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Drummer Richard Innes was born in Colfax, Washington and grew up in Riverside, California. He was destined from an early age to become recognized as one of the finest contemporary blues drummers on the planet. Innes became a serious student of traditional blues drumming whose teachers included Fred Below and S.P. Leary. He was further influenced by Sonny Freeman, Odie Payne, Willie Steele and Earl Palmer.

Innes began playing with Rod Piazza in 1968. They joined with George “Harmonica” Smith and Pee Wee Crayton on guitar. In addition to a stint in 1970 backing Little Richard, he continued to play with Rod Piazza until 1974, when he became a founding member of The Hollywood Fats Band. Innes has played with virtually every important blues musician from the late 1960s to today, ranging from Big Mama Thornton, Otis Spann, Buddy Guy, Lightnin’ Hopkins, T-Bone Walker, Jimmy Reed, Eddie Taylor, Johnny Shines, Albert King, Roy Milton, Big Joe Turner, Floyd Dixon, Lazy Lester, Snooky Prior, Dave and Louis Myers and Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson to contemporary groups such as The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Kim Wilson's Blues Revue and The Mannish Boys.

Richard Innes’s unique talent is unparalleled in modern blues, and he is a master of all styles of the genre. In the world of blues he is the number one choice for producers and musicians as a recording and performing artist. Richard Innes’s living legacy brings unsurpassed excellence to The Hollywood Blue Flames.