Representative Albums: "Karla Bonoff," "The Best of Karla Bonoff: All My Life," "Live"
Representative Songs: "Personally," "I Can't Hold On," "All My Life"
Biography
Singer/songwriter Karla Bonoff grew up in Los Angeles and briefly attended UCLA. Emerging from the Monday night hootenanny scene at the Troubadour nightclub, she was a member of Bryndle, a folk-rock group also featuring Wendy Waldman, Andrew Gold, and Kenny Edwards, that formed in 1969, signed to A&M, and cut an album that was never released. Edwards, a former member of the Stone Poneys (a band featuring Linda Ronstadt), and Gold were later part of Ronstadt's backing band, and they brought Bonoff to her attention. Ronstadt recorded three of Bonoff's songs on her 1976 album, Hasten Down the Wind, leading to a recording contract for Bonoff and the release of three albums on Columbia Records, the last of which, Wild Heart of the Young (1982), featured the Top 40 hit "Personally." Bonoff worked on movie soundtracks during the '80s, notably on Footloose (1984) and About Last Night (1986). She released her fourth album, New World, in 1988. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
As a songwriter, Bonoff's songs have been interpreted by other artists such as "Home" by Bonnie Raitt, "Tell Me Why" by Wynonna Judd, and "Isn't It Always Love" by Lynn Anderson. Linda Ronstadt has successfully recorded a number of her songs, including "Someone To Lay Down Beside Me," "Lose Again," "Trouble Again," "All My Life," "Falling Star" and "Goodbye My Friend," thus helping to introduce Bonoff to a larger audience.
In her early career, Bonoff sang background vocals for Linda Ronstadt and Wendy Waldman before releasing her debut album in 1977, titled Karla Bonoff (1977). Her other albums include Restless Nights (1979), Wild Heart of the Young (1982), New World (1988), and All My Life (a greatest hits collection) in 1999. Bonoff is best known as a songwriter, but she is also noted for her hit recording of "Personally", which became a #19 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the summer of 1982. She also recorded "Standing Right Next To Me" on the 8 Seconds (1994) movie soundtrack and "Somebody's Eyes" on the Footloose (1984) soundtrack.
Bonoff's first live album was released in September 2007. This double CD includes many of her hits performed live in concert on October 24, 2004 in Santa Barbara, CA (except for one song recorded July 30, 2005 in Japan). She is backed by her touring band, which includes Kenny Edwards (guitar, bass, mandolin, cello, vocals) and Nina Gerber (guitar) plus long time associate Scott Babcock (drums and vocals).
She is also a member of the currently inactive group Bryndle, which includes Wendy Waldman and Kenny Edwards (Edwards also produced Bonoff's first two albums). The band has also included Andrew Gold, who left the band in 1996. The group first formed in the mid-70s, but did not release any albums until twenty years later with two studio albums and a live album between 1995 and 2002.
