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.
The Way It Is
Bruce Hornsby Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Waiting for the welfare dime
'Cause they can't buy a job
The man in the silk suit hurries by
As he catches the poor old ladies' eyes
Just for fun he says, "get a job"
That's just the way it is
That's just the way it is
Ah, but don't you believe them
Said, "Hey little boy, you can't go where the others go
'Cause you don't look like they do"
Said, "Hey old man, how can you stand
To think that way?
Did you really think about it
Before you made the rules?"
He said, "Son
Well, that's just the way it is
Some things'll never change
That's just the way it is
Ah, but don't you believe them"
Mm, yeah
(That's just the way it is)
(That's just the way it is) well, they passed a law in '64
To give those who ain't got a little more
But it only goes so far
Because the law don't change another's mind
When all it sees at the hiring time
Is the line on the color bar, no, no
That's just the way it is
And some things'll never change
But that's just the way it is
That's just the way it is, it is, it is, it is
The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby & the Range presents a commentary on the social and economic inequality sadly prevailing in our world. The song depicts the reality of people waiting in line to receive welfare and unable to find employment. Meanwhile, the privileged class sees them with contempt and suggests that if they wanted to work, they could have achieved it. The song points out how the people in power have created and perpetuated a system that works for them but hinders the marginalized and oppressed. The song further touches the issue of racism by referencing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was a crucial legislation in the movement for racial justice in the US. The lyrics suggest that even though the legal framework has changed, the societal discrimination based on race, socio-economic status, and appearance remains as before.
The chorus of the song reiterates the fact that the way things are is not the way they ought to be. It declares that things will stay the way they are until people start believing what they see, stand up for what is right, and work towards freedom and inclusion for all. Hornsby sings about the cyclical nature of injustice, where some things will never change despite efforts for reform. He emphasizes the need for individuals to stay critical of structures of power and authority and not let themselves be deluded by false narratives.
Line by Line Meaning
Standing in line, marking time
Waiting in a long queue, taking up one's precious time
Waiting for the welfare dime
Anticipating financial aid from the government
'Cause they can't buy a job
Individuals are struggling to secure jobs due to various reasons
The man in the silk suit hurries by
A wealthy individual is passing by in a fancy suit
As he catches the poor old ladies' eyes
He grabs the attention of some senior citizens who are financially struggling
Just for fun he says, "get a job"
As a joke, the rich man tells the old ladies to find employment
That's just the way it is
Some things are unchangeable
Some things'll never change
Certain circumstances remain unaffected
Ah, but don't you believe them
However, one shouldn't fall for that illusion
Said, "Hey little boy, you can't go where the others go
A child is being told he can't do something because of the way he looks
'Cause you don't look like they do"
As an outcast who doesn't fit in, he is deemed different
Said, "Hey old man, how can you stand to think that way?
An elderly person is questioned about his beliefs and ideologies
Did you really think about it before you made the rules?"
Was his thought process sound while creating rules?
He said, "Son
The elderly person replied
Well, that's just the way it is
The situation is just as it appears
Mm, yeah
An expression indicating a contemplative mood
(That's just the way it is)
Repetition of the fact that certain things are unchangeable
(That's just the way it is) well, they passed a law in '64
Referencing a law passed in 1964
To give those who ain't got a little more
The intent of the law was to aid those who were financially deficient
But it only goes so far
However, the effect of the law is limited
Because the law don't change another's mind
The law won't make people think differently
When all it sees at the hiring time
During the employment time, all they see is
Is the line on the color bar, no, no
Basing hiring/firing decisions on race and ethnicity
That's just the way it is
This is one of the unchangeable things in life
And some things'll never change
The status quo persists
But that's just the way it is
But that's just the way it is
That's just the way it is, it is, it is, it is
Repeating the fact that some things in life are simply unalterable
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Bruce Hornsby
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Digman77
Anybody listening in 2024
@robertlinear2698
Yesss always! This NEVER goes out of style ❤
@robertlinear2698
He killed those 88s!
@mikamydog
Bought a $55 concert ticket for September. Excited to see him perform
@Digman77
@@mikamydog that’s awesome!!
@mikamydog
@@Digman77Can't believe he's only charging that much as opposed to current acts less talented than he is.
@user-qn3eo4hx7z
I'm black and my 25 year old son asked me why I was listening to this. I said its great music and the base of alot of the hip-hop you are listening to. He told me I was old and crazy.
I then played Tupac's changes. And asked him how crazy am I. 🤣
@wutang6020
Try Pete and bas 😉 everything you just said there in a nut shell 👌😊
@karensweeden5038
Music is color blind,just the way it is,God bless you
@HitsFromThePast
@@karensweeden5038 Not to MTV in the early 1980s but that was the way it was.