

The only place online to buy personally-signed LPs, CDs, DVDs, and books by Richard Barone, along with exclusive t-shirts and other cool stuff.
PRE-ORDER FOR SHIPPING AFTER APRIL 1, 2026
In 1983, Richard Barone and James Mastro of The Bongos, taking a break after an extensive U.S. tour that produced a batch of new songs written in hotel rooms, planes, and dressing rooms, released a duo album called Nuts & Bolts. Recorded in North Carolina with Mitch Easter (R.E.M., Let’s Active), the album had a more acoustic and intimate feel compared to The Bongos’ recordings, showing a different side of the two musicians. Influenced by folk-rock and power-pop sounds, full of hooks and harmonies, and performed with their signature spontaneous energy, the album received critical acclaim and appeared on many best-of-the-year lists (including People magazine!).
Shortly after releasing Nuts & Bolts, The Bongos made their RCA Records debut, and Richard and James resumed touring with the band. Only a handful of live duo shows were played in support of Nuts & Bolts, and the original label, Passport Records, folded, making copies of Nuts & Bolts an instant collector’s item. Originally issued only on vinyl LP and cassette, it was never digitized or released on CD until now. Fast forward to spring 2026, and Iconoclassic Records is releasing the meticulously restored and remastered Nuts & Bolts as a deluxe, annotated CD. Richard and James are celebrating the release with select live performances in the Northeast and South that will feature the long-lost sounds of Nuts & Bolts, along with other songs from their rich catalogs, for both new and longtime fans.
Richard Barone
Richard Barone is a recording artist, performer, producer, professor, and author. Since pioneering the indie rock scene in Hoboken, NJ as frontman for The Bongos, and helping to launch the chamber pop movement with his album "cool blue halo," Barone has produced countless studio recordings and worked with artists in every genre. Collaborators have included Donovan, the late Lou Reed, and American folk icon Pete Seeger. He has scored shows and staged all-star concert events at such venues as Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. His memoir Frontman: Surviving The Rock Star Myth was published by Hal Leonard Books. His 2016 album “Sorrows & Promises” is a celebration of the early 1960s music scene in Greenwich Village, where Barone lives. His most recent book, Music + Revolution: Greenwich Village in the 1960s was published in September 2022. He is affiliated with The New School of Jazz of Contemporary Music, where he teaches Music + Revolution, has served on the Board of Governors of the Recording Academy (GRAMMYs), and hosts the Folk Radio show on WBAI New York.