- In his appearance on This Is Your Life, his early life was summed up by the host saying "You'd had three heart attacks, two marriages and lost £10 million by your early thirties ... but then things got better".
- He provided keyboards as well as produced a few Black Sabbath albums in the seventies (the Ozzy Osbourne years) using the name "Spock Wall".
- He was paid nine pounds to play piano and mellotron on David Bowie's first hit single, "Space Oddity", which reached number five in 1969.
- In an interview, Rick told of playing at a concert during which a bizarrely dressed man leaped on stage and started waving his walking stick. Somewhat startled, Rick threw him off the stage and carried on playing. Only afterward did he find out that the guy was Salvador Dali!
- He attended the Royal College of Music and is a classically trained pianist as well as being regarded as one of the most influential progressive rock keyboardists for his work with the band Yes and his own solo career. Despite the fact they were often accused of being Genesis clones, Marillion keyboardist Mark Kelly has always said that Wakeman was actually his biggest inspiration.
- Yes' 1973 album "Tales from Topographic Oceans" came seventh in Classic Rock Magazine's list of the 30 greatest concept albums of all time. Wakeman's 1974 solo album "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" came 25th on the list. (March 2003)
- Before joining yes, he played in the folk rock group the Strawbs.
- He has three sons from his first marriage (to Roz): Oliver Wakeman, Adam Wakeman, and Benjamin, and a stepdaughter, Amanda.
- He and Nina have a daughter, Jemma Wakeman, and a son, Oscar.
- Prog magazine has described him as "one of the funniest men in prog".
- He is a devout fan of Norman Wisdom
- He has lived in Middlesex, London, Buckinghamshire, Devon, Switzerland, Scotland, Surrey, Hertfordshire and on the Isle of Man. He has lived in Norfolk since 2005, with Rachel Kaufman.
- He began learning to play the piano at the age of four.
- He is a member and promoter of the British Conservative Party. He played at a concert at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire in aid of the Conservative Party on Saturday 25th September 2004.
- He was educated at Drayton Manor County Grammar School.
- He was friends with many actors and comedians, such as the late Eric Sykes and Bernard Cribbins.
- He is a member of the National Trust.
- He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Music and Broadcasting. He is musician, presenter and author in Scole, Suffolk, England.
- Played piano on the Black Sabbath song "Sabbra Cadabra" from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.
- His father was a trumpeter with the Billy Cotton Band,.
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