“Little Steven” Van Zandt and ex-Wings drummer Steve Holley are among the guest artists featured on former Joan Jett & the Blackhearts guitarist Ricky Byrd’s upcoming fourth solo studio album, NYC Made. The 12-track collection will be released on March 28, on Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records label.
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NYC Made can be pre-ordered now, and will be available on CD, as a vinyl LP, and via digital formats.
Coinciding with the album announcement, Byrd has released two advance tracks from the record. The first, titled “Rhapsody in Blues (One for Jeff),” is an instrumental tribute to late British guitar legend Jeff Beck.
“[Beck] was a big influence on my playing, along with [Eric] Clapton, [Jimmy] Page, [Keith] Richards, [Free’s Paul] Kossoff, [Mike] Bloomfield, Leslie West etc.,” Byrd said. “Jeff’s licks were the hardest to figure out as a teen, which made his playing to me the most interesting. Always pushing the envelope. Only player that brought me to tears when watching him live. He’s sorely missed.”
The second track, “Transistor Radio Childhood,” is an homage to the great music Ricky listened to on Top-40 AM radio growing up in New York City during the 1960s and ’70s. It’s been chosen as “The Coolest Song in the World” on Van Zandt’s Underground Garage SiriusXM radio channel.
More About NYC Made
Byrd co-produced NYC Made with his longtime studio collaborator Bob Stander. Van Zandt also contributed to the production of Van Zandt of “Transistor Radio Childhood,” as well as two other tracks—“Stay Grateful” and “Sweet Byrd of Youte.”
Meanwhile, “Transistor Radio Childhood” and “Sweet Byrd of Youte” feature backing vocals by the Ba Ba Blacksheep Singers; that is, Van Zandt, singer/songwriters Willie Nile and Marc Ribler, and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Dukes keyboardist Jeff Kazee.
Little Steven also plays mandolin on a track called “Anna Lee.” The doo-wop homage was co-written by Byrd and Southside Johnny Lyon.
Other musicians who contributed to NYC Made include the aforementioned Holley, Spin Doctors drummer Aaron Comess, former Joan Jett and the Blackhearts drummer Thommy Price, and Uptown Horns saxophonist Arno Hecht and trumpet player Larry Etkin.
A few other tracks that will appear on NYC Made were previously released as standalone singles in 2023, including “Louanne,” “Alien,” and “Glamdelic Blues.”
More About Ricky Byrd
Byrd played with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts from 1981 to 1991, and co-wrote many songs with Jett. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of her band in 2015.
After leaving The Blackhearts, Byrd toured with various other well-known artists, including The Who’s Roger Daltrey and Mott the Hoople’s Ian Hunter.
Reflecting on his career as a recording musician and his ongoing love of rock ‘n’ roll, Byrd said, “I still get the same thrill when I hear the DJ play one of my records on the car radio. Do you need any more than that? As long as there are young, rebellious kids banging away on guitar, bass and drums in their garage, rock ‘n’ roll will survive in one form or another. And I’m still doing it.”
NYC Made Track List:
- “(Ya Get) 1 Life”
- “Glamdelic Blues”
- “Rhapsody in Blues (One for Jeff)”
- “Sweet Byrd of Youte”
- “Anna Lee”
- “Then Along Comes You”
- “Transistor Radio Childhood”
- “Louanne”
- “Stay Grateful”
- “Alien”
- “RnR’s Demise (Has Been Greatly Exaggerated”
- “Best of Times”
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