Richard Barone is an American rock musician and guitarist born in Tampa. Barone achieved professional recognition for a musical career characterized by rock, alternative rock, and chamber pop and for being the frontman of the ensemble the Bongos. He achieved professional recognition for a career that began after he performed as a radio host known as the Little DJ at age seven and produced recordings for the musician Tiny Tim at age 16. Barone achieved professional recognition for founding the ensemble the Bongos which signed with the label Fetish Records. Their recording career included the live studio recording Start Swimming (1982) and the studio recording Drums Along the Hudson (1982). The ensemble achieved professional recognition for the song "Numbers With Wings" (1983) which received a nomination at the first MTV Video Music Awards. Barone's discography included the debut solo live recording Cool Blue Halo (1987) recorded at the venue The Bottom Line. He achieved professional recognition for the studio recording Primal Dream (1990) and the studio recording Clouds Over Eden (1993). Barone achieved professional recognition for serving as a teacher at The New School's School of Jazz and Contemporary Music and the NYU Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. His recording career included the studio recording Glow (2010), the studio recording Sorrows & Promises: Greenwich Village in the 1960s (2016), and the extended play All Fall Down (2024). Barone achieved professional recognition for serving on the Board of Governors of The Recording Academy.
