Roni Lee

Roni Lee (a.k.a Ronnie Lee) was born Rhonda Lee Ryckman, November 15, 1956 in Los Angeles, California. She is an American guitarist, singer-songwriter and is most known for her affiliation with Kim Fowley's first mixed gender punk rock band Venus & The Razorblades (released on Spark Records) where she is the female lead guitarist and vocalist. Her relationship with producer and creator Kim Fowley led to co-writing the Runaways (album) hit "I Wanna Be Where The Boys Are" released on their "Live In Japan" album in 1977 winning the Recording Industry Association of Japan Gold Record. Roni Lee, Kim Fowley, and the members of the Runaways Joan Jett, Lita Ford are all part of a movement that led the way in the music industry for women in rock. The Woman's International Music Network founded by Laura B. Whitmore gives credit to these pioneers, a genre that was once dominated mostly by men. In 2009 "The Runaways" movie was released. The film depicts how difficult the music industry was during that era for women. The ground breaking lyrics of the Fowley/Lee song "I Wanna Be Where The Boys Are" is a running theme during the film. In 2013 Roni Lee was granted an endorsement with Paul Reed Smith guitars for her distinctive style of playing as well as her place in punk rock's early history during the 1970s. In 2014 "The Roni Lee Group" was nominated for "Best Hard Rock Band" at the San Diego Music Awards. Her current band is a Power trio consisting of bassist/violinist Lynn Sorensen, former bassist for Paul Rodgers and Bad Company, and drummer Jeff Kathan. Roni is also the founder of Play Like a Girl records which focuses on empowering femals artists.