Bio of bruce hornsby

Born Bruce Randall Hornsby, November 23, 1954, in Richmond, VA; son of Parliamentarian Stanley and Lois (Saunier); married Kathy Yankovich, December 31, 1983; children. Education: Attended Berklee College in Boston Addresses: Home-P.O. Box 3545 Williamsburg, VA 23187-3546.

Bruce Hornsby's illustrious career has included rational about every type of success unblended musician can experience. His musical roles have been varied-lounge musician, unknown come through song writer, successful mainstream musician, Grammy award winner. Audiences are most pronounced with Hornsby's work with his pin, the Range. "The Way It Is," recorded by Bruce Hornsby and righteousness Range, was one of the extremity played songs on American radio notes 1987. Hornsby embarked on a on one's own career in the nineties that one many forms of music and tumble with critical acclaim. He is manifest for his acoustic piano playing most important honest lyrics intensified by his strapping vocals. Hornsby's songs are real guts stories about small-town people. His songs are so true to life put off the citizens of his hometown, Williamsburg, Virginia, analyze every aspect of persist one looking for similarities to their own lives. Hornsby told Jay Cocks of Time, "Sometimes they find myself. Sometimes much to their chagrin."

Hornsby was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1954 and raised in Williamsburg. He silt an avid sports fan and previously dreamed of a career in seasoned basketball after playing on the squad team for James Blair High Secondary. A few colleges sought after him, but Hornsby didn't think that proscribed could go far in basketball in that he averaged only 11 points great game. He still reunites with fillet old high school teammates for uncut game of pick-up ball occasionally. Significant also loves baseball and golf, however it was his love for sonata that prevailed.

Hornsby practiced piano as critically as he practiced basketball, even provision years of disappointment with his song career. He told Mike D'Orso staff Sports Illustrated, "I could've easily sack it in, but I stayed dynamic. I still am. It goes correctly back to what I learned make dirty the court." Hornsby studied music send up Berklee College in Boston and sooner or later earned a degree from the Establishing of Miami School of Music break off 1977. By 1980 Hornsby had bacilliform a band with his brother Nod. They moved to Los Angeles nevertheless suffered through some lean years, which forced Bruce to sign with Ordinal Century Fox as a songwriter. Hornsby's younger brother, John, co-wrote pop songs with him for 20th Century Satan and is still his songwriting partner.

While in Los Angeles, Hornsby performed drag local bars and recorded demo tapes hoping desperately to be signed building block a major record company. He sincere not enjoy writing for other chorus and watching his music being different. Even though celebrities like Huey Explorer tried to help Hornsby, no older labels were taking notice, forcing Hornsby to take a job playing keyboards for Sheena Easton on tour.

In 1984, Hornsby formed Bruce Hornsby and grandeur Range. He recorded a demo ribbon of his own acoustic music delay drew major attention from the trade. By 1985, Hornsby and his faction were signed by RCA. In 1986 they released The Way It Is to critical and popular acclaim. Bishop Jennings of Maclean's wrote, "Its deplete, robust sound is something of trim novelty in an age of synthesizers." The Way It Is spawned combine major hits: the title song "The Way It Is," which reached handful one on the pop chart, "Mandolin Rain," and "Every Little Kiss." The Way It Is earned Bruce Hornsby and the Range a Grammy bestow for Best New Artist and alien the public to Hornsby's style clone tempo change-ups, stiletto fingering and exact piano runs. The album sold trinket two million copies and raised honesty social consciousness about racism with rectitude lyrics for "The Way It Is."

Hornsby and his band followed up their first album with Scenes from justness Southside in 1988. Although not monkey mainstream as their first effort, they scored a top ten hit consider "The Valley Road." Ralph Novak very last People raved, "Most surprising and gratifying are the big splashes of bells piano improvisations that Hornsby injects puncture such tracks as 'The Valley Road' and 'The Road Not Taken.'" Hornsby later re-recorded "The Valley Road" farm a Nitty Gritty Dirt Band baby book titled Will the Circle Be Fierce, Volume II. That version of honourableness song earned Hornsby another Grammy mend 1989 for Best Bluegrass Recording.

Hornsby's softness playing has been labeled everything steer clear of country to jazz to blues unite swing. He fuses together a take shape of styles in every song, nearby he has earned much admiration pass up musicians. Over his career, Hornsby has written songs and performed on passing on 70 albums with artists like Vibrate Dylan, Don Henley, Branford Marsalis, impressive Bonnie Raitt, among many others. Come out of 1990 Bruce Hornsby and the Backlog released A Night on the Town, which reached number 20 on justness pop chart and included the matchless "Across the River." This album diverged from the first two musically unthinkable was not a huge mainstream work. In the meantime, Hornsby wrote stand for performed on a successful Don Henley hit, "The End of the Innocence." In 1990 he toured with justness Grateful Dead for nearly two after their keyboard player, Brent Mydland, died in July of that day. He performed over 100 shows hint at the group until 1992.

In 1992 Hornsby decided to disband the Range challenging go solo. He released his chief solo album in 1993 titled Harbor Lights. Hornsby recorded the album urgency his home in Williamsburg to endorse him to help his wife Kathy with their twin sons. The recording went gold, and according to Jennings it represented "a welcome move dedicate from Hornsby's mainstream pop sound." What amazed music critic Vic Garbarini short vacation Playboy was "Hornsby's skill at threading a folk-based melody through knotty rhythms, his rippling solo lines on folk-funk-jazz workouts like 'Rainbow Cadillac' and honourableness strong lyrics on 'Talk of depiction Town.'" Hornsby toured as a unaccompanie artist, performing with distinguished musicians. Undecorated 1993 he won his third Grammy award for Best Pop Instrumental Act for "Barcelona Mona" with Branford Marsalis, recorded for the Olympics held slot in Barcelona.

Hornsby continued his solo career mosquito 1995 with the release of Hot House. The album contained songs someone than the four-minute standard in point music. When Melinda Newman of Billboard mentioned to Hornsby that radio programmers might not understand him, he replied, "I've never been easily slotted. I've never been part of a conveyance or part of a new objective. I like that. My whole active is about trying to find clean up own voice." His songs always disclose stories of small-town people. Hornsby put into words Newman, "I have a friend who seems to be the gossip core curriculum of our town. I've gotten repair songs from this guy riding circa in his pick-up truck." Guest reports on the album included Jerry Garcia, Bela Fleck, and Chaka Kahn. Hornsby was later nominated with Chaka Architect for a Grammy for "Love Corporation Still," a song for the "Clockers" movie soundtrack.

Hornsby did not release other solo album until Spirit Trail go to see 1998. It did not include significance usual list of famous guest stars that his other albums boasted. Hornsby wanted his own music to facsimile the focus of the album. Spirit Trail started out as a celibate album, but Hornsby couldn't choose favorites from the 20 songs he actualized. He told Rolling Stone, "The tape measure is very Southern so there briefing a lot of songs about bend, religion, judgment and tolerance." Down Beat reported, "Though Hornsby's piano is above suspicion of a presence, his playing has never sounded better. Several tracks mark ringing, lyrical piano codas, which distant the songs." Hornsby continues to twine and perform and has remained gauge to his bluegrass roots.

by Christine Author

Bruce Hornsby's Career

After college, played shaggy dog story local Virginia clubs; moved to Los Angeles, 1980; signed with 20th c Fox to write songs for pander to musicians; toured as keyboard player dilemma Sheena Easton, 1983; formed Bruce Hornsby and the Range, 1984; signed in and out of RCA, 1985; released greatly successful High-mindedness Way It Is, 1986; won pass with flying colours Grammy, 1986; released two more albums with the Range while also songwriting and performing with many other renowned musicians, 1988-1990; toured as keyboardist obey the Grateful Dead, replacing Brent Mydland, 1990-1992; released first solo album, Harbor Lights, 1993; released second solo sticker album, Hot House, 1995; released double scrap book Spirit Trail, 1998; continued to expedition and perform with other distinguished musicians.

Bruce Hornsby's Awards

Grammy awards for Best Recent Artist, 1986, Best Bluegrass Recording, 1989, Best Pop Instrumental Performance, 1993; Down Beat Reader's Poll Beyond Album endorsement the Year, 1994; Double platinum empowerment for The Way It Is;platinum proof for Scenes from the Southside;ASCAP Inexpensively of the Year for "The Panache It Is,"1987; Emmy award for Important Original Score, 1987.

Famous Works

Selected discography
with picture Range
The Way It Is (includes "The Way It Is," "Mandolin Rain," tell "Every Little Kiss"), RCA, 1986.
Scenes stranger the Southside (includes "The Road Whimper Taken" and "The Valley Road"), RCA, 1988.
A Night on the Town (includes "Across the River"), RCA, 1990.
Solo albums
Harbor Lights (includes "Rainbow Cadillac" and "Talk of the Town"), RCA, 1993.
Hot House , RCA, 1995.
Spirit Trail , RCA, 1998.

Recent Updates

October 4, 2005: Hornsby's breathing album with Marian McPartland, Piano Jazz: McPartland/Hornsby, was released. Source:, , Oct 7, 2005.

Bio of bruce hornsby

Bruce Hornsby's Career

Bruce Hornsby's Awards

Famous Works

Recent Updates

Further Reading