Paul Kennerley
Encyclopedia
Paul Kennerley is an English
singer-songwriter
, musician
and record producer
working in the American
contemporary country music
industry. His works include the concept album
s, White Mansions
and The Legend of Jesse James
. He produced and co-wrote The Ballad of Sally Rose
with Emmylou Harris
in 1985 and was married to Harris from 1985 to 1993.
, Merseyside
, North West England
. In 1976 he was living in London
and working in advertising
when he first heard country music
, the song "Let's All Help the Cowboys Sing the Blues" by Waylon Jennings
. "It really excited me," Kennerley recalls in his artist biography for Universal Music Group
. "I immediately hunted down every Waylon record I could find."
He quit his job in advertising and gave himself three months to develop his talents as a songwriter
.
In 1976-7 He recorded an album with a rock band called 'Holy Roller' at Virgin record's newly opened Manor studio, with Tom Newman (Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells etc.) and Newman subsequently sang all the songs on the demonstration tapes of the White Mansions album
His first project was White Mansions
, a 1978 concept album
set in the Confederate States of America
during the American Civil War
. The project was picked up by A&M Records
, with Glyn Johns
producing. A number of notable artists recorded the music, including Waylon Jennings
, Jessi Colter
, Steve Cash of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils
and Eric Clapton
.
In 1980, a second concept album was released, The Legend of Jesse James
, which featured more notable artists, including Johnny Cash
, Emmylou Harris
, Charlie Daniels
, Albert Lee
and Levon Helm
.
Neither White Mansions nor Jesse James were commercially successful, but they did establish Kennerley as a serious songwriter. Among his early songs was "Born to Run", which Emmylou Harris recorded in 1981 for her album, Cimarron
, and she continues to frequently perform it in her concerts.
Kennerly continued to live in London while he wrote songs, but in 1983 moved to Nashville, Tennessee
, where he started working with Harris on her semi-autobiographical concept album, The Ballad of Sally Rose
, co-writing and producing the album. He also collaborated with Harris on her albums Thirteen
and Bluebird
, and writing the songs "In My Dreams" and "Heartbreak Hill". He married Harris in 1985, but the couple divorced in 1993.
Kennerley also wrote songs for The Judds
("Young Love", "One Man Woman", "Let Me Tell You About Love", "Cry Myself to Sleep", "Have Mercy" and "Give a Little Love"), Marty Stuart
("Hillbilly Rock
", "Western Girls", "Tempted
", "Till I Found You", "Little Things
"), Tanya Tucker
("Walking Shoes"), Sweethearts of the Rodeo
("Chains of Gold"), Patty Loveless
("Blue Memories") and Juice Newton
("Tell Me True").
He was named Broadcast Music Incorporated
Writer of the Year in 1989.
He released a solo album in 1998, Misery With a Beat.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
singer-songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and 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...
working in the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
contemporary country music
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...
industry. His works include the concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
s, White Mansions
White Mansions
White Mansions is a 1978 album by various artists documenting the lives of white people in the Confederacy during the Civil War. The songs on the album were written by Paul Kennerley and are performed by Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, John Dillon and Steve Cash...
and The Legend of Jesse James
The Legend of Jesse James
The Legend of Jesse James is a 1980 country music concept album by various artists singing songs by English songwriter Paul Kennerley, based on the story of American Old West outlaw Jesse James....
. He produced and co-wrote The Ballad of Sally Rose
The Ballad of Sally Rose
The Ballad of Sally Rose is an album by Emmylou Harris released in May 1985. It marked a significant departure for Harris, as all the songs were written by her and her husband Paul Kennerley. Additionally, it is a concept album, loosely based on Harris's relationship with the late Gram Parsons...
with Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
in 1985 and was married to Harris from 1985 to 1993.
Biography
Kennerley was born in HoylakeHoylake
Hoylake is a seaside town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, on Merseyside, England. It is located at the north western corner of the Wirral Peninsula, near to the town of West Kirby and where the River Dee estuary meets the Irish Sea...
, Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
. In 1976 he was living in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and working in advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
when he first heard country music
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...
, the song "Let's All Help the Cowboys Sing the Blues" by Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
. "It really excited me," Kennerley recalls in his artist biography for Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
. "I immediately hunted down every Waylon record I could find."
He quit his job in advertising and gave himself three months to develop his talents as a songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
.
In 1976-7 He recorded an album with a rock band called 'Holy Roller' at Virgin record's newly opened Manor studio, with Tom Newman (Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells etc.) and Newman subsequently sang all the songs on the demonstration tapes of the White Mansions album
His first project was White Mansions
White Mansions
White Mansions is a 1978 album by various artists documenting the lives of white people in the Confederacy during the Civil War. The songs on the album were written by Paul Kennerley and are performed by Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, John Dillon and Steve Cash...
, a 1978 concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
set in the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The project was picked up by A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
, with Glyn Johns
Glyn Johns
Glyn Johns is a musician, recording engineer and record producer.-Career:He has worked with such artists as Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Easybeats, The Band, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Eric Clapton, The Clash, The Steve Miller Band, Small Faces, Spooky Tooth, The Ozark...
producing. A number of notable artists recorded the music, including Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
, Jessi Colter
Jessi Colter
Jessi Colter is an American country music artist who is best known for her collaboration with her husband, country singer and songwriter Waylon Jennings and for her 1975 country-pop crossover hit "I'm Not Lisa"....
, Steve Cash of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Ozark Mountain Daredevils
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils are a Southern rock/country rock band formed in 1972 in Springfield, Missouri, USA. They are most widely known for their singles "If You Wanna Get To Heaven" in 1974 and "Jackie Blue" in 1975....
and Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
.
In 1980, a second concept album was released, The Legend of Jesse James
The Legend of Jesse James
The Legend of Jesse James is a 1980 country music concept album by various artists singing songs by English songwriter Paul Kennerley, based on the story of American Old West outlaw Jesse James....
, which featured more notable artists, including Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, Charlie Daniels
Charlie Daniels
Charles Edward "Charlie" Daniels is an American musician known for his contributions to country and southern rock music. He is known primarily for his number one country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and multiple other songs he has performed and written. Daniels has been active as a singer...
, Albert Lee
Albert Lee
Albert William Lee, born 21 December 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire, England, is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked both in the studio and on tour with some of the most famous musicians which stretch through a very wide of genres...
and Levon Helm
Levon Helm
Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....
.
Neither White Mansions nor Jesse James were commercially successful, but they did establish Kennerley as a serious songwriter. Among his early songs was "Born to Run", which Emmylou Harris recorded in 1981 for her album, Cimarron
Cimarron (Emmylou Harris album)
Cimarron was a 1981 Emmylou Harris album that, like its predecessor, Evangeline, was composed mostly of outtakes from other recording sessions that hadn't fit into any of Harris' other albums. As a result, critics at the time complained that the album was "choppy" and lacked a unifying sound. ...
, and she continues to frequently perform it in her concerts.
Kennerly continued to live in London while he wrote songs, but in 1983 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 started working with Harris on her semi-autobiographical concept album, The Ballad of Sally Rose
The Ballad of Sally Rose
The Ballad of Sally Rose is an album by Emmylou Harris released in May 1985. It marked a significant departure for Harris, as all the songs were written by her and her husband Paul Kennerley. Additionally, it is a concept album, loosely based on Harris's relationship with the late Gram Parsons...
, co-writing and producing the album. He also collaborated with Harris on her albums Thirteen
Thirteen (Emmylou Harris album)
Thirteen was a 1986 Emmylou Harris album. The title came from its status as her thirteenth studio album...
and Bluebird
Bluebird (Emmylou Harris album)
Bluebird was an Emmylou Harris album from 1989, which merged a number of eclectic songs with polished, country-music production. It included her most recent top-ten country-charting single, "Heartbreak Hill"...
, and writing the songs "In My Dreams" and "Heartbreak Hill". He married Harris in 1985, but the couple divorced in 1993.
Kennerley also wrote songs for The Judds
The Judds
The Judds were an American country music duo composed of Naomi Judd and her daughter, Wynonna Judd. Signed to RCA Records in 1983, the duo released six studio albums between then and 1991. One of the most successful acts in country music history, The Judds won five Grammy Awards for Best Country...
("Young Love", "One Man Woman", "Let Me Tell You About Love", "Cry Myself to Sleep", "Have Mercy" and "Give a Little Love"), Marty Stuart
Marty Stuart
John Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
("Hillbilly Rock
Hillbilly Rock (song)
"Hillbilly Rock" is the title of a song written by Paul Kennerley and recorded by American country music artist Marty Stuart. It was released in March 1990 as the third single and title track from the album Hillbilly Rock. The song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks...
", "Western Girls", "Tempted
Tempted (Marty Stuart song)
"Tempted" is a single by American country music artist Marty Stuart. Released in August 1991, it was the third single and title track from the album Tempted. The reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart performance:...
", "Till I Found You", "Little Things
Little Things (Marty Stuart song)
"Little Things" is single by American country music artist Marty Stuart. Released in January 1991, it was the first single from the album Tempted. The song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart performance:...
"), Tanya Tucker
Tanya Tucker
Tanya Denise Tucker is a female American country music artist who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13...
("Walking Shoes"), Sweethearts of the Rodeo
Sweethearts of the Rodeo
Sweethearts of the Rodeo is an American country music duo composed of sisters Janis Oliver and Kristine Oliver . The duo recorded for Columbia Records between 1986 and 1991, releasing four albums and twelve singles for the label. In the 1990s, they also recorded two albums for Sugar Hill Records...
("Chains of Gold"), Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless , is an American country music singer.Since her emergence on the country music scene in late 1986 with her first album, Loveless has been one of the most popular female singers of the Neotraditional country movement, although she has also recorded albums in the Country pop and...
("Blue Memories") and Juice Newton
Juice Newton
Judith Kay "Juice" Newton is an American Pop music and Country singer, songwriter and guitarist...
("Tell Me True").
He was named Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
Writer of the Year in 1989.
He released a solo album in 1998, Misery With a Beat.