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Vernon Reid is a Grammy Award-winning guitarist, songwriter, and producer, best known as the founder of the rock band Living Colour, whose innovative playing has influenced generations of musicians.
Laney announced a new endorsement deal with Vernon Reid, featuring him in a longform video.
Vernon Reid plays models from the Vernon Reid signature Totem series with Reverend Guitars, having switched in 2024.
Vernon Reid is associated with LEWITT, an audio company, as a producer, songwriter, and guitarist.
Vernon Reid has used custom Hamer guitars in the later days with Living Colour.
Vernon Reid is listed as an artist with Line 6, known for his work with Living Colour and various other projects.
During the early years of Living Colour, Reid used a multi-colored ESP Mirage; an 86-run limited edition Cult '86 based on his original was later released.
Vernon Reid started a relationship with Parker Guitars, which built the DF824VR Vernon Reid signature model based on their Dragonfly design.
Vernon Reid switched to PRS Guitars in 2016 and worked on a signature model with them, resulting in the PRS S2 VR Vela.
Vernon Alphonsus Reid was born on August 22, 1958, in London, England, to parents from Montserrat. His family relocated to New York City in 1959, where he later attended Brooklyn Technical High School and New York University. Reid first gained recognition in the 1980s as part of Ronald Shannon Jackson’s avant-jazz-rock band, The Decoding Society, contributing to six studio and three live albums between 1980 and 1986. During this period, he also recorded the duo album “Smash & Scatteration” with guitarist Bill Frisell in 1984. A pivotal moment in his early career was co-founding the Black Rock Coalition in 1985 alongside journalist Greg Tate and producer Konda Mason, advocating for greater recognition of Black rock artists.
In 1984, Reid established Living Colour in New York City, solidifying its lineup by 1986. The band’s debut album, “Vivid,” released in 1988, achieved double Platinum status, followed by their gold-certified album “Time’s Up” in 1990. Living Colour earned two consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Hard Rock Performance and gained significant exposure while opening for the Rolling Stones’ “Steel Wheels” tour in 1989 and participating in the inaugural Lollapalooza tour in 1991. After an initial hiatus in 1995, the band reformed in 2000, releasing subsequent albums: “Collideøscope” (2003), “The Chair in the Doorway” (2009), and “Shade” (2017). His distinct guitar style led to him being ranked No. 66 on Rolling Stone’s 2003 list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, and later No. 42 in their 2023 list of the top 250 Greatest Guitarists of all time.
Beyond Living Colour, Reid developed a versatile solo career, commencing with his album “Mistaken Identity” in 1996. He has produced Grammy-nominated albums, including Salif Keita’s “Papa” (1999) and James Blood Ulmer’s “Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions” (2001), continuing to produce Ulmer’s subsequent works. Reid has composed scores for films like “Paid in Full” (2002) and “Ghosts of Attica” (2001), and served as music supervisor for “Mr. 3000” (2004). His collaborative projects include “Front End Lifter” (2002) as part of Yohimbe Brothers with DJ Logic, and various compositions and performances with artists such as The Roots, Mick Jagger, Public Enemy, and Mariah Carey. Reid continues to perform and record, with a new album, “Hoodoo Telemetry,” slated for release in 2025, and maintains his broadcast “An Underground Railroad of the Mind” on Home streaming radio.
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