Rick Carter now calls Birmingham, Alabama home. As a military brat, he lived on bases around the world, finally settling in Selma, Alabama for much of his youth. Rick began playing music professionally at the age of 12, resulting in numerous trios and quartets along the way. In 1977 he was a founding member of his first nationally recognized band, Telluride. Telluride ruled the bar-band circuit for years, consistently drawing the largest crowds & playing an unprecedented number of gigs each year, resulting in being voted Birmingham’s Best Band 6 years in a row.
With the release of their first, self-titled, album in 1980, their single ‘Birmingham Tonight’ garnered Telluride acclaim as one of the top three bands in the nation by Miller Brewing Company, earning them a two year corporate sponsorship. That sponsorship led to a recording contract with RCA Records and catapulted Telluride onto the Top 100 Billboard Singles chart with ‘Let me in Tonight’ and ‘Breaking Away’. Telluride was then sponsored for the following three years by Budweiser, during which time they released two more albums, Stand Alone & Acting Odd on Even Days, as well as several more singles.
After 27 years on the road, Telluride stopped touring and Rick co-founded Rollin’ in the Hay, a forerunner of the “New Grass” revolution in America. Their music was referred to as high-octane groove grass with a touch of down home, foot stompin’ southern rock—or more simply as Renegade Bluegrass. They toured the country, drawing enormous crowds & their fans, known as “Hayheads”, successfully voted for them to play the 2012 Bonnaroo Festival.
Rollin in the Hay released numerous albums in a series known as “pickin’ on” (their bluegrass versions of popular music at the time), as well as several live albums.
The Alabama Music Hall of Fame has bestowed the honor of “Music Achiever” to Rick on three occasions…for his individual accomplishments, as well as for his role in, both, Telluride and Rollin in the Hay.
Another of Rick’s bands, Frankie Velvet & The Mighty Veltones, a Rockabilly/Western Swing band, excites and enthralls audiences with cover songs, as well as original material,throughout the southeast.
Never satisfied with only one or two projects at any time, Rick Carter and The League of Legendary Artists (LOLA), combines his love for R&B and soul music while showcasing some of the best musicians in the southeast. The Birmingham News proclaimed “with (this) arsenal of talent, this should be one of Rick’s finest musical projects yet”.
Rick has also played and collaborated with some of the most influential artists of our time, including The Allman Brothers, Greg Allman, Johnny Shines, Widespread Panic, Dave Matthews, Alabama, Del McCoury, Jason Isbell, Bob Dylan, The B 52’s, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, ZZ Top, Jimmy Hall, Nicky Hopkins, John Fogarty, Willie Nelson, The Marshall Tucker Band, as well as many others.
Rick is a prolific songwriter. “Miracle Ticket”, “Fine To Drive”, “Real Job”, and “My Girl’s Got a Big Bottom” are just a few of Rick’s funny songs. His solo albums are Loveland, Lost Town, and Dusty Jukebox, with the newest, Change, due for release later this year.
Rick received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Birmingham Area Musicians’ Association in 2007 and has been tagged as “The Hardest Working Man in Music”.
Rick’s other music business ventures include:
****Talent acquisition for local, regional and national venues.
****Consultant to numerous festival promoters, club owners, and restauranteurs.
****Mentoring & promotion of up & coming regional artists
****Establishing an internet radio station. rickcarterradio.com began broadcasting in 2012 & plays music from Alabama artists only, promoting the abundance of talent in a broad range of genres from his home state.
As a writer, performer, band leader, & entrepreneur, Rick Carter is an Alabama tradition