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From The New York Times:


Delaney Bramlett, a singer and songwriter whose bluesy, gospel- and country-flavored music influenced Eric Clapton and George Harrison among others, and whose songs were covered by popular musicians ranging from Ray Charles to Sonic Youth, died Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 69.
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Delaney Bramlett onstage in New York in 1970. He and his wife at the time formed the group Delaney & Bonnie & Friends.



The cause was complications after gall bladder surgery, his wife, Susan Lanier-Bramlett, told The Associated Press.
Mr. Bramlett’s most famous compositions included “Groupie (Superstar),” which he wrote with Leon Russell and which became a hit for the Carpenters but was also recorded by artists as varied as Woody Herman, Vikki Carr, Sonic Youth and Usher; and “Never Ending Song of Love,” covered dozens of times by the wide-ranging likes of Charles, Herbie Mann, Patty Loveless and the Osmonds.

A revered sideman who was adept on slide guitar, Mr. Bramlett became a rock star in the late 1960s when he fronted a band with his wife at the time, Bonnie, to whom some sources give co-writing credit on “Groupie (Superstar)” and “Never Ending Song of Love.” Their touring act became a who’s who of rock ’n’ rollers.

Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, as the band was known, at various times included Mr. Russell, Dave Mason, Rita Coolidge, Duane Allman and most notably Mr. Clapton, who met the Bramletts when they opened for his band, Blind Faith, on a 1969 tour. Mr. Clapton wrote in his autobiography that performing with Blind Faith after Delaney & Bonnie warmed up the crowd “was really, really tough, because I thought they were miles better than us.”

When Blind Faith broke up shortly after that tour, Mr. Clapton joined as one of the Friends. Mr. Bramlett subsequently produced Mr. Clapton’s first solo album, “Eric Clapton,” on which Mr. Clapton, at Mr. Bramlett’s urging, sang lead vocals.

In December 1969, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends played the Royal Albert Hall in London.

“And all the Beatles were right there in the front row,” Mr. Bramlett recalled in an undated interview posted on YouTube. He added: “George Harrison came backstage, and he said, ‘Will you teach me how to play that slide?’ And I said, ‘You ain’t done too bad, the Beatles aren’t slouches, George.’ And he said, ‘But I don’t know how to play like you play slide.’ So I did.”
Delaney Bramlett was born in Pontotoc, Miss., on July 1, 1939. He received a guitar as a Christmas gift from his mother when he was 8. He left Mississippi to join the Navy, and in the early 1960s settled in Los Angeles, where he lived the rest of his life, never losing his Southern twang. There he was hired for the Shindogs, the house band for the television show “Shindig.”

One night in 1967, the story goes, the Shindogs were moonlighting at a bowling alley when he met the former Bonnie Lynn O’Farrell; they married a week later. Their albums included “Home,” “To Bonnie From Delaney” and “On Tour With Eric Clapton.”

The Bramletts broke up in 1973, and their band did, too. They both continued to record, though their successes never matched what they achieved together.

The couple’s daughter, Bekka Bramlett, also a singer, survives Mr. Bramlett, along with his wife, Ms. Lanier-Bramlett, and a brother, John. The Associated Press reported that his survivors also include two other daughters and a son.

(Bekka Bramlett, by the way, is the woman who replaced Stevie Nicks for Fleetwood Mac's Time album in the '90s.)

[Green Magnesium]

Loved Bonnie on Roseanne, and wish her character had stuck around longer.

Loved Bekka with Fleetwood Mac.

I still haven't gotten around to checking out much by Delaney & Bonnie though.