Levitate is the tenth studio album by
Bruce Hornsby. It was Hornsby's third studio album with his touring band, Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers, and was his first release with
Verve Records.
Somewhat a musical departure for Hornsby and the Noisemakers, Levitate features no piano solos. Many of the songs also feature lyrical motifs of science and nature. Several songs were co-written with Chip DeMatteo for a stage musical titled
SCKBSTD.
The title track was used in
Spike Lee's documentary Kobe Doin' Work. Invisible was featured in the
Bobcat Goldthwait movie World's Greatest Dad, in which Hornsby also made a cameo appearance as himself.
Much like the 2004 release Halcyon Days, Levitate features guest artists and those close to Hornsby, most notably
Eric Clapton, Hornsby's twin sons Russell and Keith,
Grateful Dead lyricist
Robert Hunter, and Hornsby's nephew R.S. Hornsby, who was killed in a car accident less than a week after recording a memorable guitar solo on "Continents Drift." The album has been dedicated to his memory.