Arguably the most famous member of The Runaways after Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, Lita Rossana Ford (born 19 September 1958) is an American musician who played lead guitar in The Runaways in the late '70s before embarking on a solo career in the '80s, shifting more towards a Hair Metal sound.
In 1988, after switching from Mercury Records to RCA Records following two commercial flops, she released her solo album Lita. Singles released from this album include "Kiss Me Deadly", "Back to the Cave", "Close My Eyes Forever", and "Falling In and Out of Love", (the latter co-written by Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe). "Close My Eyes Forever", which teams her up with Ozzy Osbourne, reached No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it her most successful solo single to date.
Married to Nitro vocalist Jim Gillette from 1994 to 2011, she took an 11-year hiatus from 1996 to 2007 in order to raise their two sons. Her post-hiatus releases include Wicked Wonderland (2009), Living Like a Runaway (2012), and the archive collection Time Capsule (2016).
Studio Discography:
- Out for Blood (1983)
- Dancin' on the Edge (1984)
- Lita (1988)
- Stiletto (1990)
- Dangerous Curves (1991)
- Yakety Yak, Take it Back (1991)
- Trash Talk (1992)
- Black (1995)
- Wicked Wonderland (2009)
- Living Like a Runaway (2012)
- Time Capsule (2016)
Tropes:
- The Big Girl: The tallest of the Runaways, as well as the harder-hitting sound compared to Jett and Currie.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: "Kiss Me Deadly":"I went to a party last Saturday night, I didn't get laid, I got in a fight, uh-huh, it ain't no big thing."
- Power Ballad: "Close My Eyes Forever", sung with Ozzy Osbourne.
