Remembering Lenny Randle
by Matt Sullivan
On December 29th, sadly, we lost a one-of-a-kind legend, Lenny Randle. There will never be anyone quite like Lenny, who not only played for a number of MLB organizations but who was also a recording artist.
In 2014, LITA and producer Pat Thomas worked with Lenny to include his tune “Kingdome” (1982) on the compilation Wheedle's Groove Volume II: Seattle Funk, Modern Soul And Boogie 1972-1987. The song was a homage to one of the world’s worst stadiums at the time, Seattle’s Kingdome—at least for most of us! (Though Metallica, Motörhead, & Guns N’ Roses at the Kingdome in ‘92 brought the heat.)
Below is an excerpt from the liner notes, written by Jonathan Zwickel, who shares some insight on the track, along with an interview with Lenny.
Rest in peace, Lenny. We’ll miss you.
Jonathan Zwickel:
When talking about Lenny Randle, it's impossible to separate fact from fiction and fiction from legend. Which is why talking about Lenny Randle is so much fun.
Randle is probably best known as the former Seattle Mariners third baseman who, during a 1981 home game against the Kansas City Royals, got down on his hands and knees to blow a slow-rolling bunt into foul-ball territory. (The umpire declared that Randle "illegally altered the course of the ball" and ruled it fair.) That exemplary bit of pro-sports clowning came in the middle of an 11-year career in major-league baseball that saw Randle play for six different teams. During that time, he was known as a speedy base runner and nimble fielder, not to mention an affable, hilarious guy off the field—despite the fact that, as a Texas Ranger, he once punched his manager in the face during spring training.
In 1981, during Randle's single season with the Mariners, he wrangled a bunch of players into a Seattle studio to record a novelty ode to Seattle's famous faulty stadium, the Kingdome. He brought in his 10-year-old niece, Rashawna, to sing backup vocals. Soon after, the players went on strike against Major League Baseball. In that time, Randle says, he took the show on the road, performing "Kingdome" and a few other baseball-themed funk songs in Seattle and beyond.
Randle says the song became a hit across the country—the progenitor of "The Superbowl Shuffle," which came along a few years later. ("Our dance was better!" he boasts.) After the strike was over and the Mariners started playing road games again, fans in cities across the US wanted to hear “Kingdome.”
The details of the time are shrouded by the fog of history—as well as the legend of Lenny Randle. These days, he travels the world organizing and producing sports and entertainment events. The guy is full of stories and full of life. That much we know is true.
Lenny Randle, singer:
We had a strike against MLB when that song came out, so I said, "Guys, we should go into entertainment and get paid!" And we might as well do it for charity. We did it for a kid named David Finnegan—he had cerebral palsy. He was on TV all the time at the games in a wheelchair and his neck was always hunched over and he drooled but he was always saying, "Yay Mariners! Yay Mariners!"
We had a band and we had a show. We did the Paramount Theater in downtown Seattle. We did "Catch a Rising Star" on Broadway. We had an actual tour. Every time we went into a town [for baseball games] they wanted to book us. People were getting jealous: "You gotta play ball or you gotta do a show." We didn’t have agents booking our shows; we were there to play baseball. It was a marketable tool but it pissed people off. They thought we were losing focus.
The thing is, every stadium plays music. Every stadium does "We Will Rock You." Every stadium is playing that song, so why not do "Kingdome" at the Kingdome?
My brother, Ronnie Randle, is a drummer and he had a band. We had our own studio in Pomona and one in Seattle as well. We could use studios at the drop of a hat. We did the first session in Pomona and the next session we did in Seattle, in Kirkland or Bellevue.
It was recorded in '81, '82. We did it in the winter. We finally finished it during the strike. I said, "We better hurry up and get this out before we're unemployed and there's no more baseball!" We got it done. It became a huge sensation. Every network carried it. There was no ESPN; back then it was ABC's Wide World of Sports. Chris Berman, Tom Brokaw, Walter Cronkite… I was like, "Guys, calm down!"
I didn’t know what I was doing; we just did it for fun. We didn’t think it was gonna go all over the country. Then we said we should stop before they get mad because we gotta win a game! When the strike was over we had to drop all that. But lemme tell you this: all those guys were happy to get checks from me.
I straddle the fence, sports and entertainment. And then God. The Pope! I was trying to get the song to the Pope! Seriously. I thought the song could help heal. Music is therapeutic. It's phenomenal! The joy of hearing the music and then going out to the field and going, "Yay, Mariners!" "We will rock you." It's all one package.