Bruce Hornsby & the Range is an American band formed in 1984 and led by Bruce Hornsby (born Bruce Randall Hornsby on November 23, 1954 in Williamsburg, Virginia) , an American singer, virtuoso pianist, accordion player, and songwriter. They are best known for Hornsby's 1980s signature song "The Way It Is", the top five hits "Mandolin Rain" and "The Valley Road". At the same time, Hornsby is known for being a recurring collaborator with the Grateful Dead. Besides Hornsby, members of the Range have included David Mansfield (guitar, mandolin, violin), George Marinelli (guitars and backing vocals), Joe Puerta (bass guitar and backing vocals), and John Molo (drums). ...show more

Bruce Hornsby & the Range is an American band formed in 1984 and led by Bruce Hornsby (born Bruce Randall Hornsby on November 23, 1954 in Williamsburg, Virginia) , an American singer, virtuoso pianist, accordion player, and songwriter. They are best known for Hornsby's 1980s signature song "The Way It Is", the top five hits "Mandolin Rain" and "The Valley Road". At the same time, Hornsby is known for being a recurring collaborator with the Grateful Dead. Besides Hornsby, members of the Range have included David Mansfield (guitar, mandolin, violin), George Marinelli (guitars and backing vocals), Joe Puerta (bass guitar and backing vocals), and John Molo (drums).

Hornsby is the second of three sons born to Lois (Saunier) and Robert S. Hornsby, who was a successful oil and real estate executive in Williamsburg, Virginia. The other sons, Robert "Bobby" Jr., and Jonathan, are highly regarded musicians in their own right. Hornsby grew up listening to all types of music.

He studied music at the University of Richmond, as well as the highly regarded Berklee College of Music and the University of Miami, from which he graduated in 1977. In the spring of 1974, Hornsby's brother Bobby, who was a brother of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at the University of Virginia, formed a band, "Bobby Hi-Test and the Octane Kids" to play fraternity ragers, featuring Bruce on Fender Rhodes and vocals. "We used to play college grain-alcohol parties," remembers Hornsby. "We did a little Allman Brothers, a little Band, but almost all Dead. ...show less