[4] Ripley worked as a studio musician, producer, and recording engineer, working with Bob Dylan, playing guitar (on Shot of Love) and on the "Shot of Love" tour,[5] with J. J. Cale (on Shades, 8 and Roll On), and he produced Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Roy Clark (on Makin' Music) and Johnnie Lee Wills (on Reunion) and 20/20 (on “Sex Trap”).

He created guitars for Steve Lukather, J. J. Cale, John Hiatt, Ry Cooder, Jimmy Buffett and Eddie Van Halen, before moving to Tulsa in 1987 and buying Leon Russell's former recording studio, The Church Studio.

[12] Ripley was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Awards Red Dirt Hall of Fame along with Bob Childers and Tom Skinner at the ceremony for the First Annual Red Dirt Music Awards held on Sunday, November 9, 2003 at Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa.

He remastered several of Leon Russell's songs that were available in a touchscreen kiosk that allowed a visitor to adjust individual instruments and vocal tracks to comprehend how multitrack recording works.

[14] In 2016 Ripley produced and curated a concert at Cain's Ballroom to celebrate the music and legacy of Bob Dylan.