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Why I Love Bonnie Bramlett

I remember reading about Delaney and Bonnie a lot back in high school, during those days when I was constantly engrossed in either a rock and roll magazine or a biographical book. It seemed to me this husband and wife duo had worked with every really good musician out there, from Duane Allman to Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Joe Cocker, Rita Coolidge, Bobby Whitlock- even Gram Parsons. I was a huge fan.

Flash forward to the early 2000’s. I met Bonnie for the first time at Charlie Daniels’ Angelus Benefit in Clearwater, Florida. She was wearing a tie dye t-shirt, and she and one of her girl friends came over to the press tent and sat and talked to my wife and I like she had known us forever. Jill had done a phone interview with her, but this was our first meeting. Every year I see Bonnie at Angelus, and she never ceases to amaze me.

Speaking of being amazed. When I was getting ready to record my Southern Lights CD down in Huntsville, Alabama, I called Bonnie and asked if there was any way she would honor me by singing on it. The lady didn’t hesitate. She was happy to do it. That night, I sat up until the wee hours of the morning writing “I Don’t Want to Say Goodbye,” a duet just for she and I. I just couldn’t let Southern Rock Soul Sister Number One do strictly backing vocals. She’s too damned good!

She drove down to Huntsville from Nashville herself in the sweltering heat. When she got to the studio, she walked in and said, “Can any one of you gentlemen get a bottle of water for a lady?” Lord, every man in their was tripping over the other guy to get her water. Bonnie is the Queen.

She nailed the vocal on the duet within half an hour, and then added vocals to “Into The Light” and Johnny Wyker’s “Hooker’s Boogie.”

Bonnie would return to Huntsville to headline my CD release party for “Southern Lights,” and a couple of years later she would headline Gritzfest in Greenville, SC at The Handlebar.

In 2006 Bonnie returned to the silver screen alongside Kevin Costner in The Guardian, and in 2007 she recorded a great new album called Beautiful. A perfect title for a truly beautiful lady. Both inside and out.

Keep it Real. Keep it Southern.

Buffalo

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