico Mac Farland

b. March 15th, 1960 in Chicago (Illinois)

TIRED OF BEING ALONE

Evidence

November 2000

Fils d'un musicien, Rico baigne depuis son plus jeune âge dans le milieu musical. En 1976, encore adolescent, il est embauché par Little Milton comme guitariste et restera dans son groupe pendant six ans. Il y fera la connaissance de Lucky Peterson qui deviendra son ami. Excellent guitariste, il joue d'abord au sein des groupes Amuzement Park et Chill Factor. Il devient surtout un guitariste studio très demandé et joue derrière les meilleurs bluesmen : Jimmy Johnson ("Johnson's whacks"), Artie "Blues Boy" White ("Nothing takes the place of you"), Cicero Blake ("Too hip to be happy", "Just one of those things"), Valerie Wellington ("Life in the big city"), Big Daddy Kinsey ("I am the blues"), Junior Wells ("Better off with the blues", "Everybody's gettin' some), Sugar Blue ("Absolutely blue", "Code blue", "Threshold"), Lucky Peterson ("Lucky Peterson"), James Cotton ("Fire down under the hill"), Big Time Sarah ("Lay it on 'em girls", "A million of you"). Il a même parfois étendu ses activités devenant compositeur, arrangeur ou producteur. Rico n'a jamais privilégié sa carrière en tant que leader. Pourtant, grâce au producteur Jerry Gordon, il propose son seul album solo pour le label Evidence. Pour l'occasion, il est entouré de nombreux invités venus le soutenir et délivre un solide album de blues contemporain nimbé d'éléments rock et funk : "Bad attitude", "It ain't no fun to me" (avec Syl Johnson), "Blues falling down like rain" (avec Carl Weathersby), "Giving me the blues" (avec Syl Johnson), "Made up my mind" (avec Billy Branch).

The son of a musician, Rico was immersed in the music world from an early age. In 1976, while still a teenager, he was hired by Little Milton as a guitarist and remained in his band for six years. It was there that he met Lucky Peterson, who would become his friend. An accomplished guitarist, he first played with the bands Amuzement Park and Chill Factor. He became a highly sought-after session guitarist, backing top blues artists such as Jimmy Johnson ("Johnson's whacks"), Artie "Blues Boy" White ("Nothing takes the place of you"), Cicero Blake ("Too hip to be happy", "Just one of those things"), Valerie Wellington ("Life in the big city"), Big Daddy Kinsey ("I am the blues"), Junior Wells ("Better off with the blues", "Everybody's gettin' some), Sugar Blue ("Absolutely blue", "Code blue", "Threshold"), Lucky Peterson ("Lucky Peterson"), James Cotton ("Fire down under the hill"), Big Time Sarah ("Lay it on 'em girls", "A million of you"). He also expanded his activities to include composing, arranging and producing. Rico never prioritized a career as a bandleader. However, thanks to producer Jerry Gordon, he released his only solo album on the Evidence label. For the project, he was joined by numerous guest artists and delivered a solid contemporary blues album infused with rock and funk elements : "Bad attitude", "It ain't no fun to me" (with Syl Johnson), "Blues falling down like rain" (with Carl Weathersby), "Giving me the blues" (with Syl Johnson), "Made up my mind" (with Billy Branch).