Jerry Riggs

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Jerry Riggs is an American rock guitarist and vocalist.

Riggs is a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, and first became known as guitarist for the group Raggedy Ann, a hard rock outit based in Atlanta, Georgia, in the late 1970s. He formed his own band, Riggs in 1980, and handled both lead guitar and lead vocals in that group. Two of the band's songs Radar Rider and Heartbeat were featured prominently in the 1981 animated feature film Heavy Metal. They were also included on the movie's soundtrack release. Riggs' debut album on the Full Moon label was released shortly after, but failed to make much of an impact on the music scene. One song "Ready Or Not" was a minor hit, but the album basically went unnoticed.

Jerry Riggs began working with Canadian rocker Pat Travers in 1983 and joined Travers' touring band as co-lead guitarist. At the time Riggs joined, Travers was at the end of his most successful period. The Pat Travers Band became a staple on the North American nightclub circuits during the latter half of the 1980s and toured constantly with very grueling schedules. At headlining shows, Riggs performed at least one of his original songs, and "Ready Or Not" was always a crowd favorite. He also showcased his exceptional guitar skills with a very memorable solo. A few of Riggs' original compositions made it onto Travers' 1990 release School Of Hard Knocks. One Riggs-penned track was an instrumental entitled Guitars From Hell that featured first-rate fretwork from both he and Travers. Riggs is also featured on the 1991 video release Boom Boom-Live At The Diamond Club. This video is a full-length concert filmed in Toronto, and features Travers' greatest hits, as well as "Ready Or Not" by Riggs. Although one of his songs was included in this video release, unfortunately Jerry Riggs' guitar solo was not included.

Riggs left Travers' group in 1993 and now lives in Florida. He continues to be active in music and performs regularly with Bobby Friss. The Bobby Friss Band has a large and loyal following in their home state, but are virtually unknown outside of Florida.

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