Lita Ford

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Lita Ford is a British-American guitarist and singer, born in London in 1958. Her father was English and her mother Italian. When she was seven the family moved to the United States, eventually to Long Beach, California. Inspired by Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple, she began playing guitar at eleven. In 1975, at sixteen, she was recruited by the impresario Kim Fowley for The Runaways, an all-female rock band. It was given a record contract, released a first album in 1976 and in the late 1970s became a successful recording and touring group. Ford's lead guitar became a hallmark of it.

Music and breakthrough

After The Runaways she began a solo career in glam metal. Records from it include Out for Blood in 1983, Dancin' on the Edge in 1984, Lita in 1988, Stiletto in 1990 and Dangerous Curves in 1991. The high point came in the late 1980s. Her greatest success is the single Close My Eyes Forever from 1989, a duet with Ozzy Osbourne, which reached number eight on the charts. Later came Black in 1995 and Living Like a Runaway in 2012. In 2016 she wrote her memoirs, Living Like a Runaway.

Influence

Ford showed that a woman could play lead guitar in hard rock, in a world dominated by men. Her voice is a mezzo-soprano and sounds rougher than that of many metal singers.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1983Out for Blood
• 1984Dancin’ on the Edge
• 1988Lita
• 1990Stiletto
• 1991Dangerous Curves
• 1995Black
• 2009Wicked Wonderland
• 2012Living Like a Runaway
• 2016Time Capsule

See also

• Wicked Wonderland