Ricky Lawson

About Ricky

Ricky Lawson is best known as the drummer for such artists as Michael Jackson, Steely Dan, Phil Collins, Babyface, The YellowJackets, Whitney Houston, Bette Midler, Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau and many others, However, this Grammy Award Winning Composer is one of the most respected songwriters, producers and arrangers in the music industry today.

Voted "No. 1 R&B Drummer in the World" and "No. 3 Pop/Mainstream Rock Drummer" by Modern Drummer Magazine 1999 readers poll.

A founding member of the YellowJackets, Ricky received two Grammy nominations and a Grammy award in 1986 for writing the hit song, And you know that, on the album Shades. Ricky performed on Whitney Houston's multi-million seller I will always love you from The Body Guard soundtrack, which was recently labeled the number one selling soundtrack of all time. Ricky co-wrote and co-produced the Pointer Sisters' hit Uh-Uh, and the fat burger hit, Good News. Other writing and/or co-producing credits include tracks for Only you Star Trek 5, Barney's Great Adventure - The Movie, as well as Helen Baylor's There's No Greater Love, and When You Believe performed by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey for the soundtrack to the Prince of Egypt.

Ricky's motto is "Get it right the first time" which applies to his work ethics, and the goal for his entire life

Within a few short years of starting to play the drums at the age of 16, Ricky's natural talent skyrocketed him into a major career. Since then he has played with names like Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Al Jarreau, George Benson, Bette Midler, Lionel Richie, George Duke, The Brothers Johnson, Quincy Jones and many more.

Early on, Ricky developed expertise in jazz, country and western, pop, R&B, funk and Latin rhythms - a versatility that allows him to play with anyone he wants to. He has earned his jobs and professional reputation by always being well prepared for his gigs. Some of the biggest Number 1 and multi-platinum singles and albums have featured Ricky's impressive talents, including Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", Anita Baker's "Sweet Love", James Ingrams' "I Don't Have The Heart" and Lionel Richie's "Dancing On The Ceiling".

A co-founder of the group Yellowjackets, Ricky received a Grammy in 1986 for co-writing the hit song "And You Know That" on the album Shades, which he co-produced. He also co-authored the Pointer Sisters' hit "Uh-Uh" and co-produced the album Seriously Slammin and the Fattburger hit "Good News".