Rick Hendricks
Rick Hendricks was born in Tulsa and raised in Kansas City. He bought his first guitar (a Silvertone) at Sears with the amp built into the case when he was a teenager. With two Ventures albums and an old beat up record player he taught himself how to play.
In the middle sixties Rick went into the Air Force for 3 years.
Rich VanSant recalls their first meeting in 1968 after Rick's discharge from the Air Force. Rick was palying with a trio at Anita's Supper Club at 18th & Quindaro in Kansas City.
In 1971 Rich VanSant and Rick played together in a band called The Brotherhood. That band consisted of Rich VanSant on Hammond Organ, Rick Hendricks on guitar, Beechie Biando on drums, and Phillis Frazier on vocals.
In his twenties Rick hooked up with The MB's which included Ed Tankersley and Bob Marquez. They played top 40 R&B in some of the finest clubs in Kansas City.
In his thirties Rick started Colt 45 with Kent Raine, Tom Bark, and Mike O'Neil - this was in the seventies. They started a Blues frenzy in Kansas City. An interesting note as related by Kent Raine; Colt 45 was the first blues band to play the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The band arrived in a coach dressed in the album cover cowboy apparel.
After Colt 45 Rick played with various artists in Kansas City. Among these were: The KC Blues Band, Lawrence Wright and the Starlighters for about 5 years, which included Lawrence Wright on organ, Lester "Duck" Werner on trumpet, Ruben Wright on bass, L.C. Grant on drums, James Estelle on vocals, Mayfield Townes on sax, and Steve W. Schumaker on trombone. The Hit and Run Band with Bill Maness, Millie Edwards, and Marc Caplan - that band played at Jimmy's Jigger in the late eighties.
Other artists that Rick has played with over the years in Kansas City include Greg Meise, Everette DeVan, Kent Means, Rich VanSant, Diane "Mama" Ray, Alan Monroe, John Amaro, Tim Whitmer and the KC Express, David Basse, and numerous others.
He has played the Kansas City Spirit Festival as well as many of the KC Jazz and Blues Festival events with artists such as Big Joe Turner, Muddy Waters, Lowel Fulson, Jimmy Witherspoon, and A.C. Reed.
Rick moved to Nashville in 2000, married his wife, Denise, and started a jazz trio called Music City Jazz Equation. He's also made a CD with the Kansas City Blues Band called Danger Zone. This CD includes Colt 45 members Tom Bark and Mike O'Neil as well as Kansas City Hammond Organist and singer Larry Van Loon - all of whom now reside in Nashville.
