The saxophone player, best known for the hit Yakety Sax, Boots Randolph, died this Tuesday because of a cerebral hemorrhage he suffered in the month of June. Since then he was in a coma. He was 80.
Randolph was a legend in his field. He had played regularly in the Nashville nightclubs for some 30 years continuously. Later on, he became one of the men who drew tourists as for every saxophone aspiring artist, he was an icon. In his career, he has recorded more than 40 albums. He then teamed up with artists; Chet Atkins and Floyd Cramer. He also participated in the Hee Haw, which had him as a part of Million Dollar Band. He was called ‘Boots’ by his close associates. Well, what lies in the name but the loss of the artist is great especially, in the musical world. He is survived by his wife, a son, a daughter and four grand children.
Randolph learned music from his family and started off with instruments like ukulele and trombone. Later on, he switched on to tenor sax. He also went to army for a while. There too his talent made him a part of the army band. In 1958, he got his first break. From 1963 to about 1972, he had 13 albums flying high on the charts. About his music, he said once,
‘Every time I pick the horn up, it’s more intriguing to me. It satisfies my desire to do whatever I do. I think I probably get better because I work so much. You get to a point where you can be lackadaisical or nonchalant. But I’m not like that. I worry if I play a tune bad or my horn is not working right.”
As a session musician, he played a range of numbers. From Elvis Presley’s Return to Sender to Roy Orbison’s Oh, Pretty Woman, from Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Round the Christmas Tree to Al Hirt’s Java, all were a regular feature of his musical sessions. The music world will miss him!
Source: USAtoday
