Guitarist, singer, songwriter, and Producer Ricky Byrd, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts in 2015, has released his fourth and most personal album yet. Titled NYC Made and available via Wicked Cool Records, the album is out now.

A proud Bronx native raised in Queens and a lifelong Yankees fan, Byrd pays homage to the soundtrack of his youth with NYC Made. 

NYC Made was recorded at Parcheesi Studios alongside longtime co-producer Bob Stander. The album features a wide-ranging lineup, including keyboardist/accordionist Jeff Kazee (Asbury Jukes), fiddle player Tony Montalbo, drummers Steve Holley (Wings), Aaron Comess (Spin Doctors), and Thommy Price (Joan Jett & the Blackhearts), as well as Uptown Horns members Arno Hecht and Larry Etkin. The Ba Ba Blacksheep Singers, including Stevie Van Zandt, Willie Nile, Jeff Kazee, and Marc Ribler, lend their vocals to “Transistor Radio Childhood” and “Sweet Byrd of Youte.”

Additionally, Van Zandt co-produced “Transistor Radio Childhood,” “Stay Grateful,” and “Sweet Byrd of Youte” with Byrd and Stander. He also plays mandolin on “Anna Lee,” a doo-wop-inspired track co-written with Southside Johnny Lyon, which serves as the album’s lead focus track. Credited as “Consigliere” on the album, Van Zandt’s involvement adds another layer of depth to NYC Made.

NYC Made follows Byrd’s previous albums, Clean Getaway (2015) and Sobering Times (2021), both of which reflected his journey in sobriety, now marking 38 years, and his work leading recovery music groups at treatment centers across the country.

Byrd comments:

I still get the same thrill when I hear the DJ play one of my records on the car radio. Do you need any more than that? As long as there are young, rebellious kids banging away on guitar, bass, and drums in their garage, rock ‘n’ roll will survive in one form or another. And I’m still doing it.