He co-wrote the song with guitarist James “Spider” Rich. 35 on the pop music chart, it remains one of the most recognizable instrumental recordings ever made in Nashville. The Monument version proved to be the hit. Randolph’s original version of “Yakety Sax” was released on RCA, but he later re-recorded the lively song for Monument Records.
Following stints in local bands in Illinois and Indiana, Randolph moved to Nashville after mandolinist Jethro Burns of Homer & Jethro brought him to the attention of Atkins, who served as head of RCA Records’ country division.
YAKETY AXE WHO WROTE PROFESSIONAL
Army Band and began working as a professional musician after his discharge in 1946. Because he and his father shared the same name, a family member gave him the nickname of “Boots.” At the height of his studio work, Randolph often found himself performing on more than 250 sessions each year, including recordings with Brenda Lee, Chet Atkins, Roy Orbison and many others.īorn June 3, 1927, in Paducah, Ky., Homer Louis Randolph III grew up in Cadiz, Ky., and began playing saxophone at age 16. In addition to his stature as one of Nashville’s most prominent instrumental artists of the ’60s, Randolph’s work as a studio musician helped shape what became known as the Nashville Sound. The 80-year-old musician suffered a subdural hematoma, a collection of blood on the surface of the brain, on Wednesday (June 27). Saxophonist Boots Randolph, best known for his 1963 instrumental hit “Yakety Sax,” died Tuesday (July 3) in Nashville following a brief hospitalization.