{"id":164277,"date":"2026-07-17T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=164277"},"modified":"2026-07-17T10:20:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T15:20:44","slug":"delaney-bramlett-is-an-overlooked-local-legend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/delaney-bramlett-is-an-overlooked-local-legend\/","title":{"rendered":"Delaney Bramlett Is an Overlooked Local Legend"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Galen Holley<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That sweaty, bloated, round face is definitely a Bramlett, that tribe, one and the same, them that scuffled in cotton and barefoot climbed like goats through kudzu and cuckleburs and were raised on cornbread and milk and onion. He was just Delaine among the besmirched youg\u2019uns in Pontotoc County, including his first cousin, Katherine Steward Foshee<\/strong>. \u201cThat\u2019s just what we called him,\u201d she said, trailing off with, \u201cAnd\u2019uh, well\u2026\u201d As kids they played cowboys and indians, she said. \u201cDelaine and his brother, John Wayne, would fuss over who got to be Gene Autry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delaney and Bonnie and Friends they were called, in Hollywood where they played with the likes of Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and the whos of the industry. His big hit was \u201cNever Ending Song of Love<\/strong>,\u201d but \u201cComin\u2019 Home<\/strong>\u201d has more of that raunchy, unshaven groove. Delaney picks the opening riff, then Harrison and the horns climb in and the whole, swarthy jam sways and rolls along like tea-colored water in a muddy creek. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His family couldn\u2019t afford a guitar, so Bramlett tied a string on a stick and pretended. He was a good boy, though, so, as he said in a 1998 interview, \u201cSannie Claus brought me one.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Childhood friend Carrell Maulton Houpt <\/strong>next bears witness. \u201cHe plain tore that thing up,\u201d says Houpt, with an audible slap on his knee, and a throaty laugh. \u201cHe was just a natural.\u201d Owen Martin<\/strong> was a school chum at Randolph, says that Delanie\u2019s talent was fierce to behold, even as a boy. \u201cThe FFA band would play at chapel, in school, and at different events, and I was always amazed,\u201d says Martin.  \u201cHe was just one of the most talented people I ever saw.\u201d   Bramlett himself praised R.C. Weatherall<\/strong>, a black man who helped him pick cotton as a boy, as well as Foshee\u2019s grandmother Maudie Whitworth Steward<\/strong>, \u201cMama Steward,\u201d as the progenitors of his guitar playing. His mama, Ivy, loved music, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bramlett came into the world July 1, 1939. The military didn\u2019t suit him, so he went L.A.-wards, a bar and club picker, got no pay or credit as rhythm guitarist on a Willie Nelson<\/strong> album, wrote \u201cSearching for Somewhere\u201d for Clint Eastwood<\/strong> (a song Bramlett called \u201cthe worst song, ever,\u201d and \u201cClint wasn\u2019t much of a singer,\u201d now a collector\u2019s item). The Palomino Club<\/strong> in North Hollywood was where the execs found him, put him on a show called Shindig<\/em><\/strong>, called the band the Shindogs<\/strong>, with Mac Davis<\/strong> and Jackie DeShannon<\/strong>. Bramlett played with Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Janis, produced Clapton\u2019s first album, wrote songs for The Carpenters, Luther, Ray Charles, the Everly Brothers, Crystal Gale, Chrissie Hynd, became best friends with Duane Allman, taught Harrison the gospel sound and inspired \u201cMy Sweet Lord.\u201d Said Clapton of Bramlett, \u201cI was totally in awe of Delaney. He was the first to instill in me a sense of purpose. Delaney brought out something in me I didn\u2019t know I had.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delaine died December 7, 2008 in L.A., and was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame<\/strong> in 2011.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Galen Holley<\/strong> is an Ole Miss<\/strong> graduate and a freelance writer who lives in Pontotoc County. He writes about a variety of topics, including sports, theology, and culture. Contact him at\u00a0galenholley@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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