Richard Marc “Rick” Dufay was born on February 19, 1952 and he is a guitarist who played in Aerosmith in the period after Brad Whitford left the band in 1980 up to his return in 1984.
Dufay was born in Paris, France. Before joining Aerosmith, Dufay released an album called Tender Loving Abuse,produced by Aerosmith producer Jack Douglas. It was Douglas who recommended Dufay to Steven Tyler as Whitford’s replacement.Dufay can be heard on parts of Aerosmith’s 1982 album Rock in a Hard Place as well being seen in the video for “Lightning Strikes”.
Dufay was apparently a stabilizing force for the band on the road, describing himself in Behind The Music: Aerosmith as caring for Tyler during his lowest points of addiction and depression, and suggesting to Tyler that he reunite with Whitford and Joe Perry. Perry thanked Dufay for “committing career suicide” during Aerosmith’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acceptance speech in 2001.
Since leaving Aerosmith, Dufay’s projects have included the band Blue By Nature featuring vocalist Karen Lawrence. His daughter is actress Minka Kelly.