Robben Ford

Biography

Robben Lee Ford (born December 16, 1951) is an American guitarist who performs blues, jazz, and rock. He was a member of the L.A. Express and Yellowjackets and has collaborated with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Larry Carlton, Rick Springfield, Little Feat, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Kiss. He was named one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century" by Musician magazine.

Early life

Robben Ford was born in Woodlake, California, and raised in Ukiah, California. He began playing the saxophone at age 10 and the guitar at age 14. Robben and two of his brothers (Patrick and Mark) created the Charles Ford Blues Band in honor of and named after their father. A fourth brother died in the Vietnam conflict.

Career

At age 18, Ford's band was hired to play with Charlie Musselwhite, and recorded two albums The Charles Ford Band and Discovering the Blues×Discovering the Blues1997 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Sweet Sixteen12:332You Drive a Hard Bargain5:473It's My Own Fault10:294You Don't Know What Love Is8:535My Time After Awhile3:346Raining in My Heart10:347Blue & Lonesome8:25. He recorded two albums with Jimmy Witherspoon called Live and Spoonful. In the 1970s, Ford joined the jazz fusion band L.A. Express, led by saxophonist Tom Scott. In 1974, the band supported George Harrison on his American tour and played on the Joni Mitchell albums The Hissing of Summer Lawns and Miles of Aisles.

After leaving the L.A. Express in 1976, Robben Ford recorded his first solo album, The Inside Story×The Inside Story1 May 1979 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 8 tracksA1Magic Sam5:54A2For the One I Love4:23A3North Carolina4:39A4There's No One Else6:53B1The Inside Story5:31B2Need Somebody5:22B3Far Away5:41B4Tee Time for Eric5:10 with a band that later became the Yellowjackets.
In 1977 Ford was one of over half a dozen session players asked to play a guitar solo for the Steely Dan song "Peg." The band eventually used a version by Jay Graydon. In 2006, a tribute album to Steely Dan – The Royal Dan – was released, with Ford covering "Peg" in his own style.
In 1982, Ford was one of several guitarists who appeared on the Kiss album Creatures of the Night, playing lead guitar on the songs "Rock And Roll Hell" and "I Still Love You".
Ford worked briefly with Miles Davis in 1986; and can be heard on Davis' Montreux box set. Ford released his second solo album Talk to Your Daughter×Talk to Your Daughter1988 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Talk to Your Daughter4:112Wild About You (Can't Hold Out Much Longer)3:483Help the Poor5:454Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues4:395Born Under a Bad Sign3:476I Got Over It3:247Revelation6:248Getaway4:199Can't Let Her Go5:36 in 1988. He joined Philippe Saisse, Marcus Miller and J.T. Lewis in the cast of The Sunday Night Band for the second and final season of the late-night NBC television program Sunday Night in 1989. In the 1990s, he released the albums Robben Ford and the Blue Line, Mystic Mile, Handful of Blues, Tiger Walk×Tiger Walk1997 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1In the Beginning5:142Ghosts5:273Freedom6:444Red Lady w/ Cello5:015Oasis5:116Just Like It Is3:087I Can't Stand the Rain3:318The Champ5:139Tiger Walk5:1910Comin' Up4:5511Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying8:3912Chevrolet5:47 and Supernatural.
Robben Ford has received five Grammy Award nominations and was named one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century" by Musician magazine. He credited pianist and arranger Roger Kellaway and saxophonist and arranger Tom Scott, whom he met while playing for Joni Mitchell, as major influences on his musical development.
Robben Ford divorced Anne Kerry Ford in 2018. As of 2023, he lives in London, England with his long time girlfriend, Milam Kelly Roberts.
In October 2022, Ford toured in Italy opening for Eric Clapton.

Guitars

Ford considers his first good electric a Guild Starfire III with a single Florentine (sharp) cutaway. He used a Gibson L-5 when he played with Charlie Musselwhite and the Ford Band, although he never thought it was a great guitar. While playing with Jimmy Witherspoon, Ford traded the L-5 plus $200 for a 1964 Gibson Super 400CES (which he sold in 1986). When Ford began playing with the L.A. Express and Joni Mitchell, he used a 1958 Gibson dot-neck ES-335. At some point he also acquired a 1963 Gibson Es-335.
After Ford's Talk to Your Daughter album was released in 1988, Robben used a Robben Ford Signature model guitar created in a collaboration with Dan Smith of Fender and produced in Japan between 1987 and 1993. That guitar was based on the Fender Master Series Esprit Ultra that was produced from 1983 to 1986 in Japan. In 1987, new management at Fender authorized the first production of the Robben Ford Signature guitar. In 1994, production of the guitar moved from Japan to the Fender Custom Shop. Three models were produced: Ultra FM (with a carved maple top), Ultra SP (with a carved spruce top), and the Elite FM (with a carved flame maple top). The guitar line continued to be produced until 2002 when it was discontinued by Fender.
Sometimes he plays a vintage 1960 Fender Telecaster, Gibson Les Pauls, a 1963 Gibson SG, a Gibson Es-335 12-string that he has set up as a 6-string, a 1966 Epiphone Riviera (with the original Bigsby tremolo removed and replaced with a stop tailpiece).

In a May 1–16, 2017 tour which ended in Niagara Falls NY, Ford debuted a newly acquired 1953 Gibson Les Paul.
In the summer of 2021 he teased a PRS Robben Ford Limited Edition McCarty signature guitar which was finally released in October 2022.

Amplifiers

Robben Ford uses Dumble Amplifiers and Celestion G12-65 speakers. In 1983, Alexander "Howard" Dumble made Robben's first Overdrive Special (serial #102) for Robben. Dumble himself was the owner of serial #001.
When traveling abroad he prefers taking his Dumble, but will sometimes use Fender Super Reverb or Fender Twin amplifiers. When playing his Fenders, Ford uses a Hermida Zendrive overdrive pedal, which was designed to replicate the sound of Ford's Dumble amplifier.
Robben Ford has lately been playing hand crafted amplifiers by Little Walter Tube Amps.

As leader/co-leader

Schizophonic (L.A. International, 1976)
Live: Jimmy Witherspoon & Robben Ford (LAX, 1977)
The Inside Story (Elektra, 1979)
Talk to Your Daughter (Warner Bros., 1988)
Minor Elegance (MGI, 1989) - with Joe Diorio
Live at the Notodden Blues Festival (Blue Rock'it, 1992) - with Jimmy Witherspoon
Robben Ford & the Blue Line (Stretch, 1992)
Mystic Mile (Stretch, 1993)
Handful of Blues (Blue Thumb, 1995)
Ain't Nothin' New About the Blues (AIM, 1995) - with Jimmy Witherspoon
Blues Connotation (ITM, 1997) - reissue of A Song I Thought I Heard Buddy Sing
Tiger Walk (Blue Thumb, 1997)
The Authorized Bootleg (Blue Thumb, 1997)
Discovering the Blues (Avenue, 1997)
Sunrise (Avenue, 1999)
Supernatural (Blue Thumb, 1999)
A Tribute to Paul Butterfield (Blue Rock'it, 2001)
Blue Moon (Concord, 2002)
Keep On Running (Concord, 2003)
Truth (Concord, 2007)
Soul on Ten (Concord, 2009)
Bringing It Back Home (Provogue, 2013)
A Day in Nashville (Provogue, 2014)
Into the Sun (Provogue, 2015)
Purple House (Ear Music, 2018)
The Sun Room (Ear Music, 2019) - with Bill Evans
Common Ground (13J Productions, 2020) - with Bill Evans
Pure (Ear Music, 2021)
Night in the City (Ear Music, 2023)
Two Shades of Blue (Provo, 2026)

As member

Yellowjackets

Yellowjackets (Warner Bros., 1981)
Mirage a Trois (Warner Bros., 1983)
Run for Your Life (GRP, 1994)
Timeline (Mack Avenue, 2011)

Videos

Robben Ford and the Blue Line: In Concert (Recorded April 7, 1993)
Robben Ford: New Morning - The Paris Concert (Recorded May 2001)
Playing the Blues (2002)
The Blues and Beyond (2002)
Back to the Blues (2004)
Autour Du Blues: Larry Carlton and Robben Ford (2006)
The Robben Ford Clinic: The Art of Blues Rhythm (2007)
Robben Ford: In Concert: Revisited (2008)
The Robben Ford Clinic: The Art of Blues Solos (2009)
Robben Ford Trio: New Morning the Paris Concert: Revisited (2009)