![]() But more importantly, I had this sense of reverence. I kept having those out-of-body sensations, realizing, “Here I am, sitting in Karla Bonoff’s kitchen, talking to Karla Bonoff about Karla Bonoff’s music.” Partly that’s just the typical star-struck thing, because when you’ve lived with the album covers for long enough and then you meet the person, it’s always surreal. ![]() At one point her cat jumped up on the table and became fascinated with the microphone. She welcomed me in to sit in a creaky wooden chair at a beautiful old kitchen table, and our conversation was easy and open. Her taste is unpretentious and down to earth, much like her music. She was in the process of having a new home built, so in the meantime, she’s living in a cottage that she has decorated in a colonial/farmhouse style. I met Karla Bonoff at her house near Santa Barbara. And even though her thoughtful ballads like “Restless Nights” and “Goodbye My Friend” never had a chance to get radio play at that time, they paved the way for songs like one of the ’90s biggest hits, McLachlan’s “Angel.” Her melodic sense, personal lyrics and vocal stylings have found their way into the work of everyone from Shawn Colvin and Jonatha Brooke to Sarah McLachlan and Paula Cole. ![]() While Karla was providing us with a respite from the sounds of the ’80s, she was also influencing the next generation of female singer-songwriters. The late Timothy White, editor of Billboard, summed it up best when he said, “Karla Bonoff’s works are a bold expression of humanistic searching and belief during an often faithless era.” ![]() But against the backdrop of omnipresent electronic and heavy metal music, her straightforward, heartfelt, acoustic-based material sustained a legion of adoring folk-rock fans. Female singer-songwriters were not all over the pop charts, and the thoughtful folk sound of the ’70s was on its way out. When Karla’s cover of “Personally” became a hit in ’82, she had to go on Solid Gold wearing a miniskirt and white go-go boots. As a shy person, she has struggled with the scrutiny and expectations that come with being a successful artist early in one’s career. The role of a singer-songwriter in the spotlight hasn’t always been easy for Karla. Bonnie Raitt nailed it when she said, “Karla breaks my heart every time she sings.” I can only say that when I hear her aching and unadorned voice, I slump in my chair in a deeply satisfied, melancholy way. Įven though her songs have been covered by some of the most impressive singers of our time, Karla’s fans know that nobody sings them quite like she does. In 2000 she released a retrospective on Sony/Legacy called All My Life: The Best of Karla Bonoff. In 1993 she topped the country charts with Wynonna’s version of “Tell Me Why.” And in ’95 Bryndle reunited and released an album, touring together for the first time in 15 years. This led to Karla signing a solo deal with Columbia and putting out four records, Karla Bonoff (1977), Restless Nights (1979), Wild Heart of the Young (1982), and almost a decade later, New World (1988) on Gold Castle Records.Īfter a few years’ retreat from the music industry, Karla re-emerged in the ’90s and had three more songs recorded by Ronstadt (“All My Life,” “Goodbye My Friend” and “Trouble Again”) for her Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like The Wind album, with “All My Life” winning a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Duo. Karla had three of her songs (“Someone To Lay Down Beside Me,” “Lose Again” and “If He’s Ever Near”) cut by Linda Ronstadt on her 1976 Hasten Down The Wind album. After making an unreleased album for A&M, Bryndle disbanded and the four went on to develop their own careers. She soon teamed up with other Troubadour regulars Wendy Waldman, Kenny Edwards and Andrew Gold to form Bryndle – the first singer-songwriter supergroup that was, unfortunately, just a few years ahead of their time. Growing up in the fertile Los Angeles music scene of the late ’60s and early ’70s, Karla and her sister, Lisa, were hoot-night regulars at the legendary Troubadour, watching then-unknowns such as James Taylor and Jackson Browne trying out their new songs. My friends were listening to AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and ZZ Top. The experience of her music felt relevant to me, unlike much of what was coming over FM radio in southern Maine at the time. I learned at least 20 of her songs when I was in high school and would play them over and over. I was drawn in by the honesty in her voice, soaring melodies, and lyrics that seemed to spill from her heart like intimate conversations. I remember spending much of the early ’80s in a stiff Shaker chair by the record player in my parents’ kitchen, hunched over my guitar, completely absorbed in the contentment of learning and playing Karla Bonoff songs. Below are excerpts of an interview by singer-songwriter Catie Curtis with Karla Bonoff that appeared in the Jan/Feb 2000 Issue of Performing Songwriter.
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