Posted By BillHeise on April 26, 2010

I looked for this video when I first started my blog, but it was unavailable. But I finally found it this week. The sound quality is terrible, but it was one of my favorite songs when I was in high school.

After Eric Clapton had joined the super group Blind Faith, he got sick of the fame. He joined Delaney and Bonnie for a single album as a backup artist. The backup band here consists of the future members of Derek and the Dominoes. They became available after Bonnie fired them all.

Bonnie Bramlett was an interesting character in her own right. After Clapton left her band, she divorced Delaney, began drinking and dropped out of music for a decade. She reappeared as a regular on Rosanne Barr’s famous show in the 80s as a biker chick. She was cast due the fact that her years of hard living showed on her face.

In the lats 70s, she got into a well-publicized fight with Elvis Costello after Elvis called Ray Charles a bad name:

Bramlett, a longtime paladin of rhythm-and-blues whose backup bands once included heavies like Leon Russell, Duane Allman and Rita Coolidge, kept cool until, she says, Costello “called James Brown a jive-ass nigger.” Next, according to an onlooker, “Bonnie said, ‘All right, you son of a bitch, what do you think of Ray Charles?’ He said, ‘Screw Ray Charles, he’s nothing but a blind nigger.’ That did it. Bonnie backhanded him, slapped him pretty hard, because she’s a healthy chick.”

Hooray for Bonnie! I’ve never been able to listen to Elvis Costello without a tinge of guilt.

For those who want to hear a cleaner version, download I Don’t Want To Discuss It here.

Categories: What I'm Listening to This Week
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