[ Close Window ]

Welcome to the Linda Ricketts

MUSIC BRIDGE

Linda Ricketts is a vocalist who began performing at age 15 with a classical vocal ensemble, and has been involved in the performing arts ever since.  Born and raised in the Midwest, Linda co-founded a Caribbean Dance & Folklore Company in Indianapolis, Indiana, and co-founded the ‘Black & White & Dread All Over’ Puppet Company of St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  After moving to the Bay Area in the mid 1980’s, Linda worked closely with local jazz artists to create The ‘Oakland Bay Area Jazz Preservation Society’, a non profit organization dedicated to preserving jazz music by offering programs in the public schools of Oakland and San Francisco, and in after school music programs for children in the Greater Bay Area.  In 1988 she founded an Oakland based performing arts group, ‘The Gospel Theatre Ensemble.’

Linda is an experienced studio artist.  She has recorded at Skywalker Ranch with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir (OIGC) on Linda Rondstadt’s Grammy winning Cry Like a Rainstorm, soloed on OIGC’s  debut recording, and has provided background vocals on several studio projects.  She is a frequent soloist at special events and at jazz and dinner spots here in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Linda frequently appears on various venues in cities across the country stylizing ballads, blues, spirituals and jazz in a fashion uniquely suited for the deep resonance of her contralto voice. 

Known to many as Ricketti Rick, Linda has shared the stage with such local and nationally acclaimed artists as, Pharaoh Sanders, Ricardo Scales, William Bell, Ed Kelley, John Turk, Rhonda Benin, Robert Stewart, Willis Kirk, The Neville Brothers, Jackie Hairston and many others.  She was recently featured at the Throckmorton Theatre in northern California with The Friends of The Negro Spirituals. 

Linda regularly sings with the Allen Temple Baptist Church Choirs in Oakland, and has performed in a variety of venues in the U.S., France, Japan, Mexico, and Africa.  A professional speaker and Education & Training consultant, Dr. Linda Ricketts delivers music that fuels the spirit and feeds the soul.