Rick Fowler is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 blues-rock

Blues-rock

Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...

 guitarist

Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

 originally from the small town of Bowdon

Bowdon, Georgia

Bowdon is a city in Carroll County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 1,959. Bowdon is known as "The Friendly City."It is also the city of license for radio station WBZY.- Geography :...

, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

.

Career

Fowler learned to play guitar primarily by listening to early British blues and rock guitarists and American blues players.

Rick's earlier bands included Ziggurat, Deacon Little, and Fortnox. Fowler also recorded with pop singer Bertie Higgins

Bertie Higgins

Elbert Joseph "Bertie" Higgins is an American singer-songwriter. In 1982, he had his only Top 40 album with Just Another Day in Paradise. It spawned the Top 10 romantic ballad "Key Largo", which referenced the Humphrey Bogart movie of the same name and reached #8 in the U.S...

, whose hit single "Key Largo

Key Largo

Key Largo is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and, at long, the largest of the Keys. It is also the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the Keys connected by U.S. Highway 1...

" reached platinum sales in several countries. In 1982, the Fortnox song "Storm Inside My Head" went to number 44 in US AOR airplay and the band’s video reached the top 20 on MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

. The band toured non-stop for a year in support of the record, headlining medium venues and performing in stadiums as the supporting act for top rock acts. However, their success was short-lived. In 1984, Rick’s band Bombay recorded an album with legendary British producer Eddy Offord. The record was supported by the MTV video "Rumble Tonight."

Rick moved to Athens, Georgia

Athens, Georgia

Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...

 in 1991 after months of touring overseas with the band Bad Fun. He began performing with a number of Athens-based artists, including Ralph Roddenberry, Redneck Greece, and The Lonely White Boys (a band he formed with Drivin' N' Cryin guitarist Buren Fowler, Dreams So Real drummer Drew Worsham, and Normaltown Flyers bassist Greg Veale). He also played guitar in side band projects with Bill Berry

Bill Berry

William "Bill" Thomas Berry is a retired American musician, multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. In addition to his drumming duties, Berry played many other instruments including guitar, bass guitar, and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M....

 (R.E.M.

R.E.M.

R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...

), Dave Schools (Widespread Panic, Government Mule), Randall Bramblett

Randall Bramblett

Randall Bramblett is an American musician and singer-songwriter, whose career as a solo artist, session player, and touring musician, has spanned more than three decades. He has worked with such notable performers as Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Robbie Robertson, Elvin Bishop, Steve Winwood,...

 (Traffic), and a number of other well-known musicians from the area.

In 1997, Fowler put together a band of popular musicians to perform a rock concert benefit for Tourette syndrome

Tourette syndrome

Tourette syndrome is an inherited neuropsychiatric disorder with onset in childhood, characterized by multiple physical tics and at least one vocal tic; these tics characteristically wax and wane...

 awareness. Bill Berry, who was at the time retiring from the mega-star band R.E.M., made the show his farewell retirement performance, allowing his drums to be auctioned off for charity at the end of the night. Welcome Companions, a CD recorded by the benefit concert band, was released by Polyglot Records under the band name Rick Fowler and Friends in mid-2000.

Fowler's other accomplishments include playing as a studio guitarist on over 100 CD releases and producing and performing the music for a Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

award-winning documentary movie entitled Dirty Work.

Fowler signed with Jammates Records in 2007 and recorded the CD Back On My Good Foot. The album was released in early 2008.