On April 19 ,1968, Rebekka Ruth Lazone Bramlett aka 'Bekka' was born to Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett. The Bramletts were a successful duo in the early '70's, having gained fame by blending a unique combination of country, rock and R & B.

Before forming Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, Bekka's Mississippi-born father played in the house band at the Palomino, Hollywood's legendary country honky tonk. Over time they made plenty of famous friends including Eric Clapton, Roger Miller, and Glen Campbell.


Bekka was only four when she sang on her first record, Delaney's "Mobius Strip" album. The song was called "California Rain". Bekka had had her first developmental deal at age 12.

At 17, another demo deal came about. "This time, they wanted me to be the next Whitney Houston," Bekka says. "I told them that wasn't my niche. They'd pat me on the head a lot and say, 'You don't know, honey. We'll make you a million dollars.' It was trendy, and I just never believed in trendy. So I went out on the road doing backup for 10 years."

In 1989, Bekka sang background vocals on Belinda Carlisle's big hit "Leave A Light On" along with other tracks on Belinda's "Runaway Horses" album. From 1990-1991 Bekka worked with The Moody Blues and Rod Stewart, singing backup on assorted legs of their tours. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any recordings of these shows floating around.

Then in 1992, Bekka worked with Mick Fleetwood and his band "The Zoo" on the album "Shakin' The Cage". She sang lead vocals on several of the tracks including "Shakin' The Cage", "Reach Out" and "Night Life".

In 1993, after Stevie Nicks departure, Bekka joined Fleetwood Mac. It was there that she met up with Billy Burnette -- again. Again, because it wasn't the first time. Bekka and Billy had been introduced. They first met when their fathers got together for a visit in 1971. Although they had remained in contact through the years -- their musical collaboration really took hold by way of an unlikely circumstance -- they both had been hired to play in the same band -- Fleetwood Mac.

"For me, there was no reluctance. I'm proud I was part of that. To tell you the truth, I hadn't heard any of the stories, so I didn't have any preconceived notions that it was going to be crazy or anything like that. They were great guys and we had a great time. It was good music. Fleetwood Mac was a big part of my childhood, and a big part of just about everybody's childhood. It was an honor that you just don't even think twice about accepting the invitation."

It was 1994 when Bekka performed a duet with Joe Cocker -- it was called"Take Me Home"

The new Fleetwood Mac lineup with Bekka started touring Europe and the States -- but all before they had a new album in stores to promote. The release of "Time" was delayed for so long that by the time the album finally got released in 1995 the tour was over. Bekka contributed two songs to "Time","Nothing Without You" (one of her Dad's tracks that she modernized) and the beautiful "Dreamin' The Dream" (co-written with Billy Burnette). The hardcore Rumours-era fans apparently didn't take to their new interpretations of the old Mac classics like "Gold Dust Woman", "Don't Stop", "Say You Love Me" and some others.

Bekka; "Even before Fleetwood Mac, I listened to Billy's records. I love his songwriting, although he's also my favorite singer. When we finally got together, I realized that we had something that never existed with Fleetwood Mac. They always said I sounded too country and that Billy sounded too country. They'd pull our reins back to a certain extent. There was just a downhominess that Billy and I had on tape that didn't really fit in with Fleetwood Mac. There was Mick Fleetwood in his knickers and Billy in his sequined jacket looking like a cowboy. The stuff I enjoyed singing most fell in line with what Billy was doing on his own".

When Fleetwood Mac took a much-needed break at the end of 1995, Bramlett moved to Nashville. It was there that her and Billy got the attention of Garth Fundis, best known for his production work with Trisha Yearwood.
"Mick wanted to take a hiatus, and so did John McVie, so the band broke up at the end of 1995. For Billy and me, it was a great opportunity to push forward with the duo. It opened the door for me to move to Nashville. I was able to buy Whispering Bill Anderson's home on Old Hickory Lake. "We just jumped head first on this. We fell in love with Garth Fundis instantly. He understood what we wanted to do. We've just been plugging our way, writing. The deal with Almo Sounds kind of fell in our laps, but Billy and I had been planning to do a record together for about two years. Previously, we had a commitment to Mick and John, both contractually and as a friendship, so we weren't about to leave them. But when they broke up, that opened the door for us to do what we really wanted to do -- a duet record."

That country album with Billy Burnette from Almo Sounds called "Bekka & Billy", was released in April, 1997 achieving a moderate level of success. Standout tracks on that album include "Better Days", "Deal With It" and "Through The Walls".

Speaking of country artists, Faith Hill has certainly seen to it that Bekka's substantial talents get noticed. Bekka appeared on every song (except two) from Faith's 2002 smash album “Cry” (including 2 songs that Bekka co-wrote -- “One” & “Unsavable”). Faith also spotlighted Bekka via an interview clip in her widely viewed CBS Thanksgiving special (which was later released on a DVD entitled “When the lights go down”).

Bekka has also sang backup for many other artists including Kenny Rogers, Rita Coolidge, Bad Company, Richie Sambora, Billy Joel, Vince Gill, and Jonny Lang.

Even though Bekka has been offered record deals over the years, she has chosen the independent route to release her material.Her 2003 solo CD called “What’s In It For Me”. was privately pressed and sold only at Nashville area shows, the annual Delbert McClinton Carribean cruise she has frequented, and on her official website.

“What’s In It For Me” features a re-recording of "Better Days" as well as the title track which was also recorded by Faith Hill for her album "Breathe". Bekka contributed greatly to "Breathe" but oddly enough did not sing back up on Faith's version of “What’s In It For Me.” Interesting enough the same scenario happened in 2003 when Bekka worked on Lorrie Morgan's "Show Me How" cd. Lorrie used Bekka's song "Used" on her album but didn't use Bekka as a backup singer on that particular track. Odd again because Bekka had sang backup on three other songs on Lorrie's cd ("Bombshell", "One Less Monkey", and "Another Winter Without You").

Regardless, Bekka continues to build up an impressive list of high profile artists she has worked with and solo work that she is proud of -- including her latest, the 10-track cd "I Got News For You" from 2009. Bekka remains humble though, referring to the new release as “nothing special” and “just a bunch of demos”.

Bekka may be modest but she is clearly an in-demand Nashville songwriter/backup singer and an emerging solo artist to watch out for.




Research by: Jan Freedland and John Fitzgerald
Written by: Jan Freedland and John Fitzgerald


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