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Biography: Bruce Hornsby
Since the release of his first album in April 1986, Bruce Hornsby has
created a musical life that has expanded far and wide to include a broad
stylistic range of activity.
Hornsby, an twelve-time Grammy nominee, has won three Grammys – in
1987 with the Range for “Best New Artist” for their debut album The
Way It Is; in 1989 for “Best Bluegrass Recording” for
his version of his hit “The Valley Road” which
appeared on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Will The Circle Be
Unbroken, Volume II; and with Branford Marsalis in 1993 for “Best
Pop Instrumental Performance” for their song for the Barcelona Olympics, “Barcelona
Mona.” Bruce’s latest nominations were in 2004
for “Song F”, from his Columbia
album Halcyon Days, and in 2006 for “Song
H” from his box set Intersections.
Hornsby’s thirteen albums have sold over 11 million copies worldwide. The
title cut from The Way It Is was the most played song on
American radio in 1987, winning the ASCAP “Song of the Year” award. In
1989, he co-wrote the classic “The End of the Innocence” with
Don Henley, a Top 10 record for him. Harbor Lights was
the 1994 winner of the Downbeat Reader’s Poll Beyond Album of the Year
(meaning all music other than Jazz and Blues). In 1999 Tupac Shakur “co-wrote” a
new song over “The Way It Is” music with Bruce,
using new words, called “Changes.” It
was a major worldwide hit selling 14 million copies.
Known around the music industry as a collaborator, Hornsby has been sought
after by a veritable “who’s who” in the music business. He
has played on over 100 records over the years; including albums by Bob Dylan,
Don Henley, the Grateful Dead, Bob Seger, Crosby Stills and Nash, Stevie
Nicks, Cowboy Junkies, Squeeze, Liquid Jesus, Bonnie Raitt (piano on the
classic “I Can’t Make You Love Me”), Shawn
Colvin, Bela Fleck, Clint Black, Ricky Skaggs, Randy Scruggs, Willie Nelson,
and end-title songs for two Spike Lee movies, Clockers (with
Chaka Khan), and Bamboozled.
In addition, Hornsby was a part-time member of the Grateful Dead from September
1990 to March 1992, performing over 100 concerts in America and Europe. He
appears on four Dead album releases.
Through the years Hornsby has participated in several memorable events:
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opening concert in September 1995 (featured
on the Sony 2 cd set), Farm Aid IV and VI, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival,
Newport Jazz Festival, New Orleans Heritage and Jazz Festival, Woodstock
II (1994), Woodstock III (1999) (featured on the Epic 2 cd set).
An avid sports fan, Hornsby, solo and with Branford Marsalis has performed
the National Anthem for many major events including the NBA All-Star game,
four NBA finals, the 1997 World Series Game 5, the night Cal Ripken broke
Lou Gehrig’s all-time consecutive game streak, and the Ken Burns Baseball soundtrack.
In August 2006, Columbia/Legacy released a box set, Bruce Hornsby – Intersections
1985-2005, four CDs and a DVD chronicling his first twenty years
as a major label recording artist. In 2007, he released two new
albums, a bluegrass record, Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby,
and a jazz trio record, Camp Meeting, with Jack DeJohnette
and Christian McBride.
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