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Posted by Larry Jordan on July 6, 2007, 10:59 pm Fans may know that Boots played on a number of Jim's recordings, including for the album "A Touch of Velvet." Besides being an incredible talent, he was absolutely one of the nicest and most approachable stars ever to come out of Nashville. Boots had a full schedule of personal appearances slated for the months ahead, which is quite remarkable considering the fact that he was 80 years old. He could play anything; my favorite was his soulful version of "Stardust," backed by his very good band. But I've recently heard him do a jazzy duet with another saxophonist on "Just A Closer Walk With Thee." The dexterity with which Boots played the sax was hard to beat, and the shadings he gave to his intonations were no less colorful than what a good singer like Jim Reeves could do with his voice. By the way, Boots also sang a little, and I enjoyed his imitation of Louis Armstrong. Fortunately, I taped our recent conversation and have already incorporated his remarks into various chapters of my book when I describe Jim's sessions, etc. The two men also played golf together and Boots told me some stories about that. He described Jim in glowing terms and I know the feeling was mutual; Reeves really liked him. You can read about Mr. Randolph by clicking the link below which will take you to the Tennessean story on him. But you also should look on youtube.com for some video clips of him performing. I'm very sorry to learn of the passing of this wonderful gentleman, who was a member of Nashville's "A team" and played on so many historic recordings by various artists. We extend our sympathy to his family.
Link: Boots Randolph
Message modified by board administrator July 7, 2007, 5:38 am
A friend called me tonight to let me know that famed saxophonist "Boots" Randolph had passed away earlier this week from a stroke. I was shocked and saddened to hear this, because Boots had called me recently and we'd had a wonderful conversation, including about Jim Reeves.
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