Tuesday Playlist: Bon-On, Bonoff

Nas one day, Karla Bonoff the next. You never know what you're going to get around here, friends. You simply never know.

Speaking of not knowing, I'm really not sure what tossed Ms. Bonoff's music back across my transom recently; I only know that upon hearing her voice, I was truly struck for the first time by just how lovely it really is. I sort of missed out on her brief tenure as an active recording artist; the closest I got was hearing "Somebody's Eyes," her track for the Footloose soundtrack, about a billion times in the family van throughout 1984. To me, she was someone who might be Laura Branigan, and Laura Branigan might be her. I never really sorted out who was who, and then Bonoff peaced out for most of the '80s while Branigan's commercial profile plummeted and she might as well have not been releasing new records at all.

Anyway, I digress. But that's somewhat appropriate, because digressions make up a fairly significant part of Karla Bonoff's discography. She recorded "Somebody's Eyes" two years after releasing her third album, Wild Heart of the Young — and although that record contained her biggest hit, "Personally," she didn't get around to following it up until 1988, when she released her fourth album, New World. Overseas, that is; it wouldn't reach American shores until well into the following decade, despite containing the original versions of "All My Life" and "Goodbye My Friend," songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt for her hugely successful Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind LP.

("All My Life" is, for my money, the superior Ronstadt/Aaron Neville duet from that album. If I never hear "Don't Know Much" again, it'll be too soon.)

The first Bonoff song I really listened to on purpose was another digression: "Standing Right Next to Me," a delightfully gooey ballad recorded for the soundtrack to 8 Seconds, starring Luke Perry as a rodeo cowboy and Northern Exposure ingenue Cynthia Geary as the blonde who loves him. I have never seen 8 Seconds, but "Standing Right Next to Me" is a flawless adult contemporary confection of its era, all glistening synths, ersatz drums, and overblown drama. It was produced by Keith Thomas, who was behind the boards for Amy Grant's biggest hits, and if Bonoff hadn't been at the mic, you can easily imagine Grant stepping in. It's that kind of song.

She's only released one studio album of original material since — 2019's Carry Me Home, which is basically all re-recordings of old songs — but she stayed busy during the '90s by reuniting with Bryndle, the folk-pop band she started with fellow '70s songwriting aces Kenny Edwards, Andrew Gold, and Wendy Waldman decades before. (She was also busy cashing checks from Wynonna's cover of her song "Tell Me Why," another tune that first surfaced on New World.) Gold left the lineup shortly after the release of their 1995 Bryndle LP, but they remained a going concern, albeit a very casual one; their second album, House of Silence, arrived in 2002, followed by a single, "Corn, Water, and Wood," in 2012. (Edwards died in 2010, followed by Gold the next year.)

Even at her peak, Bonoff wasn't a particularly prolific writer; I can't find it now, but I read an interview quote that said she tended to write about four songs a year. Her batting average was impressively high, though, as evidenced by the number of times her stuff was covered by other artists — the Ronstadt and Wynonna covers alone would be enough to keep anyone rolling in mailbox money for years. And even though she seems like she's probably retired as a recording artist, she continues to tour, delivering sets that — if 2007's Live double-CD set is any indication — find her sounding remarkably similar to her '70s and '80s self.

I don't want to oversell the Karla Bonoff discography. Even when her output was aligned with the tastes of the time, it was squarely middle of the road, with tempos rarely reaching mid and never beyond. But man, what a voice! What a songwriting talent! If things had played out just a little bit differently, I think she could have ended up nabbing some of the critical cachet enjoyed by, say, Jennifer Warnes — although I suspect Warnes would probably eye Bonoff's royalty statements with some degree of envy.

I'm digressing again. It's appropriate, given the subject, but this can only go on for so long, so here's your Tuesday playlist. Enjoy!