- Source of Wealth: Music, Television, Film, Radio
- Age: 73
- Birth Place: Rockford, Illinois, United States
- Marital Status: Married (Karen Nielsen)
- Full Name: Richard Alan Nielsen
- Nationality: American
- Date of Birth: December 22, 1946
- Occupation: Lead Guitarist, Backing Vocalist, Primary Songwriter of Cheap Trick
- Children: 4 (Daxx Nielsen, Miles Nielsen, Scarlett Nielsen, Erron Nielsen)
Before entering into “Cheap Trick”, Rick was associated with a number of other bands such as Fuse, and Grim Reapers. Rick’s initial debut failed miserably. He relocated to Philadelphia after this. Rick was one of the founding members of Cheap Trick along with Tom Petersson also from Rockford, Illinois. In 1973, the group added Bun E Carlos the famous drummer. Rick is the main songwriter for the band and usually composes and edits the songs himself. Rick’s dressing style is that of the 70’s – he prefers the pop dressing style as compared to the modern ones. His dressing style was inspired in the movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”. To display his passion for guitars and music, Rick unveiled a new exhibit titled “Rocks Pick” at the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford which is now open to the public.
Rick has over more than 400 guitars – many of them are custom made. He is really passionate about guitars.