[EarnestKS]

Before posting this Obituary I searched to see if there was a "Dead Folks" thread and
ran into THIS (something I had missed at the time). Talk about a flashback

Delaney & Bonnie really sumbolize a very specific space in time (which includes Blind Faith
and orange sunshine and, for me at least, Marin County) ...

Delaney Bramlett, Pop Singer and Guitarist, Dies at 69


Jack Vartoogian / Front Row Photos
Delaney Bramlett onstage in New York in 1970. He and his wife
at the time formed the group Delaney & Bonnie & Friends.

NY TIMES
By BRUCE WEBER
December 31, 2008
Delaney Bramlett, a singer and songwriter whose bluesy, gospel- and country-flavored music influenced Eric Clapton and George Harrison among others, and whose songs were covered by popular musicians ranging from Ray Charles to Sonic Youth, died Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 69.

The cause was complications after gall bladder surgery, his wife, Susan Lanier-Bramlett, told The Associated Press.
Mr. Bramlett’s most famous compositions included “Groupie (Superstar),” which he wrote with Leon Russell and which became a hit for the Carpenters but was also recorded by artists as varied as Woody Herman, Vikki Carr, Sonic Youth and Usher; and “Never Ending Song of Love,” covered dozens of times by the wide-ranging likes of Charles, Herbie Mann, Patty Loveless and the Osmonds.
A revered sideman who was adept on slide guitar, Mr. Bramlett became a rock star in the late 1960s when he fronted a band with his wife at the time, Bonnie, to whom some sources give co-writing credit on “Groupie (Superstar)” and “Never Ending Song of Love.” Their touring act became a who’s who of rock ’n’ rollers.
Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, as the band was known, at various times included Mr. Russell, Dave Mason, Rita Coolidge, Duane Allman and most notably Mr. Clapton, who met the Bramletts when they opened for his band, Blind Faith, on a 1969 tour. Mr. Clapton wrote in his autobiography that performing with Blind Faith after Delaney & Bonnie warmed up the crowd “was really, really tough, because I thought they were miles better than us.”
When Blind Faith broke up shortly after that tour, Mr. Clapton joined as one of the Friends. Mr. Bramlett subsequently produced Mr. Clapton’s first solo album, “Eric Clapton,” on which Mr. Clapton, at Mr. Bramlett’s urging, sang lead vocals.
In December 1969, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends played the Royal Albert Hall in London.
“And all the Beatles were right there in the front row,” Mr. Bramlett recalled in an undated interview posted on YouTube. He added: “George Harrison came backstage, and he said, ‘Will you teach me how to play that slide?’ And I said, ‘You ain’t done too bad, the Beatles aren’t slouches, George.’ And he said, ‘But I don’t know how to play like you play slide.’ So I did.”
Delaney Bramlett was born in Pontotoc, Miss., on July 1, 1939. He received a guitar as a Christmas gift from his mother when he was 8. He left Mississippi to join the Navy, and in the early 1960s settled in Los Angeles, where he lived the rest of his life, never losing his Southern twang. There he was hired for the Shindogs, the house band for the television show “Shindig.”
One night in 1967, the story goes, the Shindogs were moonlighting at a bowling alley when he met the former Bonnie Lynn O’Farrell; they married a week later. Their albums included “Home,” “To Bonnie From Delaney” and “On Tour With Eric Clapton.”
The Bramletts broke up in 1973, and their band did, too. They both continued to record, though their successes never matched what they achieved together.
The couple’s daughter, Bekka Bramlett, also a singer, survives Mr. Bramlett, along with his wife, Ms. Lanier-Bramlett, and a brother, John.
The Associated Press reported that his survivors also include two other daughters and a son.
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

[fashikn]

Delaney & Bonnie's GROUPIE (Superstar) ...

Everybody sang this song.

Of course Delaney & Bonnie did it (with the help of some Friends).

Cher took a shot at it.

Before that there was the Classic Carpenter's version.

Todd Haynes stole The Title.

It's a great song.

GROUPIE (Superstar)

Long ago and so far away,
I fell in love with you
Before the second show.

Your guitar,
It sounds so sweet and clear -
But it's just the radio
And you're not really here.

Don't you remember you told me you loved me, baby?
(You told me you loved me!)
Said you'd be coming back this way again, baby...
(I've been waiting for you, baby!)
Don't you remember you told me you loved me, baby?
Woah-oh, mmmm...

Loneliness is such a sad affair (sad affair)
And I can hardly wait to sleep with you again.

What to say to make you come again? (come again)
Come back and play for me your sad guitar.

Oh, yeah! Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby!
(I've been waiting for you, baby!)
Don't you remember you told me you loved me, baby?
(You said you loved me, baby!)
Said you'd be coming back this way again, baby
(Baby, my baby!)
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby!
(I've been waiting for you, baby!)
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby

[TheBestCheapestOEM]

^^ good find and sad post. Delaney and Bonnie were terrific both together and indvidually. Although not as well known as many of their peers, fans can take solace knowing they played important roles on some of the most important music of the 70's.

I never saw them together live, although I did see Bonnie Bramlett when she toured with the Stephen Stills Band back in the '80s. Delaney was a great guitar player who along with Rye Cooder, Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, and a few others defined the role of the 'super session' side player of the60's and 70's.
Rest in Peace.