Bruce Hornsby Continues to Push Boundaries With ‘Non-Secure Connection’

Grammy-winning songwriter Bruce Hornsby grew up in a small southern town. In fact, he’s been there most of his whole life, and still calls the place – Williamsburg, VA – home. In the 70s and 80s, according to the artist, the region had a certain pervasive “narrow-minded” attitude. So, like any good songwriter, he wrote a song about it. That song was his first hit, “The Way It Is.” 

Yet this was 1985, when its distinctive, piano-based sound didn’t seem to fit in the with popular music of the time, which included power-pop hits by Van Halen, Janet Jackson, Bon Jovi and Madonna. So the record companies didn’t get it at first, and it was rejected almost everywhere. Everywhere except RCA, that is, who signed Bruce Hornsby & The Range that year. “The Way It Is” was the first single and went to the top of the charts. It’s still the biggest hit he’s ever had.

Since then, though he had other hits such as “Mandolin Rain,” Hornsby has persisted in pushing boundaries – both sonic and social. That tendency continues today with the release of his latest LP, Non-Secure Connection.