On a new episode of the entertainment news podcast It’s Showtime with Rikki Lee, rock n’ roll royalty Lita Ford sits down with entertainment personality Rikk Lee Travolta for an interview that offers great new insights into her ongoing career. Revered throughout the industry as the Queen of Heavy Metal and an all-time guitar great, Ford shares the details of what B.C. Rich did to win her over as her guitar of choice, and why one of the most important parts of a live show is not looking at the fretboard when you play.
Ford broke into the industry at the age of 16 when she was recruited to be the lead guitarist in the all-female group The Runaways. By the time Lita was 17, the band had a record out and was opening for Van Halen, Talking Heads, Cheap Trick, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Their biggest hit was “Cherry Bomb.” Other notable songs include “Heartbeat”, “School Days”, “Hollywood”, and “Queens of Noise”.
In the 1980s, Lita attained Rock Goddess status as a solo artist. She had huge hits in that era with songs like “Kiss Me Deadly”, “Close My Eyes Forever”, “Dressed to Kill”, “Back to the Cave”, and “Falling In and Out of Love”. That last song was co-written by Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe.
Throughout her solo music career, Ford has used B.C. Rich guitars – and it’s not for the endorsement dollars, she truly loves the brand.
“They’ve always had the best guitar builders,” she explains about B.C. Rich during the interview with Travolta. In fact, she goes into great detail about how Bernard Chavez Rico and his company created a guitar she couldn’t say “No” to.
“I couldn’t knock it out of tune,” she praises – also detailing the extent she went through to try. She now credits the tone of her B.C. Rich guitars as part of the key to the signature Lita Ford sound.
The Warlock is one of the most well-known of the B.C. Rich guitars, and a personal favorite of Ford. During the interview, Ford talks about the honor of having one of her signature Warlock guitars being on display at the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
The interview also gives Ford the floor to talk about one of her pet peeves – guitarists who spend their time on stage looking at the fretboard of their guitar the entire time they are playing. Citing Jimi Hendrix as an inspiration, she explains why it’s important to connect visually with the audience and the other musicians on stage while playing. She also reveals how she trained herself to read the frets like Braille.
It’s Showtime with Rikki Lee is a podcast that provides a backstage pass to all things entertainment. In addition to hosting the interview program, Rikki Lee Travolta is the publicist for Steven Adler, giving him added insight into the hard rock and heavy metal scene. The show is available on all major podcast platforms. Rudy Sarzo and Alex Grossi of Quiet Riot have both been recent guests.
To listen to the most current episode featuring Lita Ford visit:
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rikkileetravolta.
Fans of Lita Ford can find information on concerts, recordings, and merchandise at www.LitaFordOnline.com.
Jason Price founded the mighty Icon Vs. Icon more than a decade ago. Along the way, he’s assembled an amazing group of like-minded individuals to spread the word on some of the most unique people and projects on the pop culture landscape.
