The Rich

Shaolin Records ARTIST: The Rich

Power Pop Featuring Richard Del Connor on Bass and Lead Vocals

  • Richard Del Connor created the first band called The Rich in San Diego 1978 to perform his rock opera, The Pauper.  Richard played acoustic guitar and flute while singing this story of several hundred years ago in England.  As a lead vocalist he was influenced at that time by Tim Currie of Rocky Horror Picture Show and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.  Alice Cooper was also someone Richard enjoyed singing along with.

“The Pauper” theme song was recorded in San Diego’s premiere 16-track studio with his relatives attending and assisting in the studio where Richard Del Connor set up over a dozen people like a street faire and had all of them selling their wares or having a conversation.  Richard was already a 1st A.D. and he didn’t know it.  This rock opera recording session was so impressive that the title song won the KPRI Battle of the Bands in 1978.  The song, “Hello Again,” is one of the songs to emerge from the one-day free recording session given to the band as the winners of the contest.

The second version of this band was a power punk trio featuring Richard Del Connor on bass and lead vocals. This band was three all-star players.  It would be nice to have a reunion of this band.

The next version of THE RICH included a half-dozen session players who are all very successful… and retiring at the time of this… 2020.  Some of the players include:

  • Mike Thompson with The Eagles
  • Jason Scheff with Chicago
  • Jack Sherman with Red Hot Chili Peppers

In 1984 the lineup was a three-piece with Richard performing gymnastics during his bass solos like somersaults…

Richard was graduating his Shaolin Kung Fu training and was himself a bassist session player for a dozen other bands during that year.  This drummer, John Merrit, is on the TEMPTATION EP vinyl album released by Shaolin Records in 1984.

The next version of The Rich began as Richard began studying film at UCLA in 1985.  This became the rock opera COYOTE IN A GRAVEYARD.  During this period, the name, The Rich, was hardly used.  The band became the rock opera.  The rock opera became Richard Del Connor’s first screenplay when New World Pictures contracted him to rewrite the rock opera into a feature film screenplay.

The drummer Bruce joined the Coast Guard and Scott Hitchings went on tour with The Temptations.

So Richard formed a new and sexier version of the band with Hollywood club musicians.  This was an interesting mix of new songs, the Coyote in a Graveyard rock opera songs, and sometimes Richard starting booking himself as an electric guitar soloist just so he perform more.

Then he had a daughter… moved to Utah… and began the American Zen 8-LEVEL Buddhist journey of spiritual enlightenment.  It is an amazing journey.  Now we have to package it up and make it available for sharing.  This is a worthwhile journey of a life well spent as an artist, parent, lover, and teacher.

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