Richardson was born and raised in New Iberia, Louisiana.[1][5] He began his musical career at the age of 16, when he left home to tour the South with local bands. Shortly thereafter Ike Turner, upon hearing Richardson play in Texas, hired him to play with his band, the Kings of Rhythm, and then later with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Richardson worked with Turner for the next ten years. His ex-wife Edna Richardson was an Ikette in the revue as well.[6] In 1971, Richardson's arrangement of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Proud Mary" reached No. 4 on the pop chart and No. 5 on the R&B chart. It became a signature song for Ike & Tina Turner and won them a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group in 1972.[3][7] He continued performing with the Turners on-and-off until 1974.
In 1971, Richardson joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, with whom he would tour and record for the next decade, playing with many of the diverse artists to whom Mayall gave a start.[8][9][10]
In the mid-1980s, Richardson joined Albert Collins and the Icebreakers and became an influential figure in the Chicago blues scene. He helped earn the Icebreakers the W. C. Handy Award as Blues Band of the Year in 1985.[3][4] In 1988, Richardson rejoined Ike Turner, who hadn't performed in 12 years following his split with Tina Turner.[11]
Over the years Richardson recorded with many other artists, including Pee Wee Crayton, Bobby Womack and the English guitarist Terry Reid, with whom he was recording an album at the time of his death. Though limited by health problems in later years, he continued to perform and record and to sit in on jam sessions with friends. He played his last gig a few weeks before his death, at a club with Reid.[3][4]
Richardson died in the early hours of January 29, 2004, in his home in Los Angeles, from complications of diabetes. He was 64.[3][12] He was survived by two daughters, Rosalyn and Dia Richardson, and three grandchildren.[1]
