Boots Randolph

Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III (June 3, 1927 – July 3, 2007) was an American musician. His 1963 saxophone hit "Yakety Sax" became the signature tune of The Benny Hill Show. Randolph was a prolific session musician and member of the Nashville A-Team, performing on numerous recordings by artists including Chet Atkins, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Brenda Lee, REO Speedwagon, and Al Hirt. He performed alongside artists in pop, rock, jazz, and country music.

Biography Randolph was born in Paducah, Kentucky, on June 3, 1927. and raised in Cadiz, Kentucky. He said a brother gave him the nickname "Boots" to avoid confusion, since his father and he had the same first name, though the reason for the nickname choice is unknown.

As a child, Randolph learned to play music with his family's band, who entered talent shows to win food to help get by during the Great Depression. He started out playing the ukulele and trombone, but switched to tenor saxophone when his father unexpectedly brought one home.

Randolph graduated from Central High School in Evansville, Indiana, and served in the United States Army toward the end of World War II, playing saxophone, trombone, and vibraphone in the U.S. Army Band until his discharge in 1946.

After his service in the Army, he played with Dink Welch's Kopy Kats in Decatur, Illinois, from 1948 to 1954. He briefly resided in Louisville, Kentucky, before returning to Decatur to start his own group. Early in his career, he often billed himself as Randy Randolph. In 1957, he left Decatur and relocated to the Nashville, Tennessee, suburb of Hendersonville and was signed to RCA Victor by Chet Atkins in 1958. While Randolph's initial recordings for the label were not commercial successes, they recognized his potential as a session musician, and Randolph became part of the Nashville A-Team. He played on Brenda Lee's 1958 hit "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", Al Hirt's 1963 instrumental hit "Java", Roy Orbison's 1964 hit "Oh, Pretty Woman", and Johnny Cash's 1965 cover hit of "Orange Blossom Special". He played on many recording sessions with Elvis Presley and also performed on soundtracks for a number of Presley's motion pictures, one popular song being "Return to Sender". He was also present on many recordings by guitarist Chet Atkins, with whom he often performed.

In 1961, he signed with Monument Records and as a solo recording artist placed four singles in the top 100 between 1963 and 1967. The most successful of these was "Yakety Sax", which reached number 35 in 1963 and stayed on the charts for nine weeks. Randolph was also successful on Billboard'''s album charts, having 14 entries between 1963 and 1972. Boots With Strings from 1966 reached number 36 and stayed on the chart for nearly two years.

Randolph often maintained a schedule of over 200 recording and performance commitments annually. He also appeared on numerous television shows. including The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and The Jimmy Dean Show. In the 1980s, he also frequently appeared on the television program Hee Haw as a member of the Million Dollar Band.

In 1977, Randolph opened and performed regularly at Boots Randolph's, a 275-seat nightclub in downtown Nashville's Printer's Alley, which remained in operation until 1994.

Personal life and death Randolph married Dee Baker in 1948; they had a son, Randy, and a daughter, Linda. On July 3, 2007, Randolph died at Skyline Medical Center in Nashville, after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He had celebrated his 80th birthday just one month prior.

His final solo studio album, A Whole New Ballgame, was released on June 12, 2007.

Discography Albums Year Title Chart positionsUS 1960Boots Randolph's Yakety Sax 79 1963Yakety Sax! — 1964Hip Boots! —The Yakin' Sax Man — 1965Boots Randolph Plays More Yakety Sax! 118Plays 12 Monstrous Sax Hits! —Sweet Talk — 1966Boots with StringsA 36The Fantastic Boots Randolph — 1967Boots Randolph with the Knightsbridge Strings & Voices 189King of Yakety — 1968Sunday Sax 76The Sound of Boots 60 1969...With Love/The Seductive Sax of Boots Randolph 82Boots and Stockings 16Yakety Revisited 113 1970Hit Boots 1970 157Boots with Brass 168 1971Homer Louis Randolph, III 141 1972Boots Randolph Plays the Hits of Today 192 1973Sentimental Journey — 1974Country BootsB — 1975Cool Boots — 1976Party Boots — 1977Sax Appeal — 1978Boots Randolph Puts a Little Sax in Your Life — 1982Dedication — 1983Yakety-Madness (featuring Richie Cole) — 1990Boots — 1992Boots Live —Christmas at Boots' Place (featuring Tommy Newsom's Jazztet) — 2000Songs for the Spirit — 2002A Christmas Holiday — 2007A Whole New Ballgame — A Boots with Strings also peaked at number three on Jazz albums and number 21 on R&B albums B Country Boots'' peaked at number 30 on Country albums

Singles Year Title Chart positionsUSUS AC 1963"Yakety Sax" 35 — 1964"Hey, Mr. Sax Man" 77 — 1966"The Shadow of Your Smile" 93 28"Miss You" "Yodelin' Sax" 1967"Temptation" 93 30"Big Daddy" 105 — 1968"Fred" — 39"Gentle on My Mind" — 19 1969"Hey Jude" "Down Yonder" 1970"Anna" 111 40"Those Were the Days" "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down"

Boots Randolph

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