[ad_1]
Dec. 8—A royal excursion featuring the Queen of Metal will stop Saturday in Pittsburg, Kansas. Singer and guitarist Lita Ford will perform in concert at the Kansas Crossing Casino, bringing her guitar talent to the stage.
Ford earned the title “Queen of Metal” from her success during the hair-band era. She was the most popular and successful female solo artist of the era, earning gold records and Grammy nominations.
But his career began with a legendary rock band.
Ford was the guitarist for The Runaways, an all-women rock band that performed from 1975 to ’79. The band also featured guitarist Joan Jett, singer Cherie Currie, drummer Sandy West and bassist Jackie Fox.
While the band gained critical support, it didn’t catch on in the US, looping in as part of the growing punk movement. The band caught fire overseas, however, with “Cherry Bomb,” “Queens of Noise” and “Hollywood” charting.
The Runaways split in ’79 in musical directions: Ford and West were still interested in playing hard rock and heavy metal, while Jett was more interested in punk and glam rock. The split led to successful careers for both Ford and Jett — Ford in ’82 launched a solo career that put his powerful voice and guitar prowess in the spotlight.
After two albums, Ford hired Sharon Osbourne as a manager and broke through with a more radio-friendly style. The first album from that pairing was 1988’s “Lita”, her best-selling album. The self-produced album yielded his most commercially successful song, “Close My Eyes Forever,” a duet with Ozzy Osbourne that reached No. 8 on Billboard’s US Hot 100.
Combined with “Kiss Me Deadly,” “Falling In and Out of Love” and “Back to the Cave,” the album was certified platinum.
Ford has released eight solo studio albums in his career, his most recent being “Living Like a Runaway” in 2012. After he returned from a long hiatus between 1995 and 2008, he continued to tour, with previous appearance at Rocklahoma in Pryor, Oklahoma.
His current touring band features guitarist Patrick Kennison, bassist Marten Andersson and drummer Bobby Rock. In previous shows he performed several covers from other rock and metal legends, and also performed “Cherry Bomb” by the Runaways.
Follow Digital Editor Joe Hadsall on Twitter at @JoeHadsall.
[ad_2]
Source link
