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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 |
Posted by Bob Robyn on July 7, 2007, 5:36 am, in reply to "Boots Randolph Passed Away" Also, Boots must have had an interesting time of it getting the saxophone thought of as a "country" instrument. (I picked up "Touch of Velvet" in 1967 and remember being taken back somewhat by the intro on "I Fall to Pieces". And I was a kid from North Jersey!) Did he face a lot of resistance? Did he ever play it on the 'Opry? Glad you got to talk to him. Look forward to reading about it in the book. Bob
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Posted by Larry Jordan As for Boots having a hard time getting the saxophone thought of as a country instrument, he was a very adaptable musician who could play a wide range of music. Jim Reeves liked Boots' playing so well, when he recorded "A Touch of Velvet," that subsequent to that he had Bunky Keels play sax on the road with the Blue Boys for awhile. (Bunky quit, however, because he objected to having to get up early on his days off and go play some of the free benefit shows that Reeves insisted on doing, such as at nursing homes and VA hospitals). Yes, Boots did play on the Opry. No one who saw him there could forget when he performed a beautiful version of "America". He just released a new CD called "A Whole New Ballgame."
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Posted by Bob Robyn on July 7, 2007, 6:38 am, in reply to "Re: Boots Randolph Passed Away" That's also nice to know Jim did the things that got him no monetary reward, yet I am sure he's been rewarded. Bob
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Posted by Doris Gath I hope and pray he was not on stage performing when he suffered his stroke. But at the same time he would have been doing what he loved best, performing his "yakety sax". He will be greatly missed. In sympathy, |
Posted by Mike Slater |
Posted by Bev He was a fantastic artist - I saw him, Chet Atkins, and Floyd Cramer in Salt Lake a long time ago. They were all great and they really put on a performance. Not often have a seen three such exceptional artists at one show. There was a lot of joking, etc., among them. Bev
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