Richard Manitoba
| Richard Manitoba | |
|---|---|
Manitoba at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Richard Blum |
| Also known as | Handsome Dick Manitoba |
| Born |
January 29, 1954 The Bronx, New York, United States |
| Genres | Punk rock, hard rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, radio personality |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Associated acts | The Dictators, Manitoba's Wild Kingdom, MC5 |
| Website | http://www.manitobas.com |
Richard "Handsome Dick" Manitoba (born Richard Blum, January 29, 1954) is an American punk rock singer and radio personality, best known as the lead singer of the New York City band The Dictators.
Manitoba is Jewish, and was born in The Bronx, New York, in 1954. He started out his singing career as a roadie for The Dictators. He made his "official stage debut" with The Dictators at Popeye's Spinach Factory in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, in 1975. The band's first major-label album, The Dictators Go Girl Crazy! (Epic Records, 1975), featured his picture on the cover and he was listed as the "Secret Weapon". This is because, while he sang some lead and some background, he was still considered a "mascot" of the band. He sang more lead on The Dictators' second offering, Manifest Destiny, a 1977 release on the Asylum label. On Bloodbrothers, the third and final Dictators studio recording from the 1970s (also on Asylum, 1978), Manitoba sang lead vocals on almost all the tracks. The Dictators disbanded in late 1981.
In 1986 Manitoba along with former Dictators formed Wild Kingdom. In 1989, the band changed the name to Manitoba's Wild Kingdom and, in 1990, released an album ...And You? on MCA Records.
The Dictators reformed in 1991 from the ashes of Manitoba's Wild Kingdom.
Manitoba appeared in the 2004 documentary Kiss Loves You.
In 2004, Manitoba began hosting "The Handsome Dick Manitoba Radio Program" in Little Steven Van Zandt's Underground Garage channel, on Sirius XM Radio. In 2005 the Village Voice awarded him "Best Satellite Radio DJ". The show continues to this day.
In 2005, Manitoba joined the reformed MC5 on vocals, replacing original singer Rob Tyner, who died in 1991. The band broke up with the death of bassist Michael Davis in 2012.
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