German musician, born January 9th, 1950 in Berlin, Germany.

He joined "The Beatkinks" - primarily a Rolling Stones and Beatles cover band - in 1966 as their vocalist.

In 1970 he founded the famous band Ton Steine Scherben, together with Ralph Steitz, Kai Sichtermann and Wolfgang Seidel.
The band split in 1985 due to financial reasons.

Since 1983 he already had solo gigs, and collaborations with other artists.

In 1986 he released his first solo LP "Rio I."

He was also working as an actor in theatre, and in movies.

Rio died on August 20th, 1996 in Fresenhagen, Germany, after he had a cardio-vascular collapse in connection with internal bleedings.
He was buried on his own estate.

His home (now named "Rio Reiser Haus") became a studio and conference centre.