NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Boots Randolph, whose spirited saxophone playing on "Yakety Sax" endeared him to fans for years on Benny Hill's TV show, died Tuesday. He was 80.
Randolph suffered a cerebral hemorrhage June 25 and had been hospitalized in a coma. He was taken off a respirator at Skyline Medical Center earlier Tuesday, said Betty Hofer, a publicist and spokeswoman for the family.
Randolph played regularly in Nashville for 30 years, becoming a tourist draw for the city much like Wayne Newton in Las Vegas and Pete Fountain in New Orleans.
As a session musician, he played on Elvis Presley's "Return to Sender," Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman," Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and "I'm Sorry," REO Speedwagon's "Little Queenie," Al Hirt's "Java" and other songs, including recordings by Buddy Holly and Johnny Cash.
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In 1963 he had his biggest solo hit, "Yakety Sax," which he co-wrote with guitarist James Rich. "Yakety Sax" was the name of one of his gold albums and became the theme song for "The Benny Hill Show."
"It rejuvenated the song," Randolph said in 1990. "So many people know it from the show."
He also was part of the Million Dollar Band on the TV show "Hee Haw."
Randolph was born Homer Louis Randolph in Paducah, Ky., and grew up in the rural community of Cadiz, Ky., where he learned to play music with his family's band.
