In 1984 Hornsby formed Bruce Hornsby & the Range, who were signed to RCA Records in 1985. Besides Hornsby, Range members were David Mansfield (guitar, mandolin, violin), George Marinelli (guitars and backing vocals), Joe Puerta (bass guitar and backing vocals), and John Molo (drums).
During the 1990s he toured with the Grateful Dead, and released four albums, including A Night on the Town (1990) after which he split from The Range. Harbor Lights (1993) was his first solo album and signaled Hornsby was moving in a new jazz-influenced direction, whilst retaining elements of rock and pop. Later releases include Hot House (1995) and Spirit Trail (1998).
His experimental album Big Swing Face (2002) attracted much criticism as it veered away from his piano-based style. Despite these criticisms, he returned with his next studio album, shrugging off RCA and signing to Sony Music Entertainment. Halcyon Days, released in 2004, saw a return to the piano as the key instrument; this album also became the premise for his world tour the same year.
Hornsby continues to tour with his live band "The Noisemakers", in addition to solo shows and his progressive bluegrass performances with Ricky Skaggs.
In 2007 he released Camp Meeting, his first total jazz album as The Bruce Hornsby Trio, which involved jazz giants, Jack DeJohnette and Christian McBride with whom he made live appearances with throughout 2007.
In March 2007 Hornsby teamed with bluegrass player Ricky Skaggs to produce a bluegrass album, Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby, and played several tour dates together. The seeds for the album had been sown in 2000 when the pair collaborated on "Darlin' Cory", a track on the Big Mon Bill Monroe bluegrass tribute album and then proposed recording an album together. Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby, featuring the duo backed by Skaggs's band Kentucky Thunder, combined bluegrass, traditional country, "a tinge of Hornsby's jazzy piano and a splash of humor" on a spectrum of songs from the traditional to new compositions such as the opening track "The Dreaded Spoon," "a humorous tale of a youthful ice cream heist. The pair also reinvented Hornsby's hit "Mandolin Rain" as a minor key acoustic ballad and "give his cautionary tale of backwoods violence", "A Night On the Town," a treatment highlighting the "Appalachian storytelling tradition that was always at the song's heart. The album ended with a surprise cover of Rick James's funk hit "Super Freak" in a bluegrass arrangement. Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby topped Billboard's bluegrass charts for several weeks. The album showed Hornsby carving out a place for piano within traditional bluegrass, disproving the notion that the piano is not compatible with "string-oriented" bluegrass.
Concurrently with the bluegrass project, Hornsby recorded a jazz album, Camp Meeting. with Christian McBride (bass) and Jack DeJohnette (drums). Alongside original compositions by Hornsby, the trio delivered "newly reharmonized versions" of tunes by John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, a previously unrecorded Ornette Coleman work ("Questions and Answers") and an early Keith Jarrett composition ("Death and the Flower.") The trio made a series of appearances in the summer of 2007, including the Playboy Jazz Festival, the Newport Jazz Festival and at the Hollywood Bowl.
On January 4, 2007, former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart reunited along with Hornsby, Mike Gordon (of Phish and the Rhythm Devils) and Warren Haynes to play two sets. including Dead classics, at a post-inauguration fundraising party for Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House in the United States Congress.
Hornsby wrote songs for a Broadway Musical, titled "SCKBSTD"; one song from this project, a playful biographical tune about real-estate tycoon Donald Trump titled "The Don of Dons," made several appearances in setlists during his early-2007 solo piano performances. He also composed the score for Spike Lee's ESPN documentary, Kobe Doin' Work, about NBA star Kobe Bryant and his MVP season.
Outside of music composition and performance, Hornsby has taken an ownership interest in Williamsburg area radio station "The Tide," WTYD 92.3 FM, and he has endowed the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music Program at University of Miami's Frost School of Music, encouraging the study of songwriting broadly across traditional genres. Hornsby played himself in a cameo role in the Robin Williams movie World's Greatest Dad, in which Williams' character is a Bruce Hornsby fan.
He has also been honored by piano makers Steinway & Sons with their Limited Edition Signature Piano Series. Hornsby selected ten Model B Steinway Grands to be featured in this collection, each one personalized with his signature. Hornsby owns three 9-foot Model D Steinway Grands himself.
Cyclone
Bruce Hornsby Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Except the board we're playing on, how it's to be divided
Will more years yet die alone? The question's many-sided
Got no answers of my own and none have been provided
When I was a boy there was nothing to know
The wind followed me wherever I'd go
Rain came down where I made my stand
There is a game that's only played in a darkened room with strangers
Dealt down and dirty with unmarked cards eyes closed to dangers
Jealousy folds without playing its hold card, romance raises grinning
I spent several lifetimes there where I could not lose for winning
When I was a boy there was love for free
Glad to be given and received by me
Rain came down where I made my stand
And the cyclone rose with a wave of my hand
I believe I can still make the cyclone rise
Just can't see it so well, with my fading eyes
A mystery to myself not everything now I was born to be
All I know is when I wanted it so, the wind itself rose for me
You know, if it wasn't for love
I might just be a wandering man
But believe I've made the better choice
To sing about it with this band
When I was a boy, I could summon the moon
With a crook of the finger and a home-made tune
I could ride the clouds when they sailed on by
And sing all the words to a wildcat's cry
When I was a boy there was nothing to know
The wind followed me wherever I'd go
Rain came down where I made my stand
And the cyclone rose with a wave of my hand
I believe I can still make the cyclone rise
And the cyclone rose
Wave of my hand
Rain came down where I made my stand
"Cyclone" is a song by Bruce Hornsby that touches on the themes of aging, mortality, and the loss of youthful optimism. The song starts off with the singer reflecting on his life, lamenting how time seems to have passed him by without much direction or meaning. He wonders if he will die alone, as he has no answers for the many questions that have arisen.
The second verse is a nostalgic look back at the singer's childhood, where he felt invincible and in control. He could summon the wind and the rain and even the moon with a wave of his hand or a homemade tune. The singer compares his current state of confusion and uncertainty to the simplicity and clarity of his youth.
The chorus repeats the same lines, "When I was a boy there was nothing to know, the wind followed me wherever I'd go, rain came down where I made my stand, and the cyclone rose with a wave of my hand." The cyclone rising symbolizes the singer's power and control over his own destiny, which he feels he has lost over the years.
The third verse talks about a card game played in a darkened room with strangers, where jealousy and romance are the driving forces. The singer feels invincible in this world, like he cannot lose for winning. He contrasts this with his current state of confusion and worry, wondering if he will ever regain that feeling of control.
Line by Line Meaning
Most of our years have flown away with nothing much decided
We have spent most of our lives without making significant choices
Except the board we're playing on, how it's to be divided
However, we have made decisions about how to play the game of life
Will more years yet die alone? The question's many-sided
The question of whether we will be alone for the rest of our lives is complex
Got no answers of my own and none have been provided
I don't have the answers to this question and have not been given any
When I was a boy there was nothing to know
As a child, I was ignorant to many things in life
The wind followed me wherever I'd go
Nature seemed to follow me wherever I went
Rain came down where I made my stand
Rain would come only in the spots where I had stood
And the cyclone rose with a wave of my hand
And I could even control the wind with a simple gesture
There is a game that's only played in a darkened room with strangers
Life can feel like a game played in isolation with unknown forces
Dealt down and dirty with unmarked cards eyes closed to dangers
We often are presented with challenges that have hidden risks and uncertain outcomes
Jealousy folds without playing its hold card, romance raises grinning
In this game of life, love can thrive while jealousy dwindles
I spent several lifetimes there where I could not lose for winning
At times, I found myself in a place where I couldn't lose, no matter how I played the game
When I was a boy there was love for free
As a child, love was given and received easily without cost
Glad to be given and received by me
I was happy to both give and receive love
I believe I can still make the cyclone rise
I have confidence that I can still control the wind even now
Just can't see it so well, with my fading eyes
However, my aging eyes make it harder to control the wind as precisely
A mystery to myself not everything now I was born to be
I am still figuring out who I am and what I was meant to be
All I know is when I wanted it so, the wind itself rose for me
Despite this mystery, I do know that I was able to control the wind when I truly needed it
You know, if it wasn't for love
Love has had a significant impact on my life
I might just be a wandering man
Without love, I might have lived a more aimless, wandering life
But believe I've made the better choice
However, I know I have made the right choices in following love
To sing about it with this band
And sharing my love and experiences through music brings me joy
I could ride the clouds when they sailed on by
As a child, I could even ride on the clouds as they passed by
And sing all the words to a wildcat's cry
I was even able to mimic the sounds of the animals around me
And the cyclone rose
And the wind still follows me now
Wave of my hand
I can still control it with a simple gesture
Rain came down where I made my stand
And the rain still falls where I choose to be
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BRUCE HORNSBY, ROBERT HUNTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
jpwjr1199
Most of our years have flown away with nothing much decided
Except the board we're playing on,
How it’s to be divided
Will more years yet die alone? The question's many sided
Got no answers of my own
And none have been provided
When I was young, there was nothing to know
The wind followed me wherever I'd go
Rain came down where I made my stand
And the cyclone rose with a wave of my hand
There is a game that's only played in a darkened room with strangers
Dealt down and dirty with unmarked cards
Eyes closed to dangers
Jealousy folds without playing its hole card, romance raises grinning
I spent several lifetimes there
Where I could not lose for winning
When I was young, there was love for free
Glad to be given and received by me
The rain came down where I made my stand
And the cyclone rose with a wave of my hand
I believe I can still make the cyclone rise
Just can't see it so well with my fading eyes
A mystery to myself not everything
Now I was born to be
All I know is when I wanted it so,
The wind itself rose for me
You know, if it wasn't for love
I might just be a wandering man
But I believe I've made the better choice
To sing about it with this band
When I was a boy, I could summon the moon
With a crook of the finger and a homemade tune
I could ride the clouds, when they sailed on by
And sing all the words to a wildcat's cry
When I was a boy, there was nothing to know
The wind followed me wherever I'd go
Rain came down where I made my stand
And the cyclone rose with a wave of my hand
I believe I can still make the cyclone rise
And the cyclone rose with the wave of my hand
Rain came down where I made my stand
Songwriters: Bruce Hornsby / Robert Hunter
anthony22bob
Seriously? How can somebody post a thumbs down? This band is magnificent in every way.
Peter Gallagher
Agreed friend!
kw kimbugwe
Criminal to say the least. My favourite band and piano player.
Wildeyedfae
I was just wondering the thing!
Daniel Cullen
I've accidentally downvoted stuff a bunch when I'm listening with my phone in my pocket. Just sayin', a lot of the time it's accidental.
Joan Geyer
They don’t know good music ❤
pgbear
I've been listening to Bruce Hornsby for years but I am embarrassed to admit that I only discovered this track a few days ago. It's easily one of his very best. What a brilliant song and such a great band performance.
stroudsvids
Me too.
stroudsvids
And I’m a huge Dead fan.
david hunley
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Bruce Hornsby, and if u think this is incredible, u should see him live