Jump to content
Heavy Harmonies Forums

Recommended Posts

Posted

Been on a Fleetwood Mac kick lately so was reading about the most rare 94-95 incarnation. Found this interview of Bekka Bramlett where she spends some time speaking about Jani Lane and particularly his last days. It's sad but interesting.

Bekka Bramlett on Replacing Stevie Nicks in Fleetwood Mac – Rolling Stone by Andy Greene, March 9, 2023
Bekka Bramlett grew up around John Lennon and George Harrison, but nothing could prepare her for joining Fleetwood Mac in 1994, during one of the rockiest periods in the band's history



Rolling Stone's interview series King for a Day features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and singers who had the difficult job of fronting major rock bands after the departure of an iconic vocalist. Some of them stayed in their bands for years, while others lasted just a few months. In the end, however, they all found out that replacement singers can themselves be replaced. This edition features former Fleetwood Mac singer Bekka Bramlett.

[IMG]

In the summer of 1994, Fleetwood Mac hit the road without Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, or Christine McVie. In the three singers’ spots, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie placed Traffic’s Dave Mason, rockabilly singer Billy Burnette, and Bekka Bramlett — the 26-year-old daughter of late-Sixties/early-Seventies rock icons Bonnie and Delaney Bramlett.

“We ended up with a bunch of talented people playing good music, but they should not have been touring as Fleetwood Mac,” Mick Fleetwood wrote in his 2014 memoir Play On. “There were too many essential pieces missing from the machine this time. We were a totally different band, with only the original drummer and bass player, and our original name.”

The Bekka Bramlett incarnation of Fleetwood Mac released a single album, 1995’s Time, before dissolving the next year to make way for a lucrative Hell Freezes Over-style reunion album and tour by the classic Rumours lineup. This period of the band may seem like little more than a footnote to some rock fans, but it was a pivotal time for Bramlett, and she looks back on it without any regrets.

“I knew my job was to get Stevie back,” she tells Rolling Stone from her home in Nashville. “I wasn’t a m0r0n. I also knew this was a dangerous job when I took it. I knew I was facing tomatoes. But I didn’t want to wear a top hat. I didn’t want to twirl around. I wanted to be me. I even dyed my hair brown just so people in the cheap seats would know that Stevie wasn’t going to be here. I didn’t want anyone to be discouraged or let down.”

Joining Fleetwood Mac at 26 would have been a shock to the system of most singers, but Bramlett had been living in close proximity to rock stars her entire life. When she was very young, her parents toured and recorded with George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and many other A-list rock stars, winning renown as Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. Those artists also spent a lot of time at her mansion in the Hollywood Hills.

As a teenager with a fake ID in the early Eighties, Bramlett spent many nights checking out bands on the Sunset Strip. “I remember standing on the side of the stage as Guns N’ Roses played,” she says. “Seeing it up close, I was like, ‘This is why you never try heroin.’ But then I’d go into the audience and be like, ‘This is why you join a rock & roll band!'”

Her “first love,” she says, was Warrant frontman Jani Lane. They were inseparable during the band’s earliest days, and she even sang background vocals on their 1989 debut, Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich. The year before that, she went on tour with Go-Go’s singer Belinda Carlisle as a background singer. “I did a bunch of demos going back to when I was 15,” she says. “I was doing, like, four a week. Word gets around.” Within a few years, she caught the attention of Mick Fleetwood, who felt she deserved to be at the front of the stage in his band.

What was that first Belinda Carlisle tour like for you?
Oh boy. I was just 17. I grew a lot on that tour, and I screwed up a lot on that tour, too. Man. I just thought it was, “Get on the plane. Here comes champagne!” I was so stupid. That was the wrongest thing to do ever. You need to get on the plane and hydrate. I didn’t know. I was like, “Here I go, bye!” [sigh.] I also had an affair, which is something I’ll always regret, just being the youngest person. There were terrible lessons to learn, but also great lessons to learn.

Belinda Carlisle - Belinda - Live! (Full Length Concert) - YouTube

How was Belinda as a boss?
I really never got to know her at all until we got to Ibiza. That was my first time in Spain. We had so much fun. They treated me like the baby I was. She never spoke much to me. But [fellow background singer] Donna De Lory was seasoned. She had already been on the road with Madonna, so she was my mother hen. She was the one that said, “Noooo!” She also went, “Listen, blending is bending. This is not the Bekka show. If you don’t blend, they’re going to replace your ass.” I’d get too excited and sing, [loud, booming voice] “Oooohhhh yeah!!!” No. No. No. “Calm it down, do your job, keep your job.”

One time in Ibiza, they did Ecstasy. I didn’t. Belinda did it with her girlfriends. She came over to me and said, “You’re a really good singer and I love your purse.” That’s because I made my own little purse. It was really tacky and cute. But it was like what a 12-year-old would do. I knew they were making fun of it since I could hear them. They had a little Mean Girls thing going on, and we’re traveling together. But it broke that day.

You sing background on the first Warrant record. I love the song “Down Boys.” Are you on that?
Yeah. I think all I sing is “Goooo!” [Laughs.] Put it this way, Jani kept me kind of hidden. It was a boy’s band. They had posters that said, “A mouth is a mouth.” And all the girlfriends had staplers going click-click-click. Whenever they were working, we were flyering. We were putting all the grommets on their friggin’ jackets that they couldn’t afford.

I was friends with [leather jacket impresario] Al Bane. And if people back then could afford Al Bane for Leather, they could be a star. I really attributed him with helping with their stardom. It was very cool. But Jani’s writing and singing was really cool. It was a big family.

It’s so sad what happened to Jani. He was talented.
He came to me right before he gave it up. I hadn’t seen him in at least 15 years. I get this phone call from his manager. He said, “Jani is so bad off.” I thought he was doing cocaine or something. I didn’t think it could just be booze. He goes, “No. It’s just f'ing booze.” I was like, “Oh lord.” He said, “He wants to be with you. He’s buying himself a ticket. He has no f'ing luggage or anything, but he’s buying a ticket to Nashville. He wants you to come pick him up. He needs you.”

I called up Dave Marshall, one of our old drinking buddies, and we picked him up together at the airport. Meanwhile, I’d called up MusiCares and arranged for Jani to go to rehab the next day.

That night, John Waite was playing here in Nashville. He wanted to go. I said, “You guys go. I’ll stay here.” I gave them money to spend on hot dogs and beer. “Keep an eye on him. Tomorrow is important.” He went, “Let me have my last f'ing hurrah!”

Then I got a call from Dave. “I’ve lost Jani!” I went, “You what?!” He found him. He drank all this stuff. I had nothing in my house. He wound up drinking a bottle of cooking Sherry, which is not good. Then he puked purple all over the guest bedroom. I had to bathe him. I hadn’t seen the man naked in 15 years. He had two different wives. I was like, “Who is this guy now?”

But he became just Jani again to me. I was like, “What would his mom do? What would his dad do? What would his sister do? What would I do?” I took care of him. I stayed with him all night until the morning. Then we went to Waffle House and got some pancakes. Then we drove him up to the rehab. I stayed with him until he was admitted. I gave him $100 since he had no luggage. I was like, “This is for sweats.” It was all the money I had on me. I thought he was going to spend it on snacks and sweats. At some point, I was going to send him cash for the little store. Well, he got put in. Then he escaped in the hot, gnarly, pouring rain.

That was the last time you saw him?
That was the very last time I saw him. It was like 4 a.m. when he split. The cops found him. He was drunk and disorderly. He obviously used the $100 for booze. I still didn’t know if it was booze or drugs. It didn’t seem like it could just be booze. But it was. He had nothing else in his blood, they said. Just alcohol. He had just pickled himself.

I felt like we totally f*cked up. But they were like, “You can’t stay the night with him. Once he’s admitted, he’s ours.” [sigh.] It was a terrible thing to have that be the last time I saw him. Then he got arrested for being drunk in public. They let him off. Then he flew back to California. Then he died.

I’m so sorry.
Me too. I’ll tell you what, I think about him all the time. I have the guitar I bought him. He wrote that first record on that. I don’t know his kids, but it definitely belongs to them one day. At some point, they’ll have to reach out. When they do, this will be their guitar. It will matter to them for sure. It will mean the world. It ain’t being sold.

Posted
3 hours ago, Darkstone said:

Also, I have never heard of Bekka Bramlett.

 

lol, yeah, nor I. Absolutely no idea who she is. But yeah, pretty interesting stuff. Sad, but interesting. 

Posted

She's a bit of a hottie back then. Her parents were famous musicians. She dated both Jani Lane and Richie Sambora at one point in time. But, yeah, previous to seeing her on a single Fleetwood Mac album I didn't know who she was either.

  • 7 months later...
Posted

Bekka Bramlett is the daughter of a famous background singer, Bonnie Bramlett.  Jani Lane caught her in bed with Richie Sambora when they were together, and it absolutely devastated him.  He wrote a song about it, and that song is his beautiful ballad, “I Saw Red”.   - 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • 2024 HH Donation Drive

    Please support Heavy Harmonies! The donations goal is the out-of-pocket expenses to run the main site and this board for calendar year 2024.



    88% of donation goal reached.
    Donate Sidebar by DevFuse
  • Posts

    • "Broken Dreams"   Samples   
    • I don't know who this Darkstorm guy is, but he sounds pretty cool.
    • "Guitar Playboy" taken from the upcoming album "Glory or Nothing" OVERDRIVERS - ROCK N ROLL SURVOLTÉ  
    • New song 'Don't Wake Up Dead'.    
    • I really do not see me getting anything more this year, so gonna go with my final top 10, after much moving about over the last few months. I have included EPs because they were just that good, but automatic exclusions are compilations and live albums. So as good as Crazy Lixx, Bon Jovi and Ghosts albums were (obviously not Jovi's studio album), they do not classify for the list. In order: 1.       Judas Priest - Invicible shield 2.       The Warning - Keep me fed 3.       April Art - Rodeo 4.       Nek! - Exclamation 5.       Rolling Quartz - Victory 6.       Band Maid - Epic narratives 7.       Sebastian Bach - Child within the man 8.       Lipz - Changing the melody 9.       Mick Mars - The other side of Mars 10.   Fans Of The Dark - Video Priest held the number one spot from the moment it released up til the end of the year. For a band I really do not listen to much, and only bought it because signed versions were cheap, I was totally blown away. So much so that it encouraged me to complete their back catalogue. The fact it really reminded me of Painkiller, which was always one of my fave Priest albums helped.   I thought The Warning would take #1 when it was announced, but as good as their album was, it did not do enough to overhaul JP, but it came close.   Rodeo came out of nowhere. I had never even heard of the band, got recommended the song Not Sorry on YouTube and then took a dive into their other videos, ending in preordering the album. That album was so fucking good that I bought their previous two releases (which were ok, but not as good). Any other year this could have been #1.   Nek! was another new band discovered due to a YouTube recommendation. Only an EP (and they have already released a new song since then) but it's great. As a fan of Band Maid and now Babymetal as well, it's nice to hear another all female Japanese band who does not copy either of those two.   Rolling Quartz were discovered the same way earlier this year, and picked up their previous EP. As soon as the new EP was announced I preordered. Only four tracks on this EP sadly, but all of them are great. Nice to find out that South Korea can do more than K Pop.   I never would have thought Band Maid would be this low, but that is purely down to two things. This not being their strongest output (it was great, but previous albums were better) and there being so much competition this year. But fuck me, the collab with The Warning was absolutely immense.   Sebs "comeback" album really was a statement I think. This was his way of saying "Fuck you Skid Row, I can still make better SR songs that you". While obviously not as strong as the first two Skids albums, this really does sit nicely alongside them. I didn't mind his other solo albums, but this is far and away the best solo album he has ever done. Just a shame he did not put an epic Seb style ballad on it.   Lipz almost failed to make the list, as I did not think it was a patch on their debut and lacked the hooks. Repeated listens and it dug its claws into my brain. Still prefer the debut as it really was tacky bubblegum glam, where as this sounds like a band wanting to be taken more seriously.   Mick Mars was one of if not my first 2024 release and I fucking loved it. The only reason it features so low is basically it didn't get as many spins after the first month or two.   Like Lipz, Video did not hook me at first. The problem was that as I had never heard of the band and the song Lets go rent a video absolutely blew me away, I was expecting a whole album of stuff like that. Like Lipz though, repeated spins had it go up in my estimation so much that it ended up knocking Durbin off the top 10.   As a side note, these are my top 10 songs of the year: 1.       Babymetal/Electric Callboy - Ratatata 2.      April Art - Not sorry 3.       Band Maid/The Warning - Show them 4.       Fans Of The Dark - Let’s go rent a video 5.       Judas Priest - Panic attack 6.       The Warning - Six feet deep 7.       Nek! - Reigen girl 8.       Rolling Quartz - Victory 9.       April Art - Head up high 10.   Band Maid - Protect you
    • Nice to see Priest up there, but surprised Dickinson is at #1. While I know tastes differ, but I was hoping for good things from Bruce's first solo output in a long time, and I felt it was kinda "meh". Not bad, just nothing on it that was playlist worthy.
    • Judas Priest - Rocka Rolla Judas Priest - Sad wings of destiny (JP collection minus the plethora or live and compilation albums, now complete)
    • Someone's trying to cause a flame war. Surprised* it's Darkstorm, he'd never resort to that**...   *not ** yes he would
    • Dude there's massive fanbases for short women who wash big dogs and people who scrunch pieces of paper while talking softly. The internet likes what the internet likes and you'll go crazy trying to work out why some make it big and others don't... 😜
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.