Delaney & Bonnie

Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett formed a husband-and-wife partnership whose recordings stood out for their singular character during the opening years of the 1970s. Their fusion of blue-eyed soul, blues, country, and gospel was routinely overshadowed, however, by public focus on the input of celebrated associates such as Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, and George Harrison.

Born July 1, 1939, in Pontotoc County, Mississippi, Delaney Bramlett developed friendships with fellow musicians Leon Russell and J.J. Cale. At their urging he moved to Los Angeles, where he spent a short time with the Champs and then joined the Shindogs, the house band for the ABC variety program Shindig. Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell, born November 8, 1944, in Alton, Illinois, grew up across the river in East St. Louis. While still a teenager she accompanied blues performers including Albert King and Little Milton, then became the first white Ikette to work with Ike & Tina Turner. She later headed to Los Angeles and encountered Delaney during one of the Shindogs' performances at a neighborhood bowling alley. The pair married within seven days.

After signing with the Memphis soul imprint Stax, Delaney & Bonnie issued their first album, 1969's Home. Although the sessions featured Booker T. & the MG's, William Bell, and Isaac Hayes, the release attracted little notice and the label dropped the duo. They moved to Elektra for Accept No Substitute. Cut with keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle, and drummer Jim Keltner, the record again sold poorly, yet the couple's raw, soul-drenched vocals and grounded style earned respect from other artists on both sides of the Atlantic and secured an opening slot on Blind Faith's 1969 American tour. Guitarist Eric Clapton soon became a regular presence on the Delaney & Bonnie tour bus, sitting in with the Bramletts and their ensemble. Following Blind Faith's dissolution, Clapton remained with Delaney & Bonnie in a supporting capacity and deliberately stayed out of the limelight. The ensemble traveled to the U.K., where Harrison and Dave Mason occasionally appeared onstage; a December 1969 performance in Croydon surfaced the next year as On Tour with Eric Clapton and became the duo's strongest-selling LP after reaching the U.S. Top 30.

Now billed as Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, the group briefly aligned with John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band and crossed Europe before returning to the States in 1970. Clapton's departure to record his first solo album—an effort whose gritty vocal approach clearly drew from Delaney—coincided with waning audience interest. Leon Russell then recruited Radle and Keltner for Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs & Englishmen trek, compelling Delaney & Bonnie to scrap their own tour plans. Even so, the ensemble assembled for the Tom Dowd-produced 1970 album To Bonnie from Delaney included guitarist Duane Allman, bassist Jerry Scheff, pianist Jim Dickinson, and saxophonist King Curtis. 1971's Motel Shot again assembled a star-studded lineup and contained the duo's highest-charting U.S. pop single, "Never Ending Song of Love." The following year's D & B Together produced another Top 20 entry, their version of Dave Mason's "Only You Know and I Know." That album proved to be Delaney & Bonnie's final release; when the marriage ended, their musical partnership ended as well.

Following the divorce, Delaney completed two solo sets, 1972's Something's Coming and 1973's Mobius Strip, to satisfy contractual obligations with Columbia. After 1978's Delaney Bramlett with Steve Cropper, a Motown Prodigal collaboration with the veteran Stax guitarist, he largely withdrew from public view, eventually overcoming alcoholism, embracing born-again Christianity, and supporting himself through advertising jingles. He resurfaced in 2000 with the solo album Sounds from Home, followed by Sweet Inspiration at the end of 2003. Bonnie made her own solo bow with 1973's Sweet Bonnie Bramlett, cut alongside the Average White Band. She issued three additional, modestly received albums for Capricorn. While on the road with Stephen Stills in 1979, she gained attention after striking Elvis Costello inside a Columbus, Ohio bar when the British newcomer allegedly referred to Ray Charles as a "blind, ignorant n*****." She later adopted the professional surname Sheridan, experienced a religious conversion, and for a period appeared as a supporting player on the 1990s sitcom Roseanne. Bonnie resumed recording with I'm Still the Same. In 1993 their daughter Bekka Bramlett joined Fleetwood Mac in place of Stevie Nicks.