Robert Randolph and the Family Band, led by the critically heralded pedal steel guitarist, singer, and songwriter Robert Randolph, have released a foot-stomping new digital single, entitled “Get There,” which will make its broadcast television debut as the new theme song for Friday Night Knicks on the MSG Network on Friday, October 30th. “Get There,” which was released on iTunes on October 27th and is now available for purchase, is the first new song from Robert Randolph and the Family Band in three years.
“When I wrote, ‘Get There,’ I was tapping into the sound and soul of our gospel roots – the true essence of the Family Band. The song speaks of moving in that positive direction. As a longtime Knicks fan, I feel that is where the team is heading,” said Randolph.
The Family Band, which also features Randolph’s cousins Danyel Morgan and Marcus Randolph released their last album, Colorblind on Warner Bros. Records in October 2006. It spawned two singles, “Thrill of It” (of which a live version was used as the theme music for six editions of the debut season of ABC’s Saturday Night Football) and “Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That,” which was used in the hit film “Stomp The Yard.”
The band’s 2003 debut album for Warner Bros. Records, Unclassified, which was nominated for two Grammy Awards, launched its dynamic leader into the mainstream. Hailing from a gospel background, Randolph possesses a virtuosity on the pedal steel that has led to him being described as a “blue-chip musician” by Esquire and a “holy terror on the pedal steel guitar” by Rolling Stone, which also ranked him as one of the best 100 guitarists of all time.
The band is currently finishing their third studio album with acclaimed producer T Bone Burnett, a Grammy-Award winner for his work on the best-selling O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack. Burnett is also noted for his production on albums by Counting Crows, Elvis Costello, The Wallflowers, k.d. lang, Gillian Welch, Sam Phillips, and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss for their 2008 Grammy-Award nominated collaboration Raising Sand.
“Friday Night Knicks” on MSG Network will air on 19 Friday nights during the course of the New York Knicks season. The special themed nights will be the culmination of exciting Knicks basketball with musical elements, including the Robert Randolph and the Family Band “Get There” video open. Tomorrow night will be the debut of “Friday Night Knicks” as the Knicks face the Charlotte Bobcats at 7:30 p.m. and will continue the following week when the Knicks host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Garden.
Having his music become a part of the New York Knicks legacy is a culmination of his life-long connection to the storied basketball franchise. Randolph has been a Knicks fan all of his life and has become a regular at Madison Square Garden for Knicks games in the past few years.
“Growing up in Jersey, I was the kid that would record every Knicks game on MSG Network,” explained Randolph. “ To now have the incredible opportunity to have my music serve as the theme for ‘Friday Night Knicks’ is a huge honor. This song should get you off of the couch and dancing in your living room.”
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