If you've heard Dick Sims you know he is one of best rock keyboard players in the world. His work on the Hammond B-3 is incomparable and he has been listed as one of the best rock Hammond B-3 players alive today. He is most known for his own work and his work with Eric Clapton. Dick is on Clapton’s latest “Complete Clapton” as well as Clapton’s “The Millennium Collection” CDs.
Dick was born January 22, 1951, in musically rich Tulsa, Oklahoma where he was influenced by Skip VanWinkle (of Teegarden and VanWinkle), Carl Radle and other famous Tulsa Sound musicians.
By age 4, Dick had music constantly running in his brain and blood. Later on he would skip classes at elementary school to go play his grandmother’s organ all day long. His talent was so obvious grand-mother was just fine with this. There was no question of what he was going
to do. It was the beginning of a musically rich life – one that would go down in rock history. Once music was in his blood, there was no turning back. So at around 4 or 5 years old, Dick just started playing and writing music most of the time. He took piano and organ lessons at
the same ages and even took more lessons after playing and touring with Clapton. Always improving . . . always evolving. . .always learning.
By age 12, Dick was already earning money playing the renowned/ infamous/notorious Tulsa club circuit. He was around 14 when he formed Tulsa County, one of the first younger, more noticeable Tulsa Sound bands which included well-known musicians such as the respected guitarist
Jim Byfield, drummer Jamie Oldaker, who also played with Clapton during the time Dick did. (They went on 8 world tours with EC.)
Dickie's professional career really kicked off in 1968, when at the age of 17,he appeared on the last Ed Sullivan Show ever aired, performing with Phil Driscol and YurMama.
Dick performed and worked with JJ Cale before he joined Eric Clapton in 1974 for Eric’s comeback album, "461 Ocean Blvd." Right before that he’d recorded
and toured with Bob Seger on his landmark LP, ‘Back in ‘72’, and on blues-great Freddie King’s 'Burglar’. From 1974 through 1981, Dick was a driving force in Clapton’s band, playing the Hammond B-3 organ and piano on a number of hit songs including; "I Shot the Sheriff", "Wonderful Tonight", "Cocaine", "Lay Down Sally", and "Willie and the Hand Jive", and accompanying Eric on eight world tours. Dick then did a world tour with Joan Armatrading ,
who was up for a Grammy this year. He also recorded with Joan on her album “To The Limit."
Dick took a sabbatical from the music world for nearly 10 years to study and write music and most importantly to rehabilitate himself. Touring and rock stardom did take its toll, as it did on many musiciansbut he isn't afraid to talk about it. The price can be high and Dick’s writing on his next album, Within Arm’s Reach, depicts much of that. It’s an honest contemporary, hip CD that reaches deep into what Dick has really been through: young stardom, earning lots of money, losing it to addiction, and living on the streets of NYC for two years in his own self-exiled sabbatical.
Soon after, Dick returned to Los Angeles and began composing the songs that would make up this album, ‘Within Arms Reach’. He joined forces with music producers, Pride Hutchison and Jim Barth - also from Tulsa. With Dick’s classic rock song writing and his amazing Hammond B-3 organ work, in addition to featured classic and contemporary players such as: Jamie Oldaker (ex-Clapton drummer) and Richie Hayward (Little Feat drummer), jazz bassists, John Heard (Count Basie, etc.…) Pat Senatore (ex-Tiajuana Brass), Lester Chambers (Chambers Brothers) on harmonica, Doug Pettibone on guitar, and most noticeably the familiar and stunning vocals of Marcy Levy (also
ex-Clapton) made the album, “Within Arm’s Reach” a showcase of Dick Sim’s diverse talent.
With another album on the way, Dick’s music continues to share his personal journey through life, sharing his courage and determination. . . encouraging us to try again and again as Dick as always picked up and done. And with several catalogs of music and new albums on the way,
make no mistake that Dick Sims is back and doing what he does best!
Read more...