IN THE VAULT 05/25/2015

Jerry Riopelle is a local Arizona musical hero-he was enough of an institution here that a couple of friends seemed amazed that I was unfamiliar with him when I went with them to a New Year's Eve show a few years ago.


He's had songs covered by Leon Russell, Meat Loaf, Kenny Loggins and Rita Coolidge, and worked as an A&M Records producer, but to my knowledge never really made a splash outside Arizona.

His New Year's Eve shows at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix were an institution, and he was such a large local draw that after opening for Dr. John in 1974, national acts opened for HIM-he never opened a show for anyone in Arizona again.

I thought I'd feature Riopelle's work this week to give you non-AZ natives a glimpse...

For those of you who do not have the key to the Vault, the video above was all I could find...