Bruce Randall Hornsby was born on 23 November 1954, in Williamsburg, Virginia USA, and is a keyboardist and singer, best known for his various bands and solo performances. He’s won numerous awards and has been known to draw music from various genres. All of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Bruce Hornsby? As of mid-2016, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $5 million, mostly earned through a successful career in the music industry. He’s won three Grammy Awards over the course of his career and has also toured around the world. He’s also collaborated with numerous artists, and all of these activities have helped ensure the position of his wealth.
Bruce Hornsby Net Worth $5 million
Bruce was born into a music-oriented family, with their father being a former musician. He and his siblings would soon learn music, before Hornsby matriculated from James Blair High School in 1973. Afterwards, he went to the University of Richmond to study music, eventually moving to Berklee College of Music and the University of Miami. From 1974, Bruce played with his older brother Bobby in a band called “Bobby Hi-Test and the Octane Kids”. They performed various covers mostly from the Grateful Dead, and then Bruce graduated in 1977. He returned home and played in local clubs before moving to Los Angeles three years later. There, he started writing for 20th Century Fox, and then spent time as a session musician for Sheena Easton.
In 1984, he formed Bruce Hornsby and the Range and was signed to RCA Records the following year. Two years later he released the hit “The Way It Is” which reached the top of the US charts; the song’s popularity would help it become part of various rap songs later on, as well as achieving multi-platinum status, and Bruce would then make “Mandolin Rain” which became another hit. In 1987, he was awarded the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, becoming known for his mixture of bluegrass, jazz, and rock. They released their second album, “Scenes from the Southside” which drew critical acclaim. Soon after, Hornsby started appearing with the Grateful Dead, and it led to the eventual dissolution of Bruce Hornsby and the Range.
He played over 100 shows with the Grateful Dead until the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995, playing various instruments such as the piano and accordion. The experience proved to be beneficial for Bruce as he was soon improving his musical style and incorporating the genre of the Grateful Dead to his own music. Even after the end of their touring run, he continued to perform their songs at live shows. He also presented the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame award to the band in 1994.
In 1993, Bruce released his first solo album entitled “Harbor Lights” and it featured collaborations with various artists in a more jazz-oriented setting, which would lead to another Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental thanks to “Barcelona Mona”, which was used for the Barcelona Olympics. Two years later he released “Hot House” which featured music legends such as Charlie Parker and Bill Monroe, and then started working with various Grateful Dead projects which led to the formation of The Other Ones and their live album “The Strange Remain”.
Hornsby then worked on his double album “Spirit Trail” which tackled topics such as religion and race. He continued to improve, and formed the band The Noisemakers, releasing a compilation album “Here Come The Noise Makers”. In 2002, he released another solo album “Big Swing Face” which relied on a lot of modern recording tools such as electronica beats. Two years later, he returned to the successful acoustic sound he was known for, and continued releasing albums with the Noisemakers with one of their latest in 2011 entitled “Bride of the Noisemakers”.
For his personal life, it is known that Bruce married Kathy Yankovic in 1983, and they have twin sons. Aside from that, he is a fan of basketball and regularly plays the sport.
