Rick Rosas: 1949 - 2014

Rick Rosas: 1949 - 2014
Liverpool, England - July 13, 2014
Photo by Paolo Brillo 
Statement by Pegi Young:

On Thursday, November 6th, I lost one of the dearest friends I had. An original Survivor, RTBP gave me love and encouragement and support as I progressed from a shy and timid singer and songwriter on our first record right through to the making of our last record, Lonely In A Crowed Room, which he loved and was very proud of. He was a brother to me as I was a sister to him. Knowing he was always there on stage at my right shoulder gave me great comfort and support. He was always there for me through thick and thin and never let me down.

His loss is a terrible shock to our band of Survivors, along with his many other dear friends and loved ones. So respected in the music community, he was truly an amazing bass player. I was incredibly lucky and honored to have him in my band and to count him among my friends.

As with our dear friend, Ben Keith, Rick too passed on the occasion of the full moon.

His loss is profound and we will always miss him. Our hearts go out to his long time partner, Elizabeth, and the rest of his family they suffer through this unexpected and unthinkable loss.

Sending you love and light as you travel to the other side Rick.

Love always.

Pegi

It is with great sadness that we report that Rick Rosas has passed away.

Rick Rosas, affectionately known as "Rick the Bass Player", has had a long musical career. Most recently, Rosas filled in on bass on the Neil Young & Crazy Horse tour of Europe (Billy Talbot had suffered a stroke).

Crazy Horse drummer Ralph Molina posted on Facebook earlier this evening the sad news.

(Details to follow...)

Neil Young & Crazy Horse
(Rick Rosas far left)
2014-07-12, Hyde Park, London, England
Photo by Paolo Brillo
(Click photo to enlarge)
In an interview with Rick Rosas in 2010 with Tintamarre:

Tintamarre: Recently, Neil Young lost two of his closest friends, Johnson and of course Ben Keith, who you knew well too… Now, we learn there was a fire at Neil’s property…

All these events must make him really sad. Do you know anything about the amount of loss ?

Rick Rosas: Don’t know much but I heard linkvolt (an ecologic car created by Neil Young himself) was damaged… He has put so much time in that car, god bless him. I have 2 vintage basses in that warehouse hope they are still there…

I do miss Ben and Larry dearly, they were wonderful souls.

For full interview with Rick Rosas, see Tintamarre for transcript.


Neil Young, Rick "The Bass Player" Rosas, Richie Furay
Photo by Joe "The Drummer" Vitale
Rick Rosas has performed Joe Walsh, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Rivers, Ron Wood, Etta James, and the Buffalo Springfield, among others.


Rick Rosas, Ivan Neville, Joe Vitale
Photo by John Nunu Zomot | Facebook - Bonnaroo 2011 (60)
From Wikipedia:

While playing in Walsh’s touring band, Rick met Neil Young at the Farm Aid III benefit held on Sept. 19, 1987 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Young was impressed with the bass player’s musical skill as well as his soft-spoken, laid back manner, and invited him to join his new horn-driven big band, the Bluenotes. It was a bold departure for Young to front a horn section but with saxophonist Steve Lawrence leading the band, the Bluenotes turned out to be one of the most successful musical aggregations of Young's storied career. They recorded their first album in November, 1987 through January, 1988 at the Studio Instrument Rentals in Hollywood and the sessions produced, This Note's For You and controversial single of the same name. Walsh introduced them at the Hollywood Palace in April of 1988, as “the best band in the country.” Rosas and Bluenotes drummer Chad Cromwell were hailed as the tightest rhythm section Young had played with since the Buffalo Springfield and they would frequently end their shows with Springfield classic, "On the Way Home."

Richie Furay and Rick Rosas
Photo from Rick Rosas Facebook Wall Photos (62)
From Wikipedia:

Rosas played on Young’s next album, Chrome Dreams II which finally saw the release of the epic 1988 Bluenotes track “Ordinary People,” he also provided backing vocals for the track “Dirty Old Man.” With an eclectic group of musicians, Young’s Electric Band toured America and Europe and Asia for nearly three years, playing material from nearly every phase of Young’s massive catalogue. A concert film, Neil Young Trunk Show directed by Jonathan Demme, captured an incendiary 2007 performance in Philadelphia, where in one scene Young is seen praising Rosas’ musical abilities, “Rick can play anything!” Another album, with Young, Fork in the Road was recorded during the tour, which culminated in a Hyde Park performance in London with Paul McCartney joining Young onstage for a cover of the Beatles’ "A Day in the Life".

Buffalo Springfield
Bridge School Benefit Concert 2010

From Wikipedia:

A year later Young invited to participate in the reunion of the Buffalo Springfield at that year’s Bridge Concert, the annual benefit Young and his wife Pegi hold to raise money for the The Bridge School for physically challenged children. Along with long time friend, drummer Joe Vitale, Rosas joined the original members Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay, in two nights of musical alchemy that surpassed wildest expectations. A six show mini-tour followed in June of 2011 with concerts in Oakland, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and the Bonnaroo music festival but a planned fall tour was cancelled when Young broke his toe and took the downtime to write a memoir. While touring with Pegi Young & the Survivors, he got the call from Neil Young to fill in for Crazy Horse bassist Billy Talbot, who had suffered a mild stroke a few weeks before their 2014 European Tour, making Rosas the only bassist to have played with the' Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Crazy Horse.

Rick Rosas & Ben Keith
Cutting Room, NYC, NY 07-19-2007
Photo by Johnny Marr
Gone, but not forgotten...

UPDATE: Tribute to Rick Rosas on Thrasher's Wheat Radio

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