Richard Finch (musician)

Richard Raymond Finch (born January 23, 1954) is an American composer, producer, engineer, and song arranger. He is best known as the co-founder, producer and former bass guitar player of KC and the Sunshine Band. Along with Harry Wayne Casey, he co-wrote six No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits.

Biography

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Finch's family moved to Hialeah, Florida, when he was an infant. His favorite group growing up was The Beatles. His musical tastes grew to include soul and country and western music. In his early teens, Finch got his first electric bass guitar and began to figure out country music bass lines. He joined several country bands before joining the band Ball & Chain.^[1] Finch became interested in audio recording techniques and a schoolmate introduced him to the singer-songwriter Clarence Reid from TK Records. Finch started truanting from high school and spending every free moment at TK Records and eventually was hired as a part-time recording engineer for the label. Henry Stone and Clarence Reid introduced him to Harry Wayne Casey, three years his senior, who worked in the shipping department. Prior to his introduction to Casey, Finch had already established himself at TK as a skilled engineer, with over 127 singles recorded before the age of 17 (including various tracks for the Allman Brothers and Mother’s Finest).

Within weeks of meeting, the Finch/Casey songwriting collaboration began, with their first hit song recorded by Betty Wright and George McCrae ("Where Is the Love" and "Rock Your Baby"). Finch then assembled the future Sunshine Band members, utilizing his already-established friendships with TK session musicians, the guitarist Jerome Smith and the drummer Robert Johnson. The Finch/Casey collaboration produced numerous hits, including, "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "Get Down Tonight", "Please Don't Go", "Boogie Shoes" and "I'm Your Boogie Man".

Legal troubles

On March 23, 2010, Finch was arrested in Newark, Ohio, accused of having sexual contact with a 17-year-old male. Police stated that during an interview, he admitted to having sexual contact with that teen,^[2] and other teens aged 13 to 17.^[3]

At his bond hearing on April 6, 2010, Finch entered a plea of not guilty to all charges.^[4] However, he was convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment. He is currently serving his sentence in Chillicothe Correctional Institution, a medium-security state prison in Ohio. He is scheduled for release on March 13, 2017.^[5]

Legacy

Finch is a multi-Grammy Award winner and was nominated in the 2010 first round Grammy ballot as producer. He is the recipient of an American Music Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In October 2010, Finch became a nominee to the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

References

External links

• Official website