Boots Randolph Tribute
by William Brown

Page 7
Boots Randolph (1927-2007)

Though he wasn't on the show itself in terms of actually appearing as a featured performer or musical guest, Nashville tenor saxophonist Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III, who died on July 3, 2007 at age 80 from a cerebral hemorrhage, was a major fixture on The Benny Hill Show by dint of his signature tune, "Yakety Sax," being used on the programme beginning with Mr. Hill's very first Thames show in 1969 and continuing to the very end of Hill's television career, played in a whole host of versions struck up by the in-house Thames orchestra under the baton of (usually) Ronnie Aldrich, and the sax of British session player Peter Hughes, in the process becoming synonymous with the show itself, to the extent of being called "The Benny Hill Theme" by many.

But Randolph was more than just a writer and performer of a little fast-paced ditty heard over ending runoff chases on a British TV comedy show. He was a versatile performer who excelled in all types of genres including jazz, blues, and rock & roll. He was also part of the "A" list of Nashville session musicians including Bob Moore, Harold Bradley, Charlie McCoy, Hank Garland, Grady Martin, Floyd Cramer and Chet Atkins (whose guitar-based equivalent version, "Yakety Axe," would be used for the ending chase of Benny's 1977 Australian special Benny Hill Down Under, as well as being played on the second of the Monty Python troupe's early 1970's German specials), who played on many 1950's and '60's songs that were the very definition of what would come to be called "The Nashville Sound." Indeed, as a headlining recording artist, he would be to saxophone what Atkins was to guitar, McCoy was to harmonica, and Cramer was to piano. His improvisational ability with the sax, and modulating its volume and tone to fit the mood and style of whatever song he was performing, won him the admiration of colleagues and fans alike.

He was born June 3, 1927 in Paducah, Kentucky; the name "Boots" was bestowed upon him in childhood by his brother Bob. Initially trained on the trombone and ukulele, he switched to sax by the time he was 16 when he was in high school; it was in World War II, as a member of the United States Army Band, that he honed his craft. After the war, he toured in and around the Midwest and South on a semi-professional basis. It was in one of his performances on the road that he was spotted by Jethro Burns, one-half of the comedy country duo Homer & Jethro. Burns then introduced him to legendary Nashville guitarist (and RCA Victor producer) Chet Atkins, who signed him to the label; it was in this period that he also made connections within the Nashville recording scene, including famed producer (and Atkins rival) Owen Bradley, on whose productions Boots played over the next few years (including Brenda Lee's Christmas standard "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," and a few sides by Elvis Presley). He averaged about 200-300 session dates a year at his peak, backing artists such as Lee, Presley, Homer & Jethro, Perry Como, Eddy Arnold, Roy Orbison, Al Hirt, and even REO Speedwagon.

Randolph first conceived "Yakety Sax" (with guitarist James "Spider" Rich) as being along the lines, tempo- and key-wise, of - albeit differing from - The Coasters' 1958 hit "Yakety Yak" (whose own sax solo came courtesy of famed R&B saxophonist King Curtis). An early version, recorded that year for RCA Victor and released in November as single #47-7395 (and credited to "Randy" Randolph, which would be the name of his son), flopped ignominiously. It wasn't until a few years after, when the song was featured on a local Baltimore, MD TV children's show, that it began to gain some buzz; when he recorded a new version for the up-and-coming Monument label in late 1962, the number - as issued on single #45-804, and credited to "Boots Randolph and His Combo" - truly exploded, reaching the Top 40 on the U.S. charts in 1963. (In contrast, when it was released in the U.K. on the London label [single #HLU 9685] in 1963, it made absolutely no impact at the time; it may have been that factor, plus Benny's taste for the unorthodox and "different" in music, that led him to pick that song above all others as music to be chased by.) For Randolph and Monument, this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship; he would record for the label well into the mid-1970's, alas most of his records which charted, outside of "Yakety Sax," were on the album charts.

Besides his session work and own recordings, Randolph made numerious appearances on TV variety shows over the years, including The Ed Sullivan Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Mike Douglas Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He also appeared as himself in a 1979 made-for-TV movie, Murder in Music City.

In 1977, two years prior to TBHS making it to U.S. syndication, Randolph opened a nightclub, Printer's Alley, which remained a popular tourist attraction until its closure in 1994.

He remained a popular live performer well into the new millennium, keeping active until near the end; one of his last public performances was on June 2, 2007 at the Greene County Festival in Linton, Indiana. On his last album, A Whole New Ballgame, released only a month before his death, he offered versions of such old standards as "'Round Midnight" and "Nature Boy" which showed him still at it.

But with all these accomplishments and more, it is for "Yakety Sax" that he will perhaps be best remembered. And for this and more, he will be sorely missed.

Special thanks to William Brown for supplying this tribute.