Heyman was born in 1951 and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey. He started banging on things when he was five, got a full drum kit when he was seven, and was an accomplished drummer by the time he was twelve. He picked up guitar and piano in his teens, which was also when he began writing songs. He was one of the original members of the 60s group, “The Doughboys (New Jersey),” who are considered to be a legendary New Jersey garage rock band. He would later go solo, in his twenties, following the breakup of the original Doughboys. In addition to his solo work, he has drummed for such artists as Brian Wilson, Link Wray, Jonathan Richman and the Left Banke’s Michael Brown, composer of “Walk Away Renee.” He also played keyboards for the legendary Ben E. King and guitar for the lead singer of The Shangri-Las, Mary Weiss. His influences are as varied as Leonard Bernstein to The Beatles, Richard Rodgers to the Rascals, and the Blues to The Byrds. In live performance, Richard leads his own band on guitar and keyboards.
[via Masao Nakagami in Yokohama]
New Music United 