Boots Randolph
Boots Randolph | |
|---|---|
 Randolph performing live March 2000 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Homer Louis Randolph III |
| Also known as | "Boots" |
| Born | June 3, 1927 Paducah, Kentucky, United States |
| Died | July 3, 2007 (aged 80) Nashville, Tennessee, United States |
| Genres | Nashville sound |
| Occupation | Saxophonist |
| Instrument | Saxophone |
| Labels | RCA Victor, Capitol, Monument |
| Website | bootsrandolph |
Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III (June 3, 1927[1] – July 3, 2007) was an American musician best known for his 1963 saxophone hit "Yakety Sax" (which became Benny Hill's signature tune). Randolph was a major part of the "Nashville sound" for most of his professional career.[1]
Biography
Randolph was born in Paducah, Kentucky, United States,[1] and raised in Cadiz, Kentucky, attending high school in Evansville, Indiana.[2]
As a child, he learned to play music with his family's band. He was not sure where or why he acquired the nickname "Boots", although it may have served to avoid confusion since his father and he had the same first name. He started out playing the ukulele and trombone, but switched to tenor saxophone when his father unexpectedly brought one home.[3]
At the end of World War II, Boots Randolph played saxophone, trombone, and vibraphone in the United States Army Band. After his service in the Army, he played with Dink Welch's Kopy Kats in Decatur, Illinois, from 1948 to 1954. He briefly resided in Louisville, Kentucky, before returning to Decatur to start his own group. He left Decatur in 1957.[4]
During his forty-plus year career, Randolph performed in hundreds of venues alongside many artists in pop, rock, jazz, and country music. He played on many recording sessions with Elvis Presley and also performed on soundtracks for a number of Presley's motion pictures, one popular song being "Return to Sender".[1]
Randolph recorded for Monument Records in Nashville and played on Roy Orbison's 1963 hit, "Mean Woman Blues."[4] He was also featured on "Little Queenie" by REO Speedwagon, "Java" by Al Hirt, "Turn On Your Love Light" by Jerry Lee Lewis, and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee. He was present on many recordings by guitarist Chet Atkins with whom he often performed. Early in his career, he often billed himself as Randy Randolph.
As a solo recording artist, Randolph placed four singles in the Top-100 between 1963 and 1967. The most successful of these was "Yakety Sax", which reached #35 in 1963 and stayed on the charts for nine weeks.[5] Randolph was also successful on Billboard Magazine's album charts, having fourteen entries between 1963 and 1972. Boots With Strings from 1966 reached #36 and stayed on the chart for nearly two years.[6]
In 1977, Randolph opened a successful club of his own in Nashville's Printer's Alley.[7] He also frequently appeared on the television program Hee Haw, and was a member of the Million Dollar Band.
On July 3, 2007, Randolph died at Skyline Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, after suffering a brain hemorrhage.[4] He had celebrated his 80th birthday just one month prior. He had a son, a daughter and four grandchildren.[3]
His final solo studio album, A Whole New Ballgame, was released June 12, 2007.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US | ||
| 1960 | "Boots Randolph's Yakety Sax" | 79 |
| 1963 | "Yakety Sax!" | — |
| 1964 | "Hip Boots!" | — |
| 1965 | "Boots Randolph plays More Yakety Sax!" | 118 |
| "Plays 12 Monstrous Sax Hits!" | — | |
| 1966 | "Boots with Strings"A | 36 |
| "The Fantastic Boots Randolph" | — | |
| 1967 | "Boots Randolph with the Knightsbridge Strings & Voices" | 189 |
| "King Of Yakety" | — | |
| 1968 | "Sunday Sax" | 76 |
| "The Sound of Boots" | 60 | |
| 1969 | "...with love/The Seductive Sax of Boots Randolph" | 82 |
| "Boots And Stockings" | 16 | |
| "Yakety Revisited" | 113 | |
| 1970 | "Hit Boots 1970 " | 157 |
| Boots with Brass | 168 | |
| 1971 | "Homer Louis Randolph, III" | 141 |
| 1972 | "Boots Randolph Plays the Hits of Today" | 192 |
| 1973 | "Sentimental Journey" | — |
| 1974 | "Country Boots"B | — |
| 1975 | "Cool Boots" | — |
| 1976 | "Party Boots" | — |
| 1977 | "Sax Appeal" | — |
| 1978 | "Boots Randolph Puts a Little Sax in Your Life" | — |
| 1982 | "Dedication" | — |
| 1983 | "Yakety-Madness" (featuring Richie Cole (musician)) | — |
| 1990 | "Boots" | — |
| 1992 | "Boots Live" | — |
| "Christmas At Boots' Place" (featuring Tommy Newsom's Jazztet) | — | |
| 2000 | "Songs For The Spirit" | — |
| 2002 | "A Christmas Holiday" | — |
| 2007 | "A Whole New Ballgame" | — |
- A "Boots with Strings" also peaked at #3 on Jazz albums and #21 on R&B albums.
- B "Country Boots" peaked at #30 on Country albums
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | US AC | ||
| 1963 | "Yakety Sax" | 35 | — |
| 1964 | "Hey, Mr. Sax Man" | 77 | — |
| 1966 | "The Shadow of Your Smile" | 93 | 28 |
| "Miss You" | |||
| "Yodelin' Sax" | |||
| 1967 | "Temptation" | 93 | 30 |
| "Big Daddy" | 105 | — | |
| 1968 | "Fred" | — | 39 |
| "Gentle on My Mind" | — | 19 | |
| 1969 | "Hey Jude" | ||
| "Down Yonder" | |||
| 1970 | "Anna" | 111 | 40 |
| "Those Were The Days" | |||
| "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" | |||
See also
References
- Trott, Walt. (1998). "Boots Randolph." In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 428–9.
- ^ a b c d Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 995/6. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b "Boots Randolph". IMDb.com.
- ^ a b c Bernstein, Adam. "'Yakety Sax' Saxophonist Boots Randolph, 80". The Washington Post. July 4, 2007.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2000). Top Pop Singles 1955-1999. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 526. ISBN 0-89820-139-X.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Albums - 6th edition. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, Inc. p. 861. ISBN 0-89820-166-7.
- ^ "Randolph's Alley Club Opening Set". The Tennessean. 6 June 1977. p. 6.
External links
- Official Site
- Boots Randolph at IMDb
- Boots bio
- Some of his music
- Find-A-Grave Memorial Page
- Boots Randolph Interview NAMM Oral History Program (2003)
- 1927 births
- 2007 deaths
- American rock saxophonists
- American male saxophonists
- American session musicians
- Musicians from Paducah, Kentucky
- RCA Victor artists
- Monument Records artists
- Capitol Records artists
- Musicians from Evansville, Indiana
- People from Trigg County, Kentucky
- Million Dollar Band (country music group) members
- 20th-century American musicians
- Deaths from cerebrovascular disease
- 20th-century saxophonists
- 20th-century American male musicians