Inside Bruce Hornsby's Unlikely Indie-Rock Resurgence - Rolling Stone

Comment

Inside Bruce Hornsby's Unlikely Indie-Rock Resurgence - Rolling Stone

Jonathan Cohen, for Rolling Stone:

If you remember Bruce Hornsby only for his 1986 adult-contemporary smash "The Way It Is," you would have been mighty surprised by the scene at Wisconsin's Eaux Claires festival in August. Backstage, a host of indie rockers greeted the amiable Hornsby like visiting royalty. Onstage, he sat in during the high-profile live debut of Bon Iver's new album 22, A Million, then later with the National, Jenny Lewis, Will Oldham, Phosphorescent, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Lucius during a Grateful Dead tribute set.

 

Comment

Bonnie Raitt "I Can't Make You Love Me" Oral History - Stereogum

1 Comment

Bonnie Raitt "I Can't Make You Love Me" Oral History - Stereogum

Bruce Hornsby,  in a lovely in depth feature at Stereogum marking the 25th anniversary of Bonnie Raitt's 'I Can't Make You Love Me':

I changed the chords around to suit my aesthetic or my style, I guess. I added my voicing to the mix. The way I move through the chords playing harmony … It’s more about moving voices underneath the melody, voices meaning other tones and other notes in the left hand. The left hand moving in harmony with the right hand melody. It’s clearly heard on the record right away.

I've mentioned this song here before and will doubtless do so again. 

As the article illustrates, Hornsby's contribution to a song he didn't write makes an already exceptional moment into something people are still covering and writing about 25 years on.

Update January 2021: It seems the article is no longer up at Stereogum, but I’ve linked to the Wayback Machine archive.

1 Comment