Lita Ford

About

Lita Rossana Ford (born 19 September 1958) is a British-born musician. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, and then embarked on a successful glam metal solo career that hit its peak in the late 1980s. The 1989 single “Close My Eyes Forever”, a duet with Ozzy Osbourne, remains Ford’s most successful song, reaching No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Ford was born to Harry Lenard Ford and Isabella Benvenuto in London, England; her father was British and her mother was Italian. When she was 7 years old, she moved with her family to the United States, eventually settling in Long Beach, California.
Inspired by Ritchie Blackmore’s work with Deep Purple, she began playing the guitar at the age of 11. Her vocal range is mezzo-soprano.

In 1975, at age sixteen, Ford was recruited by recording impresario Kim Fowley to join the all-female rock band The Runaways. The band soon secured a recording contract and released their first album in 1976. The band garnered significant media attention and the Runaways became a successful recording and touring act during their late-1970s heyday…