Ricky Lawson became a skilled drummer capable of performing numerous musical genres, including jazz, country and western, pop, rock, R&B, funk and Latin rhythms.
He cofounded the popular Los Angeles jazz fusion band Yellowjackets together with Robben Ford, Russell Ferrante, and Jimmy Haslip. Lawson recorded several albums with the band, including Yellowjackets, Mirage a Trois and Samurai Samba.
Ricky Lawson left Yellowjackets in 1986 to tour with Lionel Richie. He received a Grammy in 1986 for co-writing the hit song “And You Know That” on the album Shades, which he co-produced. He also co-wrote the Pointer Sisters’ hit “Uh-Uh” and co-produced the album Seriously Slammin and the Fattburger hit “Good News”.