The Official Website of The Long Ryders

The Long Ryders were formed Thanksgiving 1981 in west Los Angeles, California. Kentucky born guitarist Sid Griffin left his sixties punk band The Unclaimed after having bonded musically with former Boxboys drummer Greg Sowders at a jam session in the notorious ON Klub in Silverlake. The other guitar player was Steve Wynn but he left to form the Dream Syndicate whereupon Virginia’s Stephen McCarthy, a country music lover new to L.A., stepped in after answering a “Musician’s Wanted” ad in a local Korean free newspaper.

The original bass player was Barry Shank but he quit to return to graduate school and was replaced by ex-pat Englishman Des Brewer who owned two budgies. This lineup recorded and released an EP in 1983 produced by ex-Sparks guitarist/former Beach Boys engineer Earle Mankey called 10-5-60 and it was so well received they decided to tour the USA. Des Brewer dropped out at this point to continue his career as a longshoreman in San Pedro and was replaced by Indiana’s Tom Stevens, a former candidate in the NASA “Right Stuff” space program in Houston.

Signed to (then) hip indie label Frontier the band recorded their debut LP Native Sons with the late, great Henry Lewy producing. Lewy had worked with the Flying Burrito Brothers on their classic Gilded Palace Of Sin LP as well as with the Association, Barbara Streisand and Van Morrison. Lewy had enjoyed a long, fruitful studio partnership with Joni Mitchell. Together the Long Ryders and Lewy came up with an album called “a modern American classic” by Melody Maker and soon found themselves on the cover of the New Musical Express as well as playing live on the BBC’s Whistle Test TV show.

After touring the USA for much of 1984 Europe was theirs for the taking in March/April 1985. Sold out gig followed sold out gig and the band were second only to The Smiths in the alternative charts of the day. (They remain second to the Smiths even now.) Signed to Island Records in early summer the band released the album State Of Our Union in September 1985 and soon found themselves number one in the College Radio/Alternative charts for four weeks running in their native land. Their single “Looking For Lewis & Clark” crashed into the charts and became their signature song.

The following year was spent consolidating their success. In America REM told them “soon as we get through making the Replacements famous you guys are next!”, in Spain they headlined a Barcelona festival to over 100,000 which was broadcast live on national radio, in Canada the Toronto Daily Mail called them “the best thing to happen to roots rock since The Band”, in Italy they played eighteenth century opera houses and gave press conferences as if heads of state and in Great Britain The Long Ryders were considered family to their fans and a breath of fresh air to the UK’s rock critics.

After a spring tour to work out new songs The Long Ryders released Two-Fisted Tales in early summer 1987. Produced by Ramones/Smithereens whiz Ed Stasium, it gave them a radio turntable hit with “I Want You Bad” and the touring began again. U2 asked them to open shows on the North American wing of their Joshua Tree tour and the high life beckoned.

Alas it was not to be. Bassist Tom Stevens left the road to be with his young family in August and by Christmas Stephen McCarthy left to write musicials. Island asked Messers. Griffin and Sowders for another album but without their old compadres their hearts were not in it and they foolishly if honorably declined. (Griffin and Sowders will happily make Island that album now if they are still interested. Call us!)

Since then The Long Ryders have graced us with several reissues, The Very Best Of The Long Ryders (Prima Records Ltd.), released June 2004, and October 2008 saw the release of Live 2004: State Of Our Reunion, a nineteen track reprise of the Ryders legendary reunion tour.

In 2014 the Long Ryders played their first L.A. show in 27 years, the Earle Mankey Appreciation Concert. A short run of dates in Spain followed in December of that year. 2016 saw Cherry Red Records in London release a four CD box set of Long Ryders material with a tour of Europe taking place in April/May and a West Coast tour of the USA followed.

Live in London, 2019 - photo courtesy Tom Gold / Goldwood Images

On February 15, 2019 Cherry Red Records in London and Omnivore in the USA released the first new Long Ryders album in over thirty years, Psychedelic Country Soul. The album features eleven brand new Ryder originals alongside a cover of Tom Petty’s great song, “Walls.” Garnering positive reviews across the board Psychedelic Country Soul reached Number One in both the Official UK Americana Chart and Amazon UK’s Alt-Country/Americana Chart!

On Saturday 23rd January 2021 our brother Tom Stevens died at his home in Indiana. We ask you all to keep Tom, his loving wife Elaine, Sarah, Zach and James in your thoughts. Tom loved you all so much. Play his beautiful song “Let it Fly” and be grateful for the time we all had together. We are.
Sid wrote a remembrance of Tom for Shindig Magazine, read it in full here.

In 2022 The Long Ryders were pleased and proud to be recognised and receive the International Trailblazer Award, an award presented to an “International artist, duo or group that has taken an exceptional path, inspiring others in the Americana genre” from the Americana Music Association UK.

Ask anyone in Wilco, the Black Crows, the Jayhawks (who employed Stephen McCarthy on their final albums and tours) or Slobberbone and they will tell you: don’t miss The Long Ryders if they come to your town. Their unforgettable live shows are spoken of in the same breath as were the live shows of such classic acts as The Faces, Sam & Dave, or even their friend Tom Petty’s in-concert act.