Delaney Bramlett

Delaney Bramlett built a reputation as a skilled guitarist and singer/songwriter whose approach left its mark on Eric Clapton, J.J. Cale, and Duane Allman, though the musicians he guided frequently drew greater attention. Born in Pontotoc, MS, he completed a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy and relocated to Los Angeles in 1959. He joined the Shindogs, the house band for the television program Shindig, an assignment that placed him among other prominent players. In 1967 he encountered Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell, then performing with the Ikettes, Ike & Tina Turner's backing vocalists. The pair wed five days later and launched the duo Delaney & Bonnie.

They recorded an album for Stax Records in Memphis with Booker T. & the MG's supplying the backing tracks, yet the finished record remained unreleased for a time. The act grew larger, incorporating players such as Leon Russell, and took the name Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. Under this configuration they issued Accept No Substitute in 1969. Although commercial response stayed modest, the set drew the notice of several leading rock figures. Eric Clapton in particular recruited Delaney & Bonnie & Friends to open for Blind Faith during its mid-1969 tour; he soon exited Blind Faith to become part of Bramlett's ensemble, which also counted George Harrison and Dave Mason among its members. The collaboration yielded the live album On Tour with Eric Clapton, captured at London's Fairfield Halls.

Subsequently, several of the Friends contributed to solo projects by Clapton and Harrison as well as Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs & Englishmen. Delaney & Bonnie continued releasing material until their divorce, though none of the later efforts matched the impact of On Tour. Bramlett stepped forward as a solo artist with Something's Coming in 1972, followed by Mobius Strip in 1973, Giving Birth to a Song in 1975, and Delaney Bramlett and Friends -- Class Reunion in 1977. His studio output declined after the late 1970s, but he resumed activity two decades afterward, issuing a series of recordings whose final entry, A New Kind of Blues, appeared in 2008. Later that year complications from gall bladder surgery led to his death on December 27th.