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Bramlett, Bonnie (11th August 1944-Present)

She is a singer-songwriter and actress born in Alton, Ilinois, who grew up in East St. Louis and began professionally singing when she was fourteen years old.

She was heard as a backing singer for blues artists that included Little Milton, Albert King and Fontella Bass and gained attention as a history maker as being the first white Ikette for Ike & Tina Turner.

Wanting to spread her wings she moved to Los Angeles, met up with Delaney Bramlett who was with The Shindogs and married him just days after their first meeting in 1967. Their daughter Bekka who was born the following year is herself an extremely successful singer. She and her husband became the duo Delaney & Bonnie who became one of the first successful white R&B acts and soon they would tour with Eric Clapton and perform with artists such as Dave Mason, Rita Coolidge , Leon Russell, Duane Allman, John Lennon and George Harrison where they would be known as Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. Seeing success in the charts the songs they are most known for now are possible “Only You Know and I Know” and “Never-Ending Song of Love”.

Also following her own solo career, she and Leon Russell co-wrote the song “Give Peace a Chance” and “Groupie” which would change it’s name to “Superstar” and be a huge 1971 hit for The Carpenters.

She and Delaney divorced in 1973 but she has since been seen working regularly with other artists such as Dwight Yoakam, Stephen Stills, Jimmy Buffett , Delbert McClinton, Joe Cocker, Steve Cropper , Carly Simon , Little Feat, Jimmy Hall, The Allman Brothers (where she became known as “The Allman Sister”) and The Average White Band. The many albums she has been heard on include her own Still the Same, Roots, Blues & Jazz, Sweet Bonnie Bramlett and Step by Step, Home, Together and On Tour With Eric Clapton as Delaney & Bonnie and she also features on Enlightened Rogue by The Allman Brothers, Rock My Soul by Elvin Bishop, One Particular Harbour by Jimmy Buffett , Complete Clapton by Eric Clapton, Stingray by Joe Cocker, Inside the Fire by Rita Coolidge , Night After Night by Steve Cropper , Backstreets of Desire by Willy DeVille , Lights in the World by Joe English , Stories We Could Tell by The Everly Brothers, White Shoes by Emmylou Harris, Sometime in New York City by John Lennon , Leon Russell , Rocking Across the Country by Earl Scruggs , Honk Tonk Heroes by Billy Joe Shaver , No Secrets by Carly Simon , Born to Boogie by Hank Williams Jr. and Shakin’ the Cage by The Zoo.

She moved into the realms of gospel music in the 1980s and in 1988 would marry the producer Danny Sheridan and with him would become with the band Bandaloo Doctors. They were given much attention by television producers and soon were regulars in the series Roseanne where she would play the part of Roseanne’s co-worker, Bonnie.

No stranger to acting she had already been in the 1970s movies Vanishing Point and Catch My Soul, the 1980s The Doors, guest starred in the TV series Fame and went on to appear in the musical stage show Cowboy Cafi and in the 2006 The Guardian, which starred Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher.

Her marriage to Danny Sheridan ended in the late 1990s and she moved to Nashville in 1999 and continued to record.

This is Bonnie with her husband as Delaney & Bonnie performing “Poor Elijah” and accompanied by Eric Clapton…

Sources:

  1. http://www.bonniebramlett.com/bio.html
  2. http://www.bonniebramlett.com/discography.html
  3. http://www.bonniebramlett.com/sessions_by_artist.htm
  4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_Bramlett
  5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaney_%26_Bonnie
  6. http://www.answers.com/topic/bonnie-bramlett?cat=entertainment
  7. http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0104229/
  8. http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Bonnie%20Bramlett:1927007405