Since the release of his first album in April 1986, Bruce Hornsby has created a musical life that has expanded far and wide to include a broad stylistic range of activity. Hornsby, an thirteen-time Grammy nominee, has won three Grammys; in 1987 with the Range for "Best New Artist" for their debut album The Way It Is; in 1989 for "Best Bluegrass Recording" for his version of his hit "The Valley Road" which appeared on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Volume II; and with Branford Marsalis in 1993 for "Best Pop Instrumental Performance" for their song for the Barcelona Olympics, "Barcelona Mona." Bruce's latest nominations were in 2004 for "Song F", from his Columbia album Halcyon Days, and in 2006 for "Song H" from his box set Intersections.
Hornsby's thirteen albums have sold over 11 million copies worldwide. The title cut from The Way It Is was the most played song on American radio in 1987, winning the ASCAP "Song of the Year" award. In 1989, he co-wrote the classic "The End of the Innocence" with Don Henley, a Top 10 record for him. Harbor Lights was the 1994 winner of the Downbeat Reader's Poll Beyond Album of the Year (meaning all music other than Jazz and Blues). In 1999 Tupac Shakur "co-wrote" a new song over "The Way It Is" music with Bruce, using new words, called "Changes." It was a major worldwide hit selling 14 million copies.
Known around the music industry as a collaborator, Hornsby has been sought after by a veritable "who's who" in the music business. He has played on over 100 records over the years; including albums by Bob Dylan, Don Henley, the Grateful Dead, Bob Seger, Crosby Stills and Nash, Stevie Nicks, Cowboy Junkies, Squeeze, Liquid Jesus, Bonnie Raitt (piano on the classic "I Can't Make You Love Me"), Shawn Colvin, Bela Fleck, Clint Black, Ricky Skaggs, Randy Scruggs, Willie Nelson, and end-title songs for two Spike Lee movies, Clockers (with Chaka Khan), and Bamboozled. In addition, Hornsby was a part-time member of the Grateful Dead from September 1990 to March 1992, performing over 100 concerts in America and Europe. He appears on four Dead album releases.
Through the years Hornsby has participated in several memorable events: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opening concert in September 1995 (featured on the Sony 2 cd set), Farm Aid IV and VI, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, New Orleans Heritage and Jazz Festival, Woodstock II (1994), Woodstock III (1999) (featured on the Epic 2 cd set). An avid sports fan, Hornsby, solo and with Branford Marsalis has performed the National Anthem for many major events including the NBA All-Star game, four NBA finals, the 1997 World Series Game 5, the night Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's all-time consecutive game streak, and the Ken Burns Baseball soundtrack.
In August 2006, Columbia/Legacy released a box set, Bruce Hornsby: Intersections 1985-2005, four CDs and a DVD chronicling his first twenty years as a major label recording artist. In 2007, he released two new albums, a bluegrass record, Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby, and a jazz trio record, Camp Meeting, with Jack DeJohnette and Christian McBride. Hornsby's latest release, Levitate, contains 13 new songs, including "Cyclone," with lyrics from Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. The title cut, "Levitate," is an alternate version of a song from the recent Spike Lee film Kobe Doin' Work (for which Hornsby also provided the original score), and "Space is the Place" features an Eric Clapton guitar solo. Produced by Tony Berg and Bruce Hornsby, Levitate features Hornsby on piano, dulcimer, keyboard and vocals; JV Collier on bass; Sonny Emory on drums; John "J.T." Thomas on organs and keyboards; Bobby Read on reeds; and Doug Derryberry on guitars.
