Accept No Substitute
Delaney And Bonnie
Delaney Bramlett started out in the Shindogs, the house band on US television’s “Shindig”. He also made several unsuccessful solo singles prior to meeting Bonnie Lynn, who had already sung with names including “Ike And Tina Turner”. The couple’s first album, “Home”, was only released in the wake of the exemplary white-soul collection “Accept No Substitute”.
An expanded ensemble, featuring Bobby Keys (saxophone), Jim Price (trumpet), Bobby Whitlock (guitar), Carl Radle (bass) and Jim Keltner (drums), toured America with “Blind Faith”, and “Eric Clapton” joined them during a tour of Britain. The backing group then left for Joe Cocker’s “Mad Dogs And Englishmen” escapade. “To Bonnie From Delaney”, recorded with the Dixie Flyers and Memphis Horns, lacked the purpose of previous albums. After two more albums the couple’s marriage soured and they broke up in 1972, then later divorced.
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Delaney and Bonnie are generally best remembered for their albums “On Tour with Eric Clapton” and “Motel Shot”. On Tour was their best-selling album by far, and is the only official document of their live work. Delaney and Bonnie were considered by many to be at their best on stage. In his autobiography, Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler stated that the studio album he produced for the band, To Bonnie from Delaney, "didn't quite catch the fire of their live performances." Clapton makes an even stronger statement in his autobiography: "For me, going on [with Blind Faith] after Delaney and Bonnie was really, really tough, because I thought they were miles better than us." Motel Shot, although technically a studio album, was largely recorded "live in the studio" with acoustic instruments - a rarity for rock bands at the time, foreshadowing the “Unplugged” phenomenon by nearly twenty years. Delaney and Bonnie's daughter Bekka Bramlett is active in the music business as well. Bekka briefly sang lead with Fleetwood Mac in the early 1990s, and has since pursued a successful career as a backing vocalist, most notably with Faith Hill.
The group recorded their last album (D&B together) in 1972, in 2008 Delaney recorded his last album as a solo artist, he died later that year.
Mathew Jones
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