Bruce Hornsby & the Range "Lost Soul"

Before striking gold with "Sunny Came Home", Shawn Colvin turned up as a backup vocalist on "Lost Soul" from Bruce Hornsby & the Range. The mellow tune hit #16 on the Adult Contemporary Chart in 1990.

Bruce Hornsby & the Range "The Way It Is"

Tupac and pianist / singer Bruce Hornsby actually have something in common. Tupac sampled Hornsby's "The Way It Is" in his 1998 tune "Changes". Both songs share melodies and themes as they tackle the issue of racial inequality. Hornsby's version helped him win a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1986.

Bruce Hornsby & The Range "Look Out Any Window"

As an avid basketball player, Bruce Hornsby claims he once bailed NBA star Allen Iverson out of jail and then played him in a game of one-on-one. Hornsby said he beat Iverson during those games...three times in a row.

Bruce Hornsby "Walk in the Sun"

I graduated from high school during the summer of 1995 and spent many late nights cruising around Northwest Indiana with my small but solid group of friends who would soon be heading to different colleges than me. I planned to spend my freshman year of college locally at Indiana University Northwest whereas my friends were headed to Ball State, Purdue or Indiana University in Bloomington. Since I didn't have a curfew, I tried to make the most of late nights that year and usually stayed up until the sun started to rise. My older brother worked for United Airlines that year and his alarm would sound around at the ripe time of 3:45am. One particular early morning, I remember him passing me on his walk to the bathroom while muttering, "You're still up and I'm getting up for work...what's wrong with this picture?" That unusually hot summer featured hits from TLC, Hootie & The Blowfish and Green Day on the radio, but I also remember many late nights in the car when I would come across Bruce Hornsby's "Walk in the Sun". The jazzy soft rock tune played on many Adult Contemporary radio stations during that hot summer and, like many of my high school friends, disappeared in the autumn...

Bruce Hornsby & The Range - "The Valley Road"

"The Valley Road" was a Top 10 hit in 1988 for Bruce Hornsby & The Range.  A year later, he re-recorded the catchy tune with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in a more country/Bluegrass style.  The result: a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Recording in 1990.

Bruce Hornsby & The Range - "Every Little Kiss"

Originally released in 1986 before Bruce Hornsby's biggest hit ("The Way It Is"), "Every Little Kiss" found greater success after its re-release in 1987.  The song originally peaked at #37 in 1986, but went all the way to #3 the following year.  That's just the way it is.

Bruce Hornsby - "Fields of Gray"

Adult Contemporary radio in 1993 featured "Fields of Gold" and "Fields of Gray"--the former from Sting and the latter from Bruce Hornsby.  While Sting's "Gold" dominated, Hornsby's "Gray" quickly disappeared from the radio.  Like many songs on Growing Up Adult Contemporary, this song still turns up on the overheard speaker at CVS.

Bruce Hornsby - "Across The River"

Deadhead fans have three dates in July 2015 circled on their calendars.  That's when the remaining members of The Grateful Dead will reunite at Soldier Field for a series of shows.  Bruce Hornsby, who played several shows with The Dead in the early-90s, will also join the band for the reunion tour.  I doubt that the Dead will play Hornsby's 1990 hit "Across The River", but stranger things have happened at Grateful Dead shows.

Bonnie Raitt - "I Can't Make You Love Me"

While Bruce Hornsby has had plenty of Adult Contemporary hits, you can find him in a quite a few others.  However, you'll only hear him as the pianist rather than the vocalist.  One such example is Bonnie Raitt's signature ballad "I Can't Make You Love Me".  The day before my sophomore year of high school started, my friend Steve and I went to Gurnee Mills Mall with his mom.  We spent the whole day at the mall and Bonnie Raitt's tune blared over the speakers at center court.  By the end of the day, I think I had heard the song about 30 times.

Bruce Hornsby & The Range - "Mandolin Rain"

"Listen to the banjo wind" and "Listen to the Mandolin Rain" are lyrics within the song "Mandolin Rain."  I have listened to the song quite a few times and still have no idea what that means.  I actually forgot about the 1987 hit until Josh Kelley covered the song in 2014.  I also had forgotten about Josh Kelley.