Lita Ford

Lita Ford (born Carmelita Rossana Ford, September 19, 1958) is a British-born, American rock musician and singer who was the lead guitarist for The Runaways as well as a successful solo artist.

In 1975 at the age of 16 she joined the all-female rock band The Runaways, for whom she played lead guitar. They then scored a record deal and released their first album in 1976. It was not long before the all-girl formation caught the eye of the media. Ford's guitar skills made her a driving force in the band and a permanent member from her arrival to the band's eventual break-up. In 1979, disagreements were erupting within the band, who had since parted ways with producer Kim Fowley, lead singer Cherie Currie and bassist Jackie Fox. Rhythm guitarist Joan Jett wanted the band to shift more towards Ramones-influenced punk music while Ford and drummer Sandy West wanted to continue playing hard rock-oriented songs. With neither side being able to compromise, the band finally broke up that year.

After the group split in 1979, Ford began a solo career. Her first solo album, “Out for Blood,” as well as the title track single, were released in 1983 and failed on the charts. Her next effort, 1984's “Dancin' on the Edge” achieved moderate success. It included the single “Fire In My Heart” which reached the Top 10 in several countries but not the U.S. The next single “Gotta Let Go” was one of Ford's biggest hits, reaching #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart.

Ford toured extensively and made several guest appearances on TV shows for the next four years, but had no releases. A follow-up to “Dancin' On The Edge,” titled “The Bride Wore Black,” was abandoned and never released because Ford did not like the production of the album and this upset the head of her record label, leading Ford to switch from Mercury Records to RCA Records.

By the time Ford returned again, the lighter pop-metal she had long favored had broken through to mainstream audiences, which set the stage for her most commercially successful album, 1988's “Lita.” With Sharon Osbourne as her manager, and again self-produced, the album featured four commercial hits, including “Kiss Me Deadly,” “Back To The Cave,” “Close My Eyes Forever” and “Falling In And Out Of Love.” The ballad “Close My Eyes Forever,” a duet with Sharon's husband Ozzy Osbourne, was her only Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart hit, reaching #8.

Her next release was 1990’s “Stiletto.” It featured the singles “Hungry” and “Lisa.” However this album was not as successful as “Dancin' On The Edge” and “Lita.”

Ford's next release was 1991’s “Dangerous Curves,” which featured her last charting single “Shot Of Poison.” Ford's next release would be with ZYX Records which issued 1995’s “Black.” It failed to repeat the success of “Dangerous Curves.”

In June 2008, Ford and her new solo band played several warm-up gigs under the name Kiss Me Deadly in the New York City area. In June 2009, she began touring the US and Europe, with a new line-up consisting of Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal on guitar, Dennis Leeflang on drums, PJ Farley on bass and Michael T. Ross on keyboards. Ford released a new album “Wicked Wonderland” in 2009 via JLRG Entertainment.