Rick Shea

Rick Shea entered the world in 1953 as the child of a career Air Force officer whose postings placed the family at Annapolis. Throughout his early years the household followed military assignments across multiple locations until his father’s retirement brought them to San Bernardino, California, during Shea’s junior-high period. That relocation marked the beginning of his lasting connection to California’s country-music scene and the distinctive Bakersfield sound.

An alumnus of the third volume in the A Town South of Bakersfield series, Shea contributed the enduringly requested track “Foot in the Fire.” Long before the TSOB compilations existed, he first picked up the guitar, forming bands and performing live as early as seventh or eighth grade. High school introduced him to the music of Merle Haggard. After graduation he pursued solo acoustic engagements wherever opportunities arose and simultaneously acquired foundational recording skills by spending time in studios belonging to friends and fellow musicians.

Shea issued his debut recording in 1989; the project contained a notable duet with fellow California country artist Patty Booker, another TSOB participant. Titled Outside of Nashville and produced by Wyman Reese and John Lee White III, the album documented his artistic development to that point. A frequent presence on the Los Angeles circuit, he appeared regularly alongside Chris Gaffney and Brantley Kearns and also recorded with Heather Miles.

Equally skilled on steel guitar and six-string, Shea found his compositions frequently adopted by other artists; one example is “Bed of Roses,” which appeared on Cody Bryant’s first album. The 1995 release Buffalo Show drew Americana-radio interest and featured narrative pieces such as “The Rattlesnake Daddy’s Daughter,” “Georgia Pines,” and several Tex-Mex selections performed in Spanish. In 1997 he entered the studio for his subsequent recording. Around the same time he joined the band 1000 Wedding with longtime associate Wyman Reese and former Plowboy Tracy Huffman. He occasionally contributed music journalism as well, notably a well-received review of the George Jones biography that ran in the Los Angeles Times during summer 1996.