Bor… Read Full Bio ↴Richie Kotzen is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter.
Born in Reading, Pennsylvania on February 3, 1970, Richie Kotzen was soon taken by music and first began playing piano at the age of five. At the age of seven he was inspired by New York City band KISS to learn the electric guitar. Relentlessly developing chops and his own unique voice on the guitar, Kotzen was eventually discovered by Shrapnel Records' Mike Varney, and he recorded his first album by the age of 18. During that same year, he also graced the cover of several publications including Guitar World Magazine. He created the video Rock Chops for REH video in 1989, highlighting many of his formative techniques, including using wide-intervals and fluid sweeping.
In 1993, Kotzen made his big break when he joined the rock band Poison at age 20, co-writing and performing on the album Native Tongue. This album produced two top twenty singles which Richie wrote, Stand and Until You Suffer Some. Kotzen was subsequently fired from the band when it was discovered that he had been romantically involved with Deanna Eve, the ex-fiance of Poison drummer Rikki Rockett. Kotzen and Eve later married and divorced. In 1999 Kotzen replaced Paul Gilbert as guitarist in the mainstream rock band Mr. Big. Kotzen maintained the band's enormous success, performing on the Mr. Big record Get Over It, which sold more than 1,975,000 copies in its first two weeks in Japan, eventually reaching platinum status. Kotzen also contributed guitars to Mr. Big's subsequent release Actual Size. The record included the Kotzen song Shine, which debuted at number one on Japanese radio charts. Following the disbanding of Mr. Big, Kotzen released the solo album Change, in 2003. The title track, and the song Get A Life were featured in TV commercials throughout Japan.
In mid 2002 Kotzen established a recording Studio/Production company in Los Angeles, California. He has since been producing acclaimed solo albums and collaborating with various figures in rock, jazz, and fusion. He now has formed a band called Forty Deuce which recently released a new album entitled Nothing to Lose.
Richie has a unique style, which he has described as a mix of rock, jazz fusion, and soul music. Of his albums, he claims he is most proud of Vertu. Kotzen utilizes a heavy amount of legato playing into his solos.
Richie is now living in Los Angeles, California. Besides playing the guitar, his hobbies include exercise and sports, especially basketball. Richie has said that if he had'nt become a professional musician, he would have liked to play professional basketball.
In 2008, Kotzen released his first official live album, "Live In São Paulo", which featured Johnny Griparic on bass and Dan Potruch on Drums.
Discography
* (1989) Richie Kotzen
* (1990) Fever Dream
* (1991) Electric Joy
* (1991) Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey (Soundtrack)
* (1993) Native Tongue (Poison)
* (1994) Mother Head's Family Reunion
* (1995) Inner Galactic Fusion Experience
* (1995) Tilt (with Greg Howe)
* (1996) Wave of Emotion
* (1996) Times Gonna Tell (EP)
* (1997) Kotzen/Howe Project (with Greg Howe)
* (1997) Something to Say
* (1998) What Is
* (1999) Break It All Down
* (1999) BiPolar Blues
* (1999) Vertu (project with Stanley Clarke and Lenny White)
* (1999) Get Over It (Mr. Big)
* (2000) Deep Cuts (Mr. Big)
* (2001) Actual Size (Mr. Big)
* (2001) Slow
* (2002) In Japan (Mr. Big)
* (2003) Change
* (2003) Acoustic Cuts
* (2004) Get Up
* (2004) The Best of Richie Kotzen
* (2005) Nothing to Lose (Forty-Deuce)
* (2006) ZxR Ai Senshi
* (2006) Into the Black
* (2007) ''Return Of The Mother Head's Family Reunion'' (Japan & Europe)
* (2007) ''Go Faster'' (US only)
* (2008) ''Live In São Paulo''
* (2009) ''Peace Sign''
* (2011) ''24 Hours''
* (2013) ''The Winery Dogs'' (The Winery Dogs)
* (2014) ''Unleashed In Japan: The Second Show'' (The Winery Dogs) Released only In Japan (DVD/2CD)
* (2014) ''The Essential''
* (2015) ''Cannibals''
* (2015) ''Hot Streak'' (The Winery Dogs)
* (2017) ''Salting Earth''
Videography
* (1989) Rock Chops
* (1994) Mother Head's family Reunion (Videoclip from the Mother Head's family Reunion Album)
* (1996) Wave of Emotion (Videoclip from the Wave of Emotion Album)
* (2001) Don't Wanna Lie (Videoclip from the Slow Album)
* (2001) Shine (Videoclip from Mr. Big's Actual Size Album)
* (2002) ''Hi-Tech Rock Guitar''
* (2005) ''Live In South America''
* (2008) ''Chase It'' (Videoclip from the R.O.T.M.F.R. Album)
* (2008) ''Bootlegged in Brazil''
* (2014) ''Unleashed In Japan: The Second Show'' (The Winery Dogs) Released only In Japan (DVD/2CD)'
* (2015) ''Live''
Special
Richie Kotzen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your movin' on somebody else can give you more
So I let you go thinking will never meet again
But here you are and baby I wanna know
Did you wanna be rich did you wanna feel special
Did you wonder in all this time how I
Was livin' without you
Now all the things you thought you had have gone
Let that be a lesson to you
Its funny how life can change
You never know until you walk away
I see you now and your lost and afraid
Because you know had love
And you wanted more
I give your more than I ever got back
You left me here to forget about that
Have gone
Let that be a lesson to you
Your special your so special your so special to me
All things that you wanted now you know were wrong
You gave up love for something more let that be a lesson to you
The song "Special" by Richie Kotzen talks about a rocky relationship between two people. The song starts off with the singer being rejected by someone he loves. The person he loves moved on and found someone else. He accepted the fact that they would never meet again but then the person he loves came back into his life. The singer asks the person he loves if they ever wanted to be rich, feel special, or wondered how he was doing without them. He then asks if they ever wanted to be cruel and if they thought he would never move on.
The chorus repeats the phrase "let that be a lesson to you". The singer claims that their relationship was something special to him and that all the things the person he loves wanted were wrong. The person he loves gave up love for something more, and now they know that it was not worth it. The song concludes with the singer telling the person he loves that they are special to him.
The lyrics in the song show that relationships are not always easy, and sometimes people don't appreciate what they have until it's gone. It also teaches that love is more important than money or possessions.
Line by Line Meaning
You said to me I'm not what your looking for
You told me that I'm not the one you're looking for
Your movin' on somebody else can give you more
You moved on because you believed someone else can give you more
So I let you go thinking will never meet again
I let you go, convinced we'll never cross paths again
But here you are and baby I wanna know
But now you're here and I want to know something
Did you wanna be rich did you wanna feel special
Did you desire wealth or did you only want to feel significant?
Did you wonder in all this time how I
Was livin' without you
Did you ever contemplate how I managed to live without you this whole time?
Did you wanna be cruel did you think that I never would go on
Did you intend to be cruel and assume that I could never move on?
Now all the things you thought you had have gone
All the things you had faith in, have all vanished now
Let that be a lesson to you
May this serve as a lesson for you to learn from
Its funny how life can change
It's amusing how life can change
You never know until you walk away
You never realise until you leave
I see you now and your lost and afraid
I see you now, confused and scared
Because you know had love
And you wanted more
Because you know you had love, but you needed something more
I give your more than I ever got back
I gave you more than I received
You left me here to forget about that
You left me here to forget about what happened
Your special your so special your so special to me
You're special, you're incredibly special to me
All things that you wanted now you know were wrong
You now realise that everything that you wanted was misguided
You gave up love for something more let that be a lesson to you
You chose to give up love for something you thought was more important, may you learn from that
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDRE YOUNG, MICHAEL FLOWERS, JAYCEON TAYLOR, MICHAEL ELIZONDO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
endru fernando
You said to me I'm not what your looking for
You're movin' on somebody else can give you more
So I let you go thinking will never meet again
Buy here you are and baby I wanna know
Did you wanna be rich did you wanna feel special
Did you wonder in all this time how I
Was livin' without you
Did you wanna be cruel did you think that I never would go on
Now all the things you thought you had have gone
Let that be a lesson to you
It's funny how life can change
You never know until you walk away
I see you now and your lost and afraid
Because you know had love
And you wanted more
I give your more than I ever got back
You left me here to forget about that
All the things you thought you had have gone
Let that be a lesson to you
You're special you're so special you're so special to me
All the things you thought you had have gone
All things that you wanted now you know were wrong
You gave up love for something more let that be a lesson to you
James Vaudry
One of the most moving guitar solos ever, ever, ever!
CCPA
Its a crying shame this guy isn't on every radio in the world....
Alekoshred
i agree, but on the other hand imagine being famous and at the same time being able to go out on the street and go about your life without paparaziis and fans following you everywhere, that's a privilege of its own
CCPA
True dat, its just a shame the entire world doesn't know how unbelievably good a musician this guy is. The outro solo on this track is otherworldly. Design a rock star from the ground up, and it would be Ritchie Kotzen....
Alekoshred
@CCPA absolutely, just look at the live performance of body talk by poison in 1993, can you actually look and play better than that? \m/
Robert Self
This is what America misses out on. This stuff is incredible. I've been jammin this for years now. Check out Jason Becker. He produced Richie's first solo album.
Brian Lambert
Simply one of the best solos I've ever heard. Wish it could go on for another 2-3 minutes.
endru fernando
You said to me I'm not what your looking for
You're movin' on somebody else can give you more
So I let you go thinking will never meet again
Buy here you are and baby I wanna know
Did you wanna be rich did you wanna feel special
Did you wonder in all this time how I
Was livin' without you
Did you wanna be cruel did you think that I never would go on
Now all the things you thought you had have gone
Let that be a lesson to you
It's funny how life can change
You never know until you walk away
I see you now and your lost and afraid
Because you know had love
And you wanted more
I give your more than I ever got back
You left me here to forget about that
All the things you thought you had have gone
Let that be a lesson to you
You're special you're so special you're so special to me
All the things you thought you had have gone
All things that you wanted now you know were wrong
You gave up love for something more let that be a lesson to you
eagfreek65 Mills
When he came out on the Shrapnel label in 87-88 i was on board!!! Richie is a musician's musician, so much talent and since I've met him, he is one down to earth guy and nice as hell!!
Lorena Spanu
Beautiful........Well done Kotzen...Again a masterpiece