hypersongs

Lee Ritenour

A Los Angeles guitarist who played on thousands of sessions, made the albums Captain Fingers (1977) and Rit (1981), co-founded Fourplay in 1991, and is called Captain Fingers for the record that carries his nickname.

Sessions and the first albums

Lee Mack Ritenour was born in Los Angeles on January 11, 1952 (Encyclopedia.com notes one source giving November 1). He began guitar at eight according to his official biography, and by twelve was serious about it; as a teenager he met Wes Montgomery at the Lighthouse, a jazz club in Los Angeles. His first session came at sixteen in 1968, with the Mamas and the Papas. He worked with Lena Horne and Tony Bennett, studied classical guitar at USC, toured with Sergio Mendes, and is reported to have played on more than 3,000 sessions.

His debut, First Course, came out on Epic in 1976, followed by Captain Fingers in 1977 and The Captain's Journey on Elektra in 1978. In 1977 he played the triple guitar solo on the Brothers Johnson's "Strawberry Letter 23" at Quincy Jones's request and guitar on Steely Dan's Aja, and in 1979 he played on Pink Floyd's "Run Like Hell", though that claim is sourced to books and not independently verified. He played on George Benson's Give Me the Night in 1980.

Rit, Fourplay and later work

Rit (1981) reached number 26 on the Billboard 200, and its single "Is It You", with vocals by Eric Tagg, reached number 15 on the Hot 100. Harlequin (1984), with Dave Grusin on GRP, won the 1985 Grammy for best arrangement on an instrumental for "Early A.M. Attitude". In 1991 he co-founded Fourplay with Bob James, Harvey Mason and Nathan East; he left in 1997 and Larry Carlton replaced him. His Wes Montgomery tribute Wes Bound followed in 1993, with Larry and Lee with Larry Carlton the same year, and 6 String Theory (2008), with guests including Keb' Mo', B.B. King, Pat Martino and Slash, was named Jazziz album of the year in 2010 according to Wikipedia.

He has been nominated for 16 Grammys (17 per Flametree) and won once. A 2018 wildfire destroyed his Malibu home and studio. His later records include Smoke 'n' Mirrors (2005 or 2006, with his son Wesley on drums), Rhythm Sessions (2010) and Brasil (Candid, 2020). He played Ronnie Scott's in London on March 14, 2026, and has dates announced for Yoshi's in Oakland on November 2 and 3 and the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix on November 8, 2026. His gear has included a 1958 Fender Stratocaster and an Ibanez signature LR-10, made from 1981 to 1987, and later Gibson archtops.

Albums

  • Captain Fingers 1977 · Epic

    Seven tracks recorded in Burbank and Hollywood with a roster of West Coast session players; it introduced the guitar synthesizer to his work.

Songs

  • Captain Fingers Captain Fingers · 1977

    The title track of his 1977 album, named for a nickname that stuck.

Sources

  1. Lee Ritenour, Wikipedia
  2. Lee Ritenour biography, leeritenour.com
  3. Ritenour, Lee, Encyclopedia.com
  4. Captain Fingers, Wikipedia