|
Boots Randolph, a versatile saxophonist best remembered for his
1963 recording of "Yakety Sax," whose zany melody spiced the girl-chasing
comedy sketches of TV star Benny Hill, has died. He was 80.
Starting in the late 1950s, Randolph's saxophone abilities brought him to
prominence as one of Nashville's elite backup, or session, players known
as the A-Team. He became a vital part of the "Nashville Sound" that blended
country and pop influences.
He was featured on such pop-chart hits as Brenda Lee's
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and "I'm Sorry"; Elvis Presley's
first post-Army release, "Elvis is Back!" (1960), featuring the bluesy
"Reconsider Baby"; and Roy Orbison's "Mean Woman Blues"
and "Oh, Pretty Woman."
Randolph's association with such singers launched his prolific solo career
in country-influenced rock, jazz and gospel.
Homer Louis Randolph III was born June 3, 1927, in Paducah, Ky.
He said a brother gave him the nickname "Boots" to distinguish him from
their father, also named Homer, but he could never explain why.
Randolph grew up in a musical family. He and his siblings used to win
Depression-era talent shows at which food was the prize.
"There were times when we didn't have much to eat, but we always
had music," he said in 2002. "It was standard for us to come home
from one of those [music] contests with the car loaded down with
cans of corn and peas, boxes of macaroni, bacon, bread and so forth."
Toward the end of World War II, he played sax, trombone and vibraphone
in an Army band. Afterward, he played with a Decatur, Ill.,-based group
called Dink Welch's Kopy Kats, and after a brief time in a
Louisville, Ky., rock outfit, he returned to start his own group in Decatur.
With guitarist James "Spider" Rich, Randolph wrote a version of what became
"Yakety Sax," inspired by the Coasters hit "Yakety Yak."
The Rich-Randolph composition caught the attention of Jethro Burns of the popular
country comedy act Homer and Jethro. Burns successfully appealed to his
brother-in-law, Chet Atkins, then a rising RCA Records executive, to sign
the saxophonist in 1958.
Although RCA did not see Randolph as a solo artist, executives recognized
his adaptability and made him a session musician. He appeared on RCA's 1960
jazz album "The Nashville All-Stars — After the Riot at Newport"
with Atkins, guitarist Hank Garland and pianist Floyd Cramer.
His work on Presley's album that year brought him far greater prominence, and
he became a reliable fixture in the rock 'n' roll star's recording sessions.
"They knew I was versatile with the different sounds, and I got to be the guy
they would hire to put on the sessions. But sometimes I'd record only one song
all night," Randolph once said.
In 1961, he left RCA to sign with Monument Records, a much smaller company,
in hopes of bettering his solo career. The company issued a new release of
"Yakety Sax," from the 1963 album of the same name, that stayed
on the pop charts for a year. Hill, the slapstick British comedian,
later took it as his theme song, much to Randolph's delight.
Randolph had a series of popular singles, including "Hey, Sax Man,"
"The Shadow of Your Smile" and "With Love."
He became part of a touring group called the Festival of Music that featured Atkins, Cramer, trumpeter Danny Davis, singer-guitarist Roy Clark, fiddler Johnny Gimble and harmonica player Charlie McCoy.
In 1977, he opened Boots Randolph's, a 275-seat nightclub in Nashville's historic
Printer's Alley. The club became his home base for 17 years. He ended
his career playing with trumpeter Davis at the Stardust Theater, across
from the Opryland Hotel.
" 'Yakety Sax' will be my trademark," Randolph told the Associated Press in
1990. "I'll hang my hat on it. It's kept me alive. Every sax player in the
world has tried to play it. Some are good, some are awful."
Randolph is survived by his wife of 59 years, Dee Baker Randolph of Whites Creek,
Tenn.; two children, Randy Randolph and Linda O'Neal, both of Nashville; a sister;
a brother; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Other Related Stories:
(Note: User registration may be required to read this or any article
on some news media sites. You are under no obligation to provide
any news media site with any relevant information and
we encourage the use of an email address that you want
spam/advertisements sent to in such situations.)
|
