|
 |
 |
 |
Visit Richard on Myspace
Richard is a musician who has been composing, performing and producing original music for over fifteen years. Educated & trained as a classical violinist at an early age, Richard gravitated towards bass & acoustic guitar. His advanced high school electronic music courses gave him the basic education for engineering & production. He has released 8 critically acclaimed CD's to date and received 35 songwriting awards from various international and regional songwriting contests, including Billboard Magazine. Richard's music and recordings can be heard frequently on various radio & satellite stations around the United States. His passion for original music has earned Richard the respect of his peers and the general public. In addition to his role of the leader and bass guitarist of The Richard Walton Group (his all-original contemporary jazz group), Richard continues to perform regularly as an acoustic solo artist.
Richard has been a passionate vocalist & solo acoustic performer for almost 20 years. He has worked as a solo performer in a variety of situations, including corporate functions, restaurants, coffee houses, pubs, churches, concert halls, weddings, private parties, nursing homes, charity events and house concerts. He has received 'honorable mention' from the reader's polls of Music Monthly as Best Mid-Atlantic Acoustic Performer. In 1984, Richard's acoustic career began with the formation of Buzzy Fretton, which combined the talents of Richard and Bill Dumas. While in Buzzy Fretton, Richard began his solo career and has performed hundreds of venues in the Mid-Atlantic region. (see past performances on main page) In addition to performing with Bill Dumas, Richard performs in duo/trio situations with other former or current group members including: Joe Doyle, Deena Gift, Tecla Heuring, Mitchell Shaivitz, Andrew Davidsen & David Meer.
Along with the extensive catalog of his own award winning compositions, Richard performs selections ranging over 200 songs (click here for songlist) by popular artists from the 1960's to the new millenium. Richard's vast knowledge of the artists and memory of the music is remarkable. He performs requested music for fans and patrons, such as Jimmy Buffett, Pink Floyd and The Beatles in a spontaneous, professional manner.
His musical influences include the following: Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66, The Beatles, Phil Keaggy, Stevie Wonder, Poco, Aaron Copeland, Django Reinhardt, Michael Franks, Steely Dan, Earth Wind & Fire, America, Laura Nyro, The Hollies, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Daryl Hall & John Oates, George Benson, Joni Mitchell, Free, Marvin Gaye, Bellamy Brothers, Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys, Simon & Garfunkel, early Crack The Sky, Jack Bruce, Billy Cobham, Djavan, Buffalo Springfield, Return To Forever, The Impressions, Toto, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, The Who, John Sebastian, Yes, The Dells, The Byrds, Jaco Pastorious, Antonio Carlos Jobim, any Motown artist, Jesse Colin Young, New Grass Revival, Bread, Neil Young, Tower Of Power, Jimmy Webb, Carole King, Wes Montgomery, Squeeze, Roger Miller, The Pretenders, Paul Weller, Ambrosia, Van Morrison, early Chicago, Todd Rundgren, Humble Pie, NRBQ, Jeff Beck, Tommy Bolin, Dan Fogelberg and the Pat Metheny Group.
