Randall Bramblett
Encyclopedia
Randall Bramblett is an American musician and singer-songwriter
, whose career as a solo artist, session player
, and touring musician, has spanned more than three decades. He has worked with such notable performers as Gregg Allman
, Bonnie Raitt
, Robbie Robertson
, Elvin Bishop
, Steve Winwood
, Bonnie Bramlett
, B.J. Thomas, Widespread Panic
, and Roger Glover
. He plays keyboards, saxophones, guitar, mandolin, and harmonica, and his songwriting is heavily influenced by blues, folk, and gospel music.
, Bramblett studied religion and psychology at the University of North Carolina, with the objective of entering the seminary
. However, finding inspiration in the music of James Taylor
, Carole King
, and Bob Dylan
, he abandoned his theological studies and pursued songwriting, soon moving to Athens, Georgia
.
After establishing himself as a session musician in the early 1970s, recording with Gregg Allman, Elvin Bishop, and others, Bramblett released two solo albums in the mid '70s. He put his solo career on hold, however, touring with bands such as Sea Level
in the late '70s, and later with Traffic
. In 1998, he resumed his solo recording career after 22 years, and has since released six albums.
Randall Bramblett Band on Myspace
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, whose career as a solo artist, session player
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
, and touring musician, has spanned more than three decades. He has worked with such notable performers as Gregg Allman
Gregg Allman
Gregory Lenoir Allman , known as Gregg Allman, is a rock and blues singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter, and a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia...
, Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
, Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson, OC; is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
, Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop is an American blues and rock and roll musician and guitarist.-Career:Bishop was born in Glendale, California, and grew up on a farm near Elliott, Iowa. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was ten years old...
, Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
, Bonnie Bramlett
Bonnie Bramlett
Bonnie Bramlett is an American singer and sometime actress known for her distinctive vocals in rock and pop music. This began in the mid 1960s as a backing singer, forming the husband-and-wife team of Delaney & Bonnie, and continuing to the present day as a solo artist.-Life and career:Bramlett...
, B.J. Thomas, Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guitarist Jimmy Herring...
, and Roger Glover
Roger Glover
Roger David Glover is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. Glover is best known as the bassist and lyricist for the hard rock band, Deep Purple.-Early career:...
. He plays keyboards, saxophones, guitar, mandolin, and harmonica, and his songwriting is heavily influenced by blues, folk, and gospel music.
History
Born and raised in southeastern GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Bramblett studied religion and psychology at the University of North Carolina, with the objective of entering the seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
. However, finding inspiration in the music of James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
, Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
, and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, he abandoned his theological studies and pursued songwriting, soon moving to Athens, Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
.
After establishing himself as a session musician in the early 1970s, recording with Gregg Allman, Elvin Bishop, and others, Bramblett released two solo albums in the mid '70s. He put his solo career on hold, however, touring with bands such as Sea Level
Sea Level (band)
Sea Level is the name of a fusion group that mixed jazz, blues and rock. It existed between 1976 and 1981. Initially, it was an offshoot of The Allman Brothers Band, but as tensions grew between the loss of two of its founding members, and personal greivances between Gregg Allman and other...
in the late '70s, and later with Traffic
Traffic (band)
Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...
. In 1998, he resumed his solo recording career after 22 years, and has since released six albums.
Randall Bramblett/The Randall Bramblett Band
Album Title | Release Date | Label | Format(s) |
---|---|---|---|
That Other Mile | 1975 | Polydor Polydor Records Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone... |
LP |
Light Of The Night | 1976 | Polydor | LP |
See Through Me | 1998 | Capricorn Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label which was launched by Phil Walden, Alan Walden, and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia.-First Incarnation:... |
CD |
No More Mr. Lucky | 2001 | New West New West Records New West Records is a record label based in Los Angeles, California, Austin, Texas, and Athens, Georgia. It was established in 1998, and has been home to several indie rock and alternative country bands as well as representing the PBS show Austin City Limits... |
CD, digital download |
Thin Places | 2004 | New West | CD, digital download |
Rich Someday | 2006 | New West | CD, digital download |
Now It's Tomorrow | 2008 | New West | CD, digital download |
The Meantime | 2010 | Blue Ceiling | CD, digital download |
Randall Bramblett Guest Appearances
Artist | Album | Year | Label | Performances | Other Contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Allman and Woman | Two The Hard Way | 1977 | Capricorn | sax | |
Allman Brothers Band | All Live | 1998 | Polygram International | sax | |
Gregg Allman | Laid Back | 1973 | Capricorn | sax | |
The Gregg Allman Tour | 1974 | Polygram | organ, horn, sax | horn arrangements | |
Atlanta Rhythm Section | Back Up Against The Wall | 1973 | Decca | piano | |
Elvin Bishop | Let It Flow | 1974 | Capricorn | sax | |
Sure Feels Good: The Best of Elvin Bishop | 1992 | Polydor | sax | ||
Bonnie Bramlett | It's Time | 1975 | Capricorn | sax | |
Lady's Choice | 1976 | Capricorn | sax | ||
Beautiful | 2008 | Rockin' Camel | sax, keys, vocals | ||
Cowboy | Boyer and Talton | 1973 | Capricorn | sax, vocals | |
Cowboy | 1977 | Capricorn | sax, vocals | ||
A Different Time: The Best of Cowboy | 1993 | Polydor | sax | ||
Deep Purple and Friends | Purple and Other Colors | 2003 | Snapper Music | vocals | |
Doubting Thomas | Who Died and Made You King? | 1998 | Oh Very | sax | |
Enlightenment Road Band | Songs From the Road to Enlightenment | 2001 | Five Feathers | piano, organ, sax, vocals | |
Filet of Soul | Incommunicado | 1998 | Shank | sax | |
Rick Fowler | Back On My Good Foot | 2008 | Jammates | organ | |
Roger Glover | Snapshot | 2002 | Red Ink | piano, keys, organ, sax, vocals | |
Gov't Mule | The Deep End, vol. 1 | 2001 | ATO | organ | |
John Hammond, Jr. | Can't Beat The Kid | 1975 | Capricorn | piano, keys | |
Hydra | Hydra | 1974 | Capricorn | sax | |
Johnny Jenkins | Blessed Blues | 1996 | Capricorn | organ, sax | |
Handle With Care | 2001 | Orchard | keys | ||
All In Good Time | 2005 | Mean Old World | organ, keys, sax, vocals | ||
Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons | Conscious Contact | 2001 | Terminus | organ, keys, Wurlitzer, vocals | |
Jan Krist | Curious | 1996 | Silent Planet | piano, keys, sax | |
Chuck Leavell | Southscape | 2005 | Megaforce | recorder, sax | |
Lingo | Through The Scattered Trees | 2008 | organ, sax | ||
Francine Reed | Can't Make It On My Own | 1996 | Ichiban | sax | |
Robbie Robertson | Carny (soundtrack) | 1980 | Warner Bros. | sax | |
B. J. Thomas | Longhorns & Londonbridges | 1974 | Paramount | piano, keys, vocals | several Randall Bramblett compositions on album |
Traffic | Traffic Live (DVD) | 1994 | Rhino | woodwinds, keys | |
Last Great Traffic Jam | 2005 | Legacy | woodwinds, keys | ||
various artists | Woodstock '94 (DVD) | 1994 | A&M | woodwinds, keys | |
Vigilantes of Love | Live at the 40 Watt | 1998 | Paste | Hammond synth | |
Summershine | 2001 | Compass | organ, piano, keys, mellotron, Chamberlain | ||
Widespread Panic | Live in the Classic City | 2002 | Sanctuary | sax | |
Jackassolantern | 2004 | Sanctuary | sax | ||
Steve Winwood | Refugees Of The Heart | 1990 | Virgin | sax | |
Official Websites
Randall Bramblett websiteRandall Bramblett Band on Myspace