Rick Berlin
Rick Berlin, born Richard Gustave Kinscherf III in 1945 in Sioux City, Iowa, is a Boston-based singer-songwriter and former frontman of several bands. A Yale graduate, he has been making theatrical, dramatic rock since the early 1970s.
His breakthrough came with Orchestra Luna, whose 1974 debut on Epic Records featured producer Rupert Holmes and a memorable live show. Their cover of “(You Gotta Have) Heart” became famous in Boston and was played on opening day for the Red Sox. Although the album didn’t sell well, the band toured successfully and even opened for Roxy Music. They later played the New York CBGB scene with groups like Talking Heads and The Ramones. In 1976 they were offered a contract by Sire Records but declined; final opportunities proved hard to come by.
In 1978 the band changed its name to Luna and released a hit single, “Hooray For Hollywood,” but disputes with a former producer kept a full album from happening. In 1982 Berlin started Berlin Airlift and released a self-titled debut on Handshake/CBS, but the label soon went bankrupt. Still, singles like “Don’t Stop Me From Crying” and “Over The Hill” found local success in Boston. In 1983 Berlin Airlift opened for the J. Geils Band and put out the Professionally Damaged EP, which included “Hunger Strikes,” a top local song on WBCN. The band broke up in 1984 due to the Handshake collapse and other problems.
Rick Berlin then formed Rick Berlin: The Movie in 1985. He won Indie Songwriter of the Year at the Boston Music Awards for “Rock ’n Roll Romance” in 1987 and continued with the project until 1989. He briefly led a band called Rome Is Burning in 1990 and went solo in 1991.
From 1994, Berlin played Monday nights at Jacques, a Boston transvestite bar, a weekly gig that continued through 2003. In 1999 he formed The Shelley Winters Project, releasing a six-track CD in 2001 and the full-length I Hate Everything But You in 2002. The group opened for The B-52’s in 2003 and folded in 2004.
Berlin has released solo material, including Me & Van Gogh (2006) and Paper Airplane (2010). He appeared online in 2009 with material from these projects. He also worked at Doyle’s Café in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, until it closed in 2019.
After Paper Airplane, Berlin teamed with the Nickel & Dime Band, an eight-piece group that brings new energy to his classic songs. They released a live show, Outta Control, in 2011 and began work on new studio material. Berlin also helped start the First Annual JP Music Fest, with plans for a 2012 edition.
Luna, an American rock band, was formed by Rick Berlin with former Orchestra Luna members.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 05:48 (CET).