Matt Kennon
Encyclopedia
Matthew Carl Ferguson is an American country music
singer and songwriter known professionally as Matt Kennon. He has co-written a song for Randy Travis
and has released one album for BamaJam Records. This album includes the top 40 hit "The Call".
. He was adopted at birth by two parents, who had previously lost three of their four biological children to a house fire. Kennon's birth mother, who already had another son, made a decision to have an abortion, but she arrived at her doctor's office two weeks too late and was told she had to carry the child to full term.
He began playing the drums
at age seven, and went on to play drums in high school jazz
bands. Later on, he began performing at clubs in the Atlanta, Georgia
area, playing cover version
s of country and southern rock
songs.
In the late 2000s, Kennon self-released an album of his music, which he began selling at his concerts. He then moved to Nashville, Tennessee
, where he met Travis Tritt
's former manager Gary Falcon, who recommended him to Kyle Lehning
, a record producer
known for his work with Randy Travis
. After Travis recorded Kennon's "Turn It Around" and released it as a single, Kennon was signed to a publishing contract. He also began working with another producer, James Stroud
.
Later in 2009, Kennon signed to BamaJam Records in association with Stroudavarious Records
(which Stroud owns) and released his debut single "The Call," which he wrote with Jeremy Campbell and Noah Gordon
. The song debuted at number 55 on the Billboard
Hot Country Songs
charts dated for the week of October 17, 2009. Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave the song a mostly-favorable review, saying that he did not enjoy the song upon first listen because of Kennon's voice, but said that the lyrics are "where it shines."
Kennon's self-titled debut album was released on May 11, 2010. In advance of the album's release, he released a three-song extended play
featuring "The Call" and two other songs from the album.
In April 2011, Kennon self-released a second album titled 77.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer and songwriter known professionally as Matt Kennon. He has co-written a song for Randy Travis
Randy Travis
Randy Travis is an American country music singer and actor. Since 1985, he has recorded 20 studio albums and charted more than 30 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, 22 of which were number one hits...
and has released one album for BamaJam Records. This album includes the top 40 hit "The Call".
Biography
Matthew Carl Ferguson was born in Conyers, GeorgiaConyers, Georgia
Conyers is the only city in Rockdale County, Georgia, USA. It is twenty-four miles east of Atlanta. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,689. Census estimates of 2005 indicate a population of 12,205. The city is the county seat of Rockdale County. By 2009, the reported population was...
. He was adopted at birth by two parents, who had previously lost three of their four biological children to a house fire. Kennon's birth mother, who already had another son, made a decision to have an abortion, but she arrived at her doctor's office two weeks too late and was told she had to carry the child to full term.
He began playing the drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
at age seven, and went on to play drums in high school jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
bands. Later on, he began performing at clubs in the Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
area, playing cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of country and southern rock
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
songs.
In the late 2000s, Kennon self-released an album of his music, which he began selling at his concerts. He then moved to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, where he met Travis Tritt
Travis Tritt
James Travis Tritt is an American country music singer from Marietta, Georgia. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 2000s, he released two albums on Columbia Records and one for the defunct...
's former manager Gary Falcon, who recommended him to Kyle Lehning
Kyle Lehning
Kyle Lehning is an American record producer whose work is mainly in the field of country music. He has produced virtually every album released by Randy Travis, who describes their partnership "an interesting relationship." The only exceptions are Travis' 1993 album Wind in the Wire, which was...
, a record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
known for his work with Randy Travis
Randy Travis
Randy Travis is an American country music singer and actor. Since 1985, he has recorded 20 studio albums and charted more than 30 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, 22 of which were number one hits...
. After Travis recorded Kennon's "Turn It Around" and released it as a single, Kennon was signed to a publishing contract. He also began working with another producer, James Stroud
James Stroud
James Stroud is an American musician and record producer who works in pop, rock, and country music. In the 1990s he was the president of Giant Records and held several credits as a session drummer...
.
Later in 2009, Kennon signed to BamaJam Records in association with Stroudavarious Records
Stroudavarious Records
R&J Records is an American independent record label specializing in country music. It was founded in May 2011 by James Stroud and Rick Carter. Stroud is a record producer and former president of Giant Records and DreamWorks Records. In 2008, Stroud had launched Stroudavarious Records and signed...
(which Stroud owns) and released his debut single "The Call," which he wrote with Jeremy Campbell and Noah Gordon
Noah Gordon (singer)
Noah Adrian Gordon is an American country music singer and songwriter. He had been a musician since childhood, playing mandolin and drums in his parents' band, and he began playing drums for Randy Travis at age ten....
. The song debuted at number 55 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
charts dated for the week of October 17, 2009. Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave the song a mostly-favorable review, saying that he did not enjoy the song upon first listen because of Kennon's voice, but said that the lyrics are "where it shines."
Kennon's self-titled debut album was released on May 11, 2010. In advance of the album's release, he released a three-song extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
featuring "The Call" and two other songs from the album.
In April 2011, Kennon self-released a second album titled 77.
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Heat Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
US Indie Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
||
| Matt Kennon Matt Kennon (album) Matt Kennon is the self-titled debut album of American country music singer Matt Kennon. It was released on May 11, 2010 via BamaJam Records... |
|
19 | 116 | 1 | 24 |
| 77 |
|
— | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Extended plays
| Title | Album details | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Country |
||
| The Call |
|
65 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
|||
| 2009 | "The Call" | 33 | Matt Kennon |
| 2010 | "You Can Still Wear White" | — | |
| 2011 | "Too Loud" | — | |
| "You Had to Pick on Me" | — | 77 | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "The Call" | Trey Fanjoy Trey Fanjoy Trey Fanjoy is a country music and pop music video director. Fanjoy has directed over 150 major label music videos. Her videos have appeared on CMT, VH-1, GAC, The Nashville Network, CMT Canada, and MTV.-Music videos:... |