Billy Ritchie

William Edward Ritchie (born 20 April 1944, Lanark, Scotland) is a British keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of The Satellites, The Premiers, 1-2-3, and Clouds. He is generally acknowledged as being the first keyboard player in rock music to stand and take a leading role, thereby providing a model for others such as Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman. He is also credited as being responsible for rewriting standard songs and arranging music in a style that later became fashionable as progressive rock. Ritchie grew up in the Scottish village of Forth in Lanarkshire. He began playing harmonica at an early age, and when a neighbour threw out a piano, and Ritchie’s parents took it in, Ritchie, at the age of 8, began playing...