BRUCE HORNSBY AND THE RANGE
Bruce Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer and pianist. In 1984 he formed Bruce Hornsby and the Range, who were signed to RCA Records in 1985. Besides Hornsby, Range members were David Mansfield (guitar, mandolin, violin), George Marinelli (guitars and backing vocals), former Ambrosia member Joe Puerta (bass guitar and backing vocals), and John Molo (drums). Hornsby’s recording career started with the biggest hit he has had to date, “The Way It Is”. It topped the American music charts in 1986. The song described aspects of homelessness, the American civil rights movement, and institutional racism. With the success of the single, the album The Way It Is went multi-platinum and produced another top five hit with “Mandolin Rain”. (More from Wikipedia)
Bruce Hornsby and the Range, A Night on the Town – I signed up for one of those Internet music services at about the time I got these CD’s (Pandora probably); I guess I was supposed to buy a lot of songs and albums through the website, but I never even got around to downloading the 20 free songs that they offered me. I’m just too old-school I guess! In any case, it was an easier way to play CD’s than what I have on my computer at work now; and one bonus was that I could easily call up a short review of whatever CD I was playing rather than having to pull one up on Wikipedia or Allmusic. The review for this 1990 CD called it their “rock album”; it definitely does rock harder than the hits by the piano-driven Bruce Hornsby and the Range that I have heard over the years, like “The Way it Is”. I have little doubt that I have the right Bruce Hornsby album. Allmusic provides the details: John Mellencamp producer Don Gehman is on hand, and guest artists include Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia, Shawn Colvin (early in her career), banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, and jazz bassist Charlie Haden.
(December 2015)
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Since I am down to a quarterly schedule rather than a monthly schedule, my annual list is a lot shorter, so I will try listing all of the people that I have discussed in some depth rather than just the Under Appreciated Rock Band and the Story of the Month. They are all punk rock bands of one kind or another this year (2015-2016), and the most recent post includes my overview of the early rap/hip hop scene that an old friend, George Konstantinow challenged me to write – probably so long ago that he might have forgotten.
December 2015 – 1990’s pop/punk band AMANDA JONES; Story of the Month on the early American singles by the Beatles; also, Rochelle Harper, Lisa Loeb, 3 Doors Down, Level with the Ground, Chris Stamey with Yo La Tengo, Meri Wilson, Bobby Brown, the Cruzados / the Plugz, Terence Trent d’Arby, An Emotional Fish, Bruce Hornsby and the Range, Hunters & Collectors, Looters, Shakespear’s Sister, Robert Tepper, Y Kant Tori Read / Tori Amos, Ugly Kid Joe, Paul Young, the Rolling Stones, Mandy Brix, the Joneses.
(Year 7 Review)
