RICKY BYRD’S NEW SOLO ALBUM, ‘NYC MADE,’ ON LITTLE STEVEN’S WICKED COOL LABEL, OFFERS A GLIMPSE INSIDE HIS ROOTS

— AVAILABLE ON MULTIPLE FORMATS —

The first Single ‘TRANSISTOR RADIO CHILDHOOD’ IS AN HOMAGE TO TOP 40 NY RADIO,

IT WAS THE COOLEST SONG IN THE WORLD IN LITTLE STEVEN’S UNDERGROUND GARAGE

THE WEEK OF JANUARY 27, 2025

The Second Single, “ANNA LEE” WAS THE COOLEST SONG IN THE WORLD IN

LITTLE STEVEN’S UNDERGROUND GARAGE THE WEEK OF MARCH 31, 2025

VIEW “RHAPSODY IN BLUES” Byrd’s instrumental Tribute to Jeff Beck here

“The sounds that I loved then, I still love now,” “Transistor Radio Childhood”

New York, NY (January 24, 2025)- Guitarist/Singer/Songwriter/Producer Ricky Byrd, a 2015 inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, is set to release his fourth and most personal album yet, the aptly named NYC Made (Wicked Cool Records) on March 28, 2025.

A tribute to the Bronx-born, Queens-raised rock and devoted Yankee fan’s nights listening to the Top 40 radio of his youth, the first single, “Transistor Radio Childhood,” will be available on January 24, the same day pre-release orders begin for the album, available on vinyl, CD and all streaming sites March 28. The single pays homage to the melting pot AM radio of the ‘60s and ‘70s, with nods to his beloved Yankees and WABC DJ Cousin Brucie, The Beach Boys (the “ba-ba-ba-ba of “Barbara Ann”), The Kinks (“You Really Got Me”), Paul Revere and a lyrical bow to Otis Redding (“ I’ve sat on the dock of the bay, Otis whistlin’ in my ear “)Additionally, the track is The Coolest Song in the World in The Underground Garage the week of release.

“I grew up on everything from The Raspberries to The Who to The Stones to The Yardbirds to Sam Cooke,” he told Guitar Player. “If you just mix that all in a stew, I guess it comes out Ricky Byrd. I wear my influences on my sleeve. I write what I know. I just make music to make people happy… and to make me happy.”

That formula holds true for NYC Made, recorded at Parcheesi Studios with longtime co-producer Bob Stander, keyboardist/accordion Jeff Kazee (Asbury Jukes), fiddle player Tony Montalbo, drummers Steve Holley (Wings), Aaron Comess (the Spin Doctors) and Thommy Price (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts), Uptown Horns Arno Hecht and Larry Etkin and the Ba Ba Blacksheep Singers (Stevie Van Zandt, Willie Nile, Jeff Kazee and Marc Ribler) on “Translator Radio Childhood” and “Sweet Byrd of Youte.” In addition, Van Zandt, who co-produced “Transistor Radio Childhood,” “Stay Grateful” and “Sweet Byrd of Youte” with Byrd and Stander, contributes mandolin on “Anna Lee,” the finger-snapping ode to street corner doo-wop co-written by Southside Johnny Lyon with Byrd, which will be the first focus track from the album. Listed on the album credits as Consigliere, Little Steven’s Silvio Dante mob character in The Sopranos adds yet another layer of meaning to NYC Made.

NYC Made offers an overview of the music which continues to drive Byrd, with easter eggs hidden among the influences, from the T. Rex/Mott the Hoople/Queen-style rocker, “Glamdemic Blues,” and “Sweet Byrd of Youte,” his own autobiographical look back when “We were young and ready, willing and able,” to the Sam & Dave gospel soul revue of “Then Along Comes You,” the ‘50s OG spirit of Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis on “Louanne,” the Ziggy Stardust tip-of-the-hat to a recurring dream, “Alien” and The Who, pass-the-torch celebration of “RnR’s Demise (Has Been Greatly Exaggerated).”

The release of NYC Made follows Byrd’s previous two albums, Clean Getaway (2015) and Sobering Times (2021), both of which reflected his own sobriety (this year will mark his 38th) and the songs which resulted from his leading various recovery music groups at treatment facilities around the country.

Byrd is approaching a half-century as a professional rock ‘n’ roller from his start as a 21-year-old joining the band Susan (RCA) in 1977 (after answering an ad in the Village Voice) before replacing Eric Ambel in Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in 1981, just in time to play guitar and sing vocals on the platinum-plus I Love Rock n’ Roll and the subsequent six albums over the next decade until moving on in 1991. Signing a deal with Sony Music Publishing, over the next 35 years, Ricky recorded, toured and/or shared a stage with a succession of artists he grew up idolizing, among them Roger Daltrey, Ian Hunter, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh, Alice Cooper, Mavis Staples, Darlene Love, Smokey Robinson, The Beach Boys, Jimmy Page, Steve Miller, Ronnie Spector, Graham Nash, Sam Moore, Gary Clark Jr., Peter Wolf and Stevie Wonder.

“Come on DJ/Take my breath away,” “RnR’s Demise (Has Been Greatly Exaggerated)”

“I still get the same thrill when I hear the DJ play one of my records on the car radio,” says Ricky. “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.”

Ricky Byrd’s childhood fantasy has turned into a remarkable lifelong career. It’s only rock ‘n’ roll… but he likes it, loves it, yes he does. NYC Made is all the proof you need.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2015 Inductee with Joan Jett and The Blackhearts

Recovery Troubadour

5 Solo Cd’s

NYC MADE - 2025

Sobering Times - 2020

Clean Getaway - 2017

Lifer - 2013

Tough Room This World (Live) - 2001

Ricky Byrd Bio

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, guitarist /singer- songwriter Ricky Byrd (inducted in 2015 with Joan Jett and The Blackhearts), has had a career in music spanning over 40 years.

Although best known for his time spent with The Blackhearts, Byrd has also recorded and played with Roger Daltrey, and toured with Ian Hunter and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes respectively. He has also been blessed to have had the chance to, at one time or another, share the stage with music royalty including Paul McCartney, Ringo, Alice Cooper, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, Joe Walsh, Mavis Staples, Dion, Brian Wilson, Smokey Robinson, Jimmy Page, Graham Nash, and Elvis Costello…

to name just a few.

Grateful for all of his many musical achievements, Ricky is fond of saying that one of the greatest gifts he’s been given happened on Sept. 25, 1987 when he started his journey in recovery. Simply put, “it was time.” He’s been clean and sober ever since, doing whatever he can to help others recover. It’s his passion and what he’s most proud of.

“There's this dark hallway filled with people caught between denial and surrender,” he says. “I've been blessed to have this next life and because of that gift, I feel I'm responsible to turn around and wave at those people in that dark place and just go, `hey man, come on, follow me.’”

The starting point of Ricky combining his music with recovery began in 2012, when he co-wrote a song with his friend, Richie Supa. The two wound up writing what is now considered a recovery classic: “Broken Is A Place,” which speaks to the inherent hole in the soul of those who continue to suffer under the great weight of addiction.

It hit a nerve.

Back in New York City, he recorded a demo of the song, put it up on social media, and the response was overwhelming. That’s when he realized how strong the combination of music and recovery could be. He wrote a second song, and then a third, and he didn’t stop until the seeds of his 2017 Clean Getaway album were planted.

Inspired to present these recovery-based songs on a different stage, Ricky made calls to treatment facilities, offering to come in with his acoustic guitar and perform them to the clients. He did, and the response was so powerful that he’s been doing it ever since, on the road as a Recovery Troubadour. He’d play his acoustic guitar, sing those songs, talk to people, listen to people, help people. In doing so, he was also helping himself. He kept writing, traveling, and visiting treatment facilities, schools, and juvenile detention centers.

“It was quite the education for me,” Ricky admits. “I found that there was a real connection…a tangible something I could do to help…a reason my checkered past in rock'n'roll just might bring about awareness, maybe prevention, maybe even lessen the stigma of addiction.”

Ricky Byrd has since given away thousands of copies of Clean Getaway at his recovery music groups across the country. The CD has garnered great reviews across-the-board and he’s currently working on a follow-up filled with songs of addiction, resurrection and hope. Taking it a step further, he has earned his CASAC T (Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor) credentials and CARC (Certified Addiction Recovery Coach) credentials.