“All-around musician” is a blanket term that usually describes someone who, at the very least, sings while playing an instrument. And/or plays more than one instrument with advanced proficiency. Especially while performing their own compositions, plus perhaps arrangements of songs written by others. And preferably with their own flair.
Boynton Beach resident Rick Rossano is a rarity who checks every one of those boxes. And he’s been doing so in South Florida for 50 years, complete with a whip-smart, absurdist sense of humor rivaling Frank Zappa’s. In fact, the only thing preventing this local from legitimately being called Palm Beach County’s greatest all-around popular musician — of all-time — might be the fact that he was born in Ponca City, Okla.
The self-deprecating Florida transplant wouldn’t agree with such accolades, an important distinction. For many musicians, their reach exceeds their grasp, unknowingly holding them back. Rossano is one of the rarities whose grasp is practically unlimited, yet doesn’t seem as comfortable accepting props as dishing them out. Which makes him better, even if he doesn’t appear to know it.
“I moved to South Florida with my mom at age 16,” Rossano says, “after my dad got sick and passed away in Oklahoma. And I got involved with a lot of great musicians down here, including Scott Henderson,” referring to the West Palm Beach native and guitarist who’s become a jazz/fusion star since he moved to Los Angeles in 1980.
Rossano is now 70 years old, and has retired from his long day-job stretches for Palm Beach County and the city of West Palm Beach. So other than teaching music to a handful of private students, his jobs now involve a fledgling solo acoustic act and a relatively new trio called The Dillies (thedillies.com), both on a monthly basis at Rudy’s Pub in downtown Lake Worth Beach.
There’s also pianist and choir director Howard Lemon’s ensemble at the First Christian Church in West Palm Beach, and the veteran Beatles tribute act Across the Universe (www.acrosstheuniverseband.com).
But if you’re reading this, it may be because you recognize Rossano’s name from a previous scroll of bands. Like the Renegades (also known later as the Grenades) in the 1970s, then the Paul Ohara Project, Rickie & the Rocketships, and the White Owls in the 1980s. Rossano played bass in both the Renegades/Grenades and the vibraphonist Ohara’s group, an improvisational ensemble that even included an occasional King Crimson medley.
“I’ve been blessed to play with some great folks, including right now,” he says in a recurring theme. “Mr. Lemon is from Detroit, and he leads a full-on gospel communion on Sundays. In Across the Universe, there’s Greg Steiner as Paul, Diego Vasquez as George, Peter Maerz as Ringo, and me as John. Peter is also the drummer in The Dillies, our trio with bassist Chuck Farthing.”
The White Owls once ruled the roost as a retro 1960s cover band, and held a standing-room only, one-off reunion last year upstairs at Rudy’s at Bamboo. Rossano formed the Rocketships as its vocalist and guitarist in the mid-’80s, and his electric six-stringed playing eventually equaled his already impeccable bass work. One night at the now-defunct Drexel Saloon in West Palm Beach, he sang Smokey Robinson & the Miracles’ “Tears of a Clown” and nailed the singer’s falsetto from start to finish.
All of which led to The Dillengers, Rossano’s group through the 1990s and beyond — and one of the best in South Florida history. Bassist/vocalist Charlie Gonzanez and drummer/vocalist George Anderson, also of the White Owls, rounded out the trio on three recordings, starting with the independent studio cassette EP At Large in 1992 and then the full-length concert CD Live at Elwood’s (Extensive Records, 1997).
That live album was recorded at what was The Dillengers’ perfect house gig from 1994-2001. Elwood’s was an open-air barbecue restaurant at 301 E. Atlantic Ave., now the neon-lit Johnnie Brown’s in downtown Delray Beach. Then nicknamed “the shack by the track,” the former gas station lacked pretense and suited the trio’s devil-may-care attitude.
Another now-defunct musical entity, Saturn Sound Studios in West Palm Beach, brought its mobile recording truck there on St. Patrick’s Day in 1996 to capture original material and raucous covers ranging from Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker to Tom Waits and Johnny Cash.
Several of Rossano’s exemplary performances were too impressive to go unnoticed beyond South Florida. The international glossy magazine Guitar One included him in its 2000 article entitled “America’s 10 Best Unknown Guitarists,” largely on the strength of Live at Elwood’s. Rossano’s instructional book/CD combo, Roots-Style Rhythm Tracks, was then published by Mel Bay (www.melbay.com) in 2001.
Its Mel Bay follow-up book, The Complete Guide to Roots-Style Guitar, became available earlier this year.
“There are downloads with this book rather than a CD,” Rossano says. “It’s a sign of the times.”
In 2004, The Dillengers released the surf music-heavy instrumental studio CD Instro-Mania on Favored Nations Records. Initially a local independent album, it caught the ear of Favored Nations founder and guitarist Steve Vai, who distributed it internationally. A virtuoso player, Vai had been in Zappa’s band and started a solo recording career, both in the 1980s. He now recreates founding King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp’s lines in the tribute act Beat and co-leads the band Satchvai with fellow guitar hero Joe Satriani.
“Rick is an incredible guitar player,” Vai said in a 2024 ArtsPaper interview. “He has every nuance of roots music and rock at his disposal, and he’s an expert at utilizing all of them.”
The Dillengers’ recorded performances include Rossano originals like the Beatles-influenced “What In the World,” the Elvis Costello-tinged “Anything I Didn’t Say,” plus a comic gem about a different Elvis.
“I Seen Elvis” poked fun at Presley worshipers who couldn’t let an icon die, and it became a requested live favorite. The band’s cover selections also ranged from a comical reggae version of Neil Young’s “Rust Never Sleeps” (“Rasta Never Sleeps”) to The Ventures’ “Surf Rider” and themes from the films Goldfinger and The Good, the Bad & the Ugly.
That trio carried on into the 2010s, eventually with capable replacements in bassist/vocalist Bill Rabon (who joined in 2007) and drummer/vocalist Mike Vullo (2004), before Rabon moved back to his native Alabama. Rossano, a lifelong Beatles fanatic, joined Across the Universe; completed his day jobs, and set the stage for his current play jobs.
“I primarily play rhythm guitar in Across the Universe,” he says. “We did the South Florida tour of Century Village theater locations in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, and Pembroke Pines in October.”
A recent Rossano solo show at Rudy’s Pub displayed more recognizable pop music, with material by John Lennon, David Bowie, Elton John, The Monkees, Buffalo Springfield, and the Rolling Stones. Roots music was also represented by deeper dives into vintage material by both Roosevelt Sykes and Waters, Chicago’s electrified blues king.
The Dillies lean on Rossano’s musical acumen and his memory, capable of a hundreds-deep knowledge of chords and structures of cover tunes. Which allows for a rootsy song list that differentiates from that of The Dillengers.
”We try to do three-part vocal harmonies wherever possible,” Rossano says, “while veering toward more New Orleans-like groove material. There’s less esoteric stuff and shocking segues than in The Dillengers.”
Perhaps most shocking is the fact that Rossano, who turned 70 on Oct. 17, is still in South Florida nearly 55 years after landing here. His secure county and city jobs for more than 25 years kept the guitarist — capable of amoebic playing that echoes everything from Scotty Moore and Link Wray to Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan — from relocating toward what very well might’ve meant stardom in Nashville, Los Angeles, or New York City. But he’s having none of that.
“There are kids flipping burgers in those places who will fumigate you musically,” says Rossano. “I’ve ridden couches in those cities, and then gotten my ass right back home. We have a good thing going here.”
With everything that no longer exists in the area music scene, including a slate of former concert venues, live music establishments, recording facilities, and other departed all-around musicians, there’s still only one Rossano.
He’s the one who didn’t get away.
If You Go
See Rick Rossano with Across the Universe at 8 p.m. Nov. 7 at Biergarten, 309 Via De Palmas, No. 90, Boca Raton (561-395-7562, www.biergartenboca.com), and with The Dillies at 7 p.m. Nov. 13, and solo at 7 p.m. Nov. 28, at Rudy’s Pub, 21 S. J St., Lake Worth Beach (561-602-5307, rudyspubinlakeworth.com).