Singer, songwriter and producer, born 10 November 1933 in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
A prolific songwriter with 434 work titles registered at BMI publishing. Also credited as Mr.Rico and Rico.

Rice was a member of vocal group The Falcons from 1957 to 1963. In 1965 he wrote and released Mustang Sally, his greatest hit as a solo artist that was covered the next year by fellow ex-Falcon Wilson Pickett.

Rice later joined Stax Records, where he (co-)composed song such as Respect Yourself (recorded by The Staple Singers in 1971), Do The Funky Penguin (for Rufus Thomas also in 1971) and Cheaper To Keep Her (for Johnnie Taylor in 1973).

While at Stax Records, he also sang with , joining them in 1970.
Died in June 27, 2016, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A, from complications relating to Alzheimer's disease.