Bruce Hornsby and the Range
MEMORIES:
endurance remembers...Bruce and the Range were the guys that were always on the radio back in the 80's that I never ... More »
Posted on 10/04/07
CATCH PHRASE:
“That's just the way it is
Some things will never change
That's just the way it is
But don't you believe them”
Bruce Hornsby was an avid music lover from an early age, listening to a wide range of styles that would come to influence his music as an adult. Born in Williamsburg, Virginia, he went on to study music at a number of schools, finally graduating from University of Miami. Afterwards, Hornsby and his writing partner (and brother) John Hornsby moved to Los Angeles, where they spent a few years working for 20th Century Fox. Bruce eventually met Huey Lewis, who would go on to produce their albums. Hornsby got a contract for his band, the Range, in 1985 with RCA.
The Range’s debut, The Way It Is, came out in the summer of 1986, and produced three hits for the band, most prominently the socially conscious title song. “The Way It Is” featured Hornsby’s signature piano runs, and helped to keep the album in the charts for almost a year and a half, and led it to go multi-platinum. The Way It Is also produced the hits “Mandolin Rain” and “Every Little Kiss,” bringing jazz and bluegrass sounds into mainstream radio. In 1987, Bruce Hornsby and the Range took home the Best New Artist Grammy Award.
Riding the waves of success, Bruce Hornsby and the Range released a second album in 1988, Scenes From the Southside. The album contained hits like “Look Out Any Window” and “The Valley Road,” and Hornsby’s version of a song he wrote for his friend Huey Lewis, “Jacob’s Ladder.” 1988 also found Bruce Hornsby playing keyboards alongside the Grateful Dead; he worked with them on an irregular basis until 1995, playing at over 100 live shows.
In 1989, Hornsby co-wrote and played piano for the Don Henley hit “The End of Innocence.” Two years later, he was featured on Bonnie Raitt’s hit song “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” In 1990, the Range released their final album, A Night On the Town. It featured a change in style, and shortly after its release, the band went their separate ways.
Feeling his commercially successful days were behind him, Hornsby embarked on a critically acclaimed solo career that would find him working with music greats such as Branford Marsalis, Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, Stevie Nicks, Phil Collins and Chaka Khan. On his 2004 release Halcyon Days, he performed with Sting, Sir Elton John and Eric Clapton, and in 2006, Hornsby released a box set titled Intersections (1985– 2005). Intersections featured 53 hand-selected tracks including live performances, duets, and fan favorites, demonstrating that not only is he loved by his fans, but he is respected and admired amongst his peers. Even the rap community has sampled Hornsby's melodic style-- "The Way It Is" was sampled by Tupac Shakur, E-40 and Mase. But when you're a talent as bright as Hornsby, that's just the way it is.
