Richard Ray Farrell
Richard Ray Farrell (born 1956) is an American electric blues musician, singer and songwriter from Niagara Falls, New York. He plays guitar, harmonica and sings, and has released ten albums under his own name while touring widely since the mid-1970s.
He left home after school and backpacked across Europe, busking in the Paris Metro. In 1976 he met Sugar Blue while busking. He started with the harmonica and later learned guitar to accompany his singing. In 1978 he led a Spanish blues-rock band in Spain and even lived with a gypsy family for six months. After becoming a father in 1985, he moved to Stuttgart, Germany, where he played with a local blues band. In 1987 he opened for Joe Cocker at the Backnang Open Air Festival.
From 1989 to 1994 he led his own band and toured Europe, releasing his debut album Live in Germany in 1992. He formed Street Talk in 1993, but its members lived far apart. He later focused on solo gigs and his electric blues trio. In 1995 he formed the Farrell and Black Band with Jimmy Carl Black; they released two albums for Stormy Monday Records, Cataract Jump (1996) and Black Limousine (1999). He continued writing and releasing music, including Street Songs, Jazzy Tunes and Down Home Blues (1998).
He moved back to the United States in 2001 and released Bohemian Life in 2003 for Blue Beet Music, featuring 16 original songs and a guest appearance by harmonica player Jerry Portnoy. The album reached number 18 on the Living Blues radio chart. Acoustic Roots followed in 2005, reaching number 20. In 2006 he teamed with Steve Guyger for Down Home Old School Country Blues, and in 2007 he released Stuck On The Blues with Marco Pandolfi. Camino de Sanlucar appeared in 2009, recorded in Seville, Spain. I Sing The Blues Eclectic came out in 2011, and At Cambayá Club, a 2013 live album, features Farrell on guitar, harmonica and vocals. His 2014 album Shoe Shoppin’ Woman includes covers of Elmore James and Snooks Eaglin.
His guiding belief is: The blues will never die because it's not a fad, it's more a way of life.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 20:35 (CET).