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| Bonnie
Bramlett
| Interview
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THE
BONNIE
BRAMLETT
INTERVIEW
With
Pat
Benny |
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SBM:
Hello,
Miss Bramlett, and welcome to the virtual reality of Southbound
Beat Magazine.
I can’t begin to tell you what an honor it is
to have you share a bit of your time with us.
BB:
Thanks
for thinkin of me honey
SBM:
I’d
like to begin with the question that I’ve been
asking myself since reading your Bio on your website, www.BonnieBramlett.com.
How in the world have you escaped the attention
of the entertainment media for so many years-given the
fact that you have remained extremely active in the
music business?
BB:
Just
lucky I guess
SBM:
What does Bonnie Bramlett do when
She’s not making music?
BB:
I
write songs, and I love to drive, so I go on rides in
the country. : )
SBM:
Your
website is so slick, so impressive; Do you enjoy
computers and surfing the net, or do you leave that to
the experts?
BB:
The
website was done, and is maintained by my friends
Beverly Metcalf and Ginger Ambrose.
They do other sites as well; Fan Clubs, Charlie
Daniels, to mention my favorite.
: )
Yes, I do a lot of work on my computer.
I answer all my own e-mail.
And, I also write, keep a journal, etc.
SBM:
A few years back, you appeared on the Roseanne
television show. Can you tell us how that came about and what it was like to
work with Roseanne and Tom?
BB:
Roseanne
and who?
…I met Rosie while doing a play and she asked
me to be on her show.
I, of course, said YES!!
SBM:
It appears to me that too many of
today’s musicians are at each other’s throats, a
stark contrast to the 60’s and 70’s, when it
really was Delaney and Bonnie and
friends. What
do think the reason is for this lack of camaraderie in
the industry today?
BB:
You know…That’s not been my experience.
I think everybody’s way too FAMOUS, and full
of themselves instead of their music, but they are
friends like we were.
They jam, not as much or as spontaineously.
But, every now and again, they’ll jam.
SBM:
Your Bio was certainly informative, and
I hope that our readers check it out, but I’d like
you to expound on a few things.
For instance, could you tell us what it was
like to be fifteen years old and a member of Ike and Tina Turner’s Ikettes?
Did you tour with them, or was it strictly
studio work?
BB:
It was dangerous, a lot of racism. It was wonderful. I
did a short tour. It was long enough to start the
flame inside me…I write about it in detail in my
book. I
should be finished with it next year.
SBM:
You have written songs for and performed
with so many icons of the music industry.
Can I just throw out some names and have you
tell us what it was like to work with them?
BB:
Sure.
SBM:
I once lived in a hotel that employed a
maid who happened to be friends with Dexter Gordon.
Maggie spoke very highly of him; not just musically
but as an extraordinary person. Can you give us some
insight on Dexter?
BB:
Dexter was a big man.
I never thought Dexter got his props…He was
so great and a gentleman that you had to keep
reminding
yourself he
was a gentleman because he was a big flirt. : )
We went to Earnest Hemingway’s house in
Havanna along with the Hearth Brothers.
Spent a wonderful afternoon just listening to
those great Jazz men talk.
I heard the real stories from the real Jazz
men. I
heard Billie Holiday stories, and Babs Gonzales
stories. :
M.I.M.B. (More
in my book……)
SBM:
How about Miles Davis?
I’ve always heard that he could be stubborn
and difficult to work with.
Did you find this to be true?
BB:
I don’t think Miles knew I was even there.
He really never acknowledged me.
I was just a voice.
I know he heard me, because he would smile
sometimes. But,
he certainly was not a difficult person.
He’s a Genius you know.
SBM:
Referring to your Bio again, you met
Eric Clapton when your band opened for Blind
Faith. What
was it like to work with Eric and that phenomenal but
short-lived band?
BB:
We
had a BALL!!! No
doubt! We
had a great band and we were playin our butts off.
Eric and Rick came on the bus with us and we
partied the whole tour.
It ended up with Eric and Rick comin on stage
with us and Jammin.
We really had a ball! : )
SBM:
Is Rufus Thomas as hilarious as reported?
BB:
I
didn’t know Mr. Thomas…..but, you should ask
Delaney.
SBM:
We could fill the entire Internet
discussing the many great performers you’ve been
associated with, so let’s save some room to talk
about your new CD, I’m
Still the Same, on Audium/Koch
Records. Bonnie,
this is a powerful, soulful collection of tunes and
I’m not the only one to fall in love with it.
Are you enjoying the praise?
BB:
I
am. : )
Thank you.
SBM:
The
material is such a departure from the Delaney and
Bonnie era. How
did you come to choose this style of music for the CD?
BB:
Well,
my friend Carolyn Brand Corlew, who sang background
with me for many years, as well as with Charlie
Daniels, along with her husband David Corlew, who is
both Charlie Daniels manager and a music publisher,
financed the project.
David also gave me full artistic freedom to
make the record I always wanted to make.
I will always be blessed by their friendship. :
) Thanks
kids!!
SBM:
It appears that all of the tunes to
which you are given credit are collaboration with
other composers.
Do you focus on the music, the lyrics, or both?
BB:
I
do both melody and lyrics, but I call myself a
co-writer still.
The wonderful writers that accompanied me in
the creation of the eight songs on this album are the
builders. They
truly take all the thoughts and words, and put them in
the right place so that the picture is clear in three
minutes or so. What
a blessing to be able to write a song.
Indians call it making a song.
It’s a holy thing to make a song to Indians.
I think it is to me too.
: )
SBM:
I
have to agree. This CD definitely has a spiritual
vibe. Like a window to your soul, Bonnie. I
wasn’t mature enough to appreciate the Carpenters
when they were on top, but I always liked Superstar. Your version
on this album is incredible.
Is this the way you imagined it when it was
first written?
BB:
Sort
of, but I was very young and unable, as well as
unqualified, to stand up for myself artistically.
It was meant to be a Torch Song.
Instead, they got a HIT SONG!! : )
Still, I was disappointed in the Carpenters
version. I
guess up until Luther, Bette’s was my favorite.
But, Big Luther validated me with his version. I still didn’t ever want to sing that song again…too
painful. But…NO….the
only thing David Corlew asked me to do for him was to
sing Superstar. So, after all these years, and after all my tears, this is
how I feel about it today.
Thank you for recognizing my performance to be
real.
SBM:
"That's
the attraction, I think. Every song is so very
real". Have you given any thoughts
toward your next project, and will it be in the same
genre, or will it be something different?
BB:
I
want to call in the Troops on the next one and I want
to have a ROCK N ROLL REVIVAL!!
We need to show these kids how to ROCK! : )
PO THNGS DON’T EVEN KNOW……
SBM:
The last track on your album, I’m
Still the Same, which bears the same name is so
haunting, so beautiful and full of hope.
Was this a difficult song to write?
BB:
Gary
Nicholson is the writer on that one…Oh, I was there
and it is my story, but Gary is a Master Songwriter.
SBM:
Bonnie, you’ve contributed so much to
music in so many ways, including your daughter, Bekka.
You must be very proud of her?
BB:
Well,
I am very proud of her.
: )
She is a very hard worker..
Her passion for singing and writing and
teaching is God’s gift, and she is using it well.
Both of my girls are very powerful and
accomplished women.
I love them so very much.
By the way, go to Bekka’s site and have a
listen to her new CD.
I cry when I have a hear.
(www.BekkaBramlett.com)
SBM:
"Well,
she certainly came by that honestly."
I’m
sure that Bekka grew up surrounded by great musicians
and their music.
At what age did she show signs of having the
same talent as her parents?
BB:
From
the very go. We
knew from the very go, because of her personality.
(M.I.M.B.)
SBM:
Do
you worry about her when she tours?
BB:
Not
really! I
have a lot of confidence in my girls, that they make
their own choices and they are very good at that.
They are wise as well as powerful.
As far as her safety….I believe in God.
PTL
SBM:
You and Delaney took the stage with
Bekka in Nashville; that must have been fun.
BB:
What
a wonderful night… I know this sounds Mom-ish,
but… We sang Dann Penn’s “Do Right Woman”…
and my daughter reached over and took my hand in hers
and held it because she knew that I had not sang that
song without her father.
She sang in his stead with me.
I was reeling inside, but the touch of her hand
gounded me and I was okay.
She loves me like a rock.
: )
SBM:
Is there a possibility of the three of
you recording together?
Perhaps a tour?
BB:
Yes,
I would like for that to happen; I would be up for
that. But, I would
like for Bekka to produce that project.
I don't
see a tour happening, but maybe a television special. Or a video. : )
SBM:
Bonnie, I’d like to thank you for
spending this time with us and wish you great success
for the future. It’s
my job to “sling the mush around,” but I must tell
you that your new CD is so fantastic, I can’t say
enough about it.
I hope it receives the recognition that it
deserves.
BB:
Well,
thanks Pat. I
hope it gets promoted properly, and maybe it’ll get
played, then it’ll get heard. And, if you hear it, you’re gonna like it!
See ya later alligator.
Blessings and PEACE – Bonnie
Bramlett
I
am looking forward to another interview after your
book is released!
Pat
Benny
SBM
Bonnie
Bramlett CD review
"I'm
Still The Same"
Here
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