Bonnie Bramlett
Bonnie Bramlett (born Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell, November 8, 1944) is an American singer and occasional actress known for performing with her husband, Delaney Bramlett, as Delaney & Bonnie. She continues to sing as a solo artist.
Bonnie Bramlett
Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell
Bonnie Sheridan
November 8, 1944
Granite City, Illinois, U.S.
Singer
1965–present
Life and career[edit]
Early life[edit]
Bonnie O'Farrell was born in Granite City, Illinois, the daughter of a steelworker. When she was young her parents divorced and remarried other spouses.[1] She was raised with an extended family that included four half-and step-siblings.[2] She began singing as a child. When she was five years old, she sang "Beautiful Golden Harbor" at the family church in Granite City.[1] Bonnie started her musical career at the age of fifteen singing around St. Louis. She performed as a backup singer for blues musicians such as Albert King and Little Milton, and R&B singer Fontella Bass.[1]
Bonnie was inspired by Tina Turner to pursue a singing career. In her teens, she saw Ike & Tina Turner perform at a club in nearby East St. Louis.[2] Bonnie became the first white Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.[3] She filled in for Ikette Jessie Smith who had briefly quit after her boyfriend, Sam Rhodes, a bassist in the Kings of Rhythm was fired. Bramlett recalled: "Jessie left when Sam left and they needed an Ikette. I was there so I went with them. For three days. I was 17 and I was white and my mother wouldn't let me stay any longer than that. I could only help them out, she said. So I just put on a dark wig because I'm blonde and Man Tan because I'm white and helped them out."[1]
Personal life[edit]
Marriage and children[edit]
In 1967, Bramlett met Delaney Bramlett during a gig performing at the opening of a bowling alley. They were married a week later.[2] Their first daughter, Rebekka, who is now also a singer, was born in 1968. Their marriage was marred by violence due to their cocaine addictions.[4] Bonnie Bramlett told People that they had an abusive relationship: "We fought a lot—heavy-duty physical stuff. It wasn't nice to be around, and I'm sure it wasn't fun to watch."[2] In 1972, she divorced Delaney, leaving him and his mother with her own daughters, Suzanne and Rebekka, and the two daughters Delaney had brought to the marriage, Michelle and Mikkol.[2]
Bramlett later rebuilt her relationship with her daughters. Rebekka became a singer, professionally known as Bekka Bramlett. She joined Fleetwood Mac in 1993 after the departure of Stevie Nicks, and appeared on their album Time.
Bramlett began dating musician Danny Sheridan in 1983. They were married in 1988,[4] but later divorced. She credited Danny Sheridan for saving her from her addictions and her friend Roseanne Barr for giving her work on her show.[2]
Drug addiction[edit]
Bramlett began using cocaine during her marriage to Delaney. After their marriage ended, Bramlett suffered from depression. While visiting her friend Gregg Allman's farmland in Juliette, Georgia, she planned to commit suicide by shooting herself with a shotgun in December 1976. Instead, she thought about her children, shot the gun up in the air, and then called the hospital.[2] She continued to struggle with her addictions to cocaine, pills, and alcohol throughout the decade. In 1982, she underwent more hospital treatment that proved unsuccessful. Eventually, with the help of Danny Sheridan, she joined a 12-step recovery program.[4]