• September 19, 1958
• At age 16, Lita Ford joined The Runaways, a band formed by lead singer Cherie Currie and guitarist Joan Jett. One year later, the band scored a record deal and released their debut album. Future Bangle Micki Steele was also in the group.
• Lita Ford was born to a British father and an Italian mother in London in 1958. At the age of 4, she moved with her family to the United States and took up guitar at age 11.
• She was briefly married to Chris Holmes, the guitarist for the band W.A.S.P. She also dated Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue.
• In 1992, she was a member of the house band on Howie Mandel's short lived talk show, Howie.
• In the mid '80s, Lita Ford was engaged to Black Sabbath guitarist Tommy Iommi. Iommi co-produced Ford's album The Bride Wore Black, which was never released. In an interview with metal magazine Kerrang! in 1989, Ford explained that there was "a certain amount of bad blood" between herself and Iommi.
• The original cover for Lita Ford's 1983 debut solo album Out for Blood featured Ford standing in front of a spider web holding a broken, blood-spurting guitar. It was later replaced by a more conservative picture of Ford holding her in-tact guitar in front of a purple background.
• Lita Ford's second album, 1984's Dancin' on the Edge, did better commercially than her debut album Out for Blood the year before. Dancin' on the Edge featured Randy Costillo on drums (who later played for Ozzy Osbourne) and Hugh McDonald on bass (who is now known as Bon Jovi's studio/session bassist.)
• In 2010, Lita Ford contributed her voice to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game Brutal Legend. Ford appears as a character named Rima, along with fellow entertainers Jack Black, Tim Curry, Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy Kilmister, and Rob Halford.
• In 1994, Lita Ford married Nitro lead singer Jim Gillette. The couple have two sons: James and Rocco. In 2011, Ford announced that she and Gillette were divorcing, despite the fact that they had begun plans to work on a new series for TLC. The series was later dropped because of the impending divorce.
• In our interview with Lita Ford, she explained that her home life was great, and that she was a runaway in band name only. "I think I was the only girl in The Runaways who did have a solid family," she said. "Other girls in The Runaways had families that were divorced or maybe had one parent that had passed away and the other parent remarried. My parents were the only ones that were literally till death do us part."

Comments: 1

• Shelby from C-wood, KyLita ford is the awesomest!! She is one of the few girls that can actually play guitar and she inspired me to pick up the instrument

More Songfacts:

Paul RevereBeastie Boys

In Beastie Boys' "Paul Revere," the title refers to the name of a horse. They took it from a song in the musical Guys And Dolls where a character sings, "I got the horse right here, the name is Paul Revere."

Piano ManBilly Joel

Billy Joel is surprised that "Piano Man" is so successful. He called it "an old, long song about a guy at a depressing piano bar."

Last NightGood Charlotte

Good Charlotte's video for "Last Night" reconstructs the TV show "Family Double Dare," complete with host Marc Summers.

Ebony and IvoryPaul McCartney

Paul McCartney wrote "Ebony and Ivory," his duet with Stevie Wonder, after a tiff with his wife Linda. "It was like, 'Why can't we get it together- our piano can,'" he explained.

Tainted LoveSoft Cell

"Tainted Love" started as a 1964 soul song by Gloria Jones, became a huge hit when Soft Cell covered it in 1981, and was the basis for Rihanna's 2006 #1 "S.O.S. (Rescue Me)."

Without YouNilsson

The song "Without You," a hit for Nilsson in 1972 and Mariah Carey in 1994, was written and originally recorded by Badfinger in 1970.

Editor's Picks

Alice CooperFact or Fiction

How well do you know this shock-rock harbinger who's been publicly executed hundreds of times?

Early Days of MTVFact or Fiction

If you can recall the days when MTV played videos, you know that there are lots of stories to tell. See if you can spot the real ones.

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.

Def Leppard QuizMusic Quiz

Can you name Def Leppard's only #1 hit in America? Get rocked with this adrenalized quiz.

Martin PageSongwriter Interviews

With Bernie Taupin, Martin co-wrote the #1 hits "We Built This City" and "These Dreams." After writing the Pretty Woman song for Go West, he had his own hit with "In the House of Stone and Light."

Rupert HineSongwriter Interviews

Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.