[1] After his discharge, he moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s, where he worked as a bartender before he started performing in clubs.

Bramlett was performing at the Palomino Club in North Hollywood when he was asked to appear in a pilot for a new television show, Shindig!.

He collaborated as a songwriter with fellow musicians Joey Cooper, Mac Davis, and Jackie DeShannon.

Bramlett wrote, recorded, or appeared on stage with many notable performers, including Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix,[6] Janis Joplin, Billy Preston, John Lennon, the Everly Brothers, Duane Allman, Spooner Oldham, Steve Cropper, and Billy Burnette.

Members of the Friends appearing in concert or recording with Bramlett on Friends albums include Clapton, Harrison, Leon Russell, Curtis, Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, Dave Mason, Rita Coolidge, Carl Radle, Jim Gordon, Bobby Whitlock, Jim Keltner, Bobby Keys, and Gram Parsons.

[8] In 2006, Bramlett was one of the duet artists on the Jerry Lee Lewis album Last Man Standing,[9] singing and playing guitar on "Lost Highway".

The couple had a daughter Bekka Bramlett, who was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1993-1995 and has had a long career as a vocalist, backing various country and pop artists, and releasing several solo albums.

Bramlett died from complications of gallbladder surgery at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Los Angeles on December 27, 2008.