Music Prior to his association with the Bosstones, Barrett played in the local
Boston area bands Cheapskates, Toxic Toast, and Impact Unit. Toxic Toast would later be immortalized in a Bosstones song of the same name on the group's 1994 album
Question the Answers. Barrett spent the majority of his musical career playing with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He provided vocals across the band’s entire discography. Barrett toured with the band across the world continuously until their announcement of a hiatus in December 2003. The band's 1997 release, ''
Let's Face It'', would prove to be the band's biggest break, mostly due to the first single "
The Impression That I Get," which charted at number one on the Billboard charts. In 2003, Barrett began working on an untitled solo album. The album was said to be a radical departure from the ska-core sound made popular by the Bosstones. Barrett was quoted as saying that the album will be "more sombre, darker". Fellow Bosstone, Lawrence Katz, was said to be assisting Barrett with the recording of the album. However, the album remains unreleased. Barrett appeared on two
Brain Failure tracks, which are featured on their split entitled
Beijing to Boston with
Big D and the Kids Table. Barrett provided guest vocals on the
Street Dogs song "Justifiable Fisticuffs" from their first album
Savin Hill,
the Gaslight Anthem song "The Patient Ferris Wheel" from their album ''
The '59 Sound'', "Charge into the Sun" from
the Briggs' album
Come All You Madmen,
the Unseen's cover of "
Paint It Black" from the album
State of Discontent, songs "Force Field" and "Faster Than the World" from their 1999 album
F.T.T.W., and
Rancid's songs "Cash, Culture and Violence" and "Black Lung" on their album ''
Life Won't Wait''. He also made guest appearances on tracks from
No Use for a Name, Clowns for Progress, the
Stubborn All-Stars, and local Boston band
Darkbuster. Barrett announced that the tenth official
Hometown Throwdown would occur between December 26–30, 2007 at
Cambridge, Massachusetts' famed
Middle East after a five-year hiatus. Barrett also confirmed that the Bosstones would be performing, although he seemed unwilling to confirm any long-term plans for the band. The Bosstones also performed on New Year's Eve 2007 in
Providence, Rhode Island. The Bosstones returned to the recording studio to record three new songs, which were included with unreleased material and vinyl B-sides on a collection titled
Medium Rare released on December 18, 2007. In January 2022,
Rolling Stone reported that Barrett had produced a song and music video for
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to promote an anti-vaccine rally. Five days later, the Bosstones announced on Facebook and their website that they were breaking up. Though the band did not state the reason for the breakup,
Rolling Stone speculated that it was related to Barrett's involvement in the song and video. News of his involvement with Kennedy and the band’s breakup came two weeks after Barrett left Jimmy Kimmel Live! Barrett confirmed that the breakup occurred in part due to his views on the COVID-19 vaccine. On March 6, 2023, it was announced that Barrett had formed a new band with members of
the Offspring,
Street Dogs,
Smash Mouth and
the Briggs called the Defiant. The group released their debut album in October 2023.
Radio Barrett became the host of his own radio show, the
Mighty Morning Show on Los Angeles radio's
Indie 103.1 FM from 2005 until his firing on March 22, 2006. He was a regular on three of
Boston's rock stations:
WAAF,
WBCN, and
WFNX. On the April 13, 2009 episode of
The Adam Carolla Show podcast, Dicky Barrett was Adam's guest. Over the years, he has also been a regular guest on Adam's former show,
Loveline. He was a guest on Bill Simmons'
The B.S. Report podcast on December 8, 2009, with Cousin Sal and Super Dave Osborne.
On screen Barrett first reached a national TV audience appearing with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones in an ad for
Converse shoes in 1991. In the mid-1990s, Barrett appeared as a bus driver on the
Nickelodeon show
Bus No 9. In 1995, he appeared with the rest of the Bosstones in the film
Clueless, playing at a fraternity party. While with the Bosstones, Barrett performed on several television shows, including
Saturday Night Live,
The Jon Stewart Show, as well as ''
Sesame Street's Elmopalooza''. ,drawn on the set of
Jimmy Kimmel Live!Barrett portrays a prison inmate in the 1999 film
Big Helium Dog. In 2004, after the Bosstones went on hiatus, Barrett became the announcer for
ABC's
Jimmy Kimmel Live!. That year he also had a cameo role in the film
Home of Phobia which was screened at the
Sundance Film Festival. Barrett was released from his obligation to
Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2022 when he reportedly refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Barrett has also done
voice-over work for
Minoriteam and appears in the documentary film
American Hardcore. He has appeared on an episode of
Criss Angel's
Mind Freak. He also portrayed
rock pioneer
Bill Haley in the miniseries
Shake, Rattle, and Roll: An American Love Story. ==Personal life==