He is a pianist, accordionist and singer-songwriter
born Bruce Randall Hornsby in Williamsburg, Virginia, who took his musical
studies at the Berklee College of Music, the University of Miami and the
University of Richmond. In 1974 he became a member of his brother Bobby's
band, Bobby Hi-Test & The Octane Kids, and with them performed covers
of songs by groups such as Grateful Dead, The Band and the Allman Brothers
Band.He and his brother, John, decided to
relocate to Los Angeles after he had graduated from the University of Miami
in 1977 and once there they became songwriters for 20th Century
Fox, and stayed with the company for the next three years.During these years he was also
starting to be noticed as a touring and session musician and spent time as
a member of Sheena Easton's tour band, but returned to Virginia after a
while.In 1984 he put together
Bruce Hornsby & The Range with the bass player Joe Puerta amongst
others, and this was when he would really start to see success as his first
song "The Way It Is" catapulted itself into the top spot on the 1986 US
charts and the ensuing album won him a Grammy Award for Best New Artist the
following year.The group
continued its success with the singles "Mandolin Rain" and "Every Little
Kiss" and in 1988 released their next album Scenes From the Southside
which produced "Look Out Any Window" and "The Valley Road".That same year he appeared with the
Grateful Dead and started a collaboration, which lasted until the group's
disbandment in 1992 and continued touring with them once they evolved into the
Dead.He also was a performer
with another of their offshoot bands - The Other Ones.In the latter half of the 1980s he
spread his wings into the production field and also became a much sought
after sideman and between producing and his session work he has had the
fortune to work with acts such as Patti Austin, Clint Black, Jimmy Buffett,
Kim Carnes, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Bela Fleck, David Foster, Jerry
Garcia, Mickey Hart, Elton John, Branford Marsalis, Pat Metheny, Willie
Nelson, Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt, Robbie Robertson, Leon Russell, Sting, Linda
Thompson, Roger Waters and Warren Zevon among others. At the same time in 1989 he began
performing music that incorporated bluegrass and jazz and appeared at a
bluegrass festival that same year.1990 saw the release of the Bruce Hornsby & The Range final album
A Night on the Town and after a last tour they disbanded in 1991.Throughout the 1990s he and his
touring band made regular appearances throughout the United States and in
2000 they became officially known as Hornsby & The Noise Makers,
releasing their Here Comes the Noise Makers that same year.The albums he has been involved with are many but a small number of
them include his own Grammy Award winning Harbor Lights for the song
"Barcelona Mona", Big Swing Face, Halycon Days,Hot House,
Intersections (1985-2005) that contains the Grammy nominated "Spirit H"and Spirit Trail, as well as Sirius by Clannad, Live
It Up by Crosby, Stills & Nash, Under the Red Sky by Bob
Dylan, End of the Innocence by Don Henley, Small World by
Huey Lewis & The News, Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Vol. 2 by
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band which included his reworking of "The Valley Road"
and received the 1990 Best Bluegrass Recording Grammy Award, Infrared
Roses with Grateful Dead, Fire Inside by Bob Seger & The
Silver Bullet Band, Play by Squeeze, Tribe by Bernie Taupin
and the soundtracks of Backdraft, Bamboozled, Baseball: The
American Epic,Clockers and Tin Cup. His songwriting has also seen its
own achievements with "Jacob's Ladder" becoming a huge hit for Huey Lewis
& The News and his co-written "The End of the Innocence" was a great
success for Don Henley.These
skills are also heard in the Broadway musical SCKBSTD.In recent years he has been heard
playing J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations integrated into his own
songs at various concerts, had a scholarship established at the University
of Miami, appeared at several jazz festivals, performed as part of the Your
House Band at the post-inauguration fundraiser for Nancy Pelosi, hosted a
musical event to honour 400 years in America, released the hit album Ricky Skaggs & Bruce
Hornsby and Camp Meeting with his newly formed The Bruce Hornsby
Trio and also become the owner of The Tide WTYD 92.3FM radio station in
Williamsburg.An avid sports
fan, he can be regularly seen at Saint Louis, Missouri, watching the Cardinals
play and also following college basketball games in Virginia.
