| Paul Kennerley | |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Place: | Hoylake, Cheshire, England |
| Genre: | Country music |
| Occupation: | Vocalist Songwriter Guitarist |
| Instrument: | Guitar |
| Years Active: | 1972–present |
| Label: | A&M Spinout |
| Associated Acts: | Emmylou Harris The Judds Marty Stuart |
Paul Kennerley (born 1948) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer working in the American contemporary country music industry.
Kennerley was born in Hoylake, Cheshire, England in 1948. In 1976, he was living in London and working in advertising when he first heard country music — particularly, 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."
Kennerley quit his job in advertising and allowed himself three months to develop his talents as a songwriter.
In 1972, Kennerley recorded an album with a rock band called 'Holy Roller' at Virgin Records' newly opened Manor studio, with Tom Newman (Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells etc.) and Philip Newell, and Newman subsequently sang all the songs on the demonstration tapes of the White Mansions album.
Kennerley's 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.[1]
Misery with a Beat, his 1995 EP, featured Richard Bennett and Billy Bremner on guitar, Michael Rhodes on bass, and Chad Cromwell on drums with songs including "Love Match"; - "Heart Full of Rain"; - "Tryin' to Get Over You" (co-written with J Ford & Bobby Womack); - "She was Mine" - and - "The Heartbreak Kind" (co-written with Marty Stuart)[2]
Neither White Mansions nor Jesse James were commercially successful, but they did establish Kennerley as a serious songwriter. Among his early compositions was "Born to Run", which Emmylou Harris recorded in 1981 for her album, Cimarron, and she continues to frequently perform the song 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.[3] Kennerley also collaborated with Harris on her albums Thirteen and Bluebird, and writing the songs "In My Dreams" and "Heartbreak Hill".
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"), Juice Newton ("Tell Me True"), The Everly Brothers as well as Carla Olson & John York (First In Line).
Kennerley was married to Emmylou Harris from 1985 to 1993.[4]
Kennerley was named Broadcast Music Incorporated Writer of the Year in 1989.
| TV Programme | Song | |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Exposure | "Poor Boy Blues" | |
| The Sopranos | "Heaven Only Knows" | |
| Nashville | "Ball and Chain" | |
| Nashville | "You're the Kind of Trouble" | |
| Animal Kingdom | "That's the Truth" | |
| Ken Burns : Country Music | "Born to Run" |
| Film | Song | |
|---|---|---|
| Baja, Oklahoma | "In My Dreams" | |
| Thelma and Louise | "I Don't Want to Love You (But I Do)" | |
| The Lost Boys | "Crazy Old Soldier" | |
| A Star is Born | "Diggin My Grave" | |
| Wild Rose | "Born to Run" |
Bobby Walker - Got Me A WomanJohn Anderson ~ Chat Atkins & Mark Knopfler ~ Garth Brooks ~ The Bee Good Tanyas
Dierks Bentley ~ Joe Brown ~ Jessie Buckley ~ Johnny Cash ~ June Carter & Johnny Cash
Ray Charles & B.J.Thomas ~ Ray Charles & Johnny Cash ~ Glen Campbell
The Class of '55 (Jerry Lee Lewis; Carl Perkins; Roy Orbison & Johnny Cash)
David Allen Coe ~ Jessie Colter ~ Charlie Daniels ~ Gail Davies ~ Rick Danko
John Dillon ~ Lonnie Donegan ~ Steve Earle ~ Dave Edmunds
The Everly Brothers ~ Rosie Flores ~ Nanci Griffith ~ Emmylou Harris ~ Levon Helm
The Highwaymen (Waylon Jennings; Kris Kristofferson; Willie Nelson & Johnny Cash)
Highway 101 ~ Waylon Jennings ~ Wanda Jackson ~ The Judds ~ Jason and the Scorchers
The Kendalls ~ Brenda Lee ~ Patty Loveless ~ Albert Lee ~ Buddy Miller ~ Martina McBride
Del McCoury ~ The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band & Emmylou Harris ~ The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band & Levon Helm
Juice Newton ~ The Oak Ridge Boys ~ Marie Osmond ~ Jason Risenberg ~ Bruce Robinson
Kenny Rogers ~ Linda Ronstadt ~ Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris ~ Harry Dean Stanton
Marty Stuart ~ The Sweethearts of the Rodeo ~ Barry & Holly Tashian ~ Travis Tritt
Tanya Tucker ~ Monty Warden ~ Steve Wariner ~ Don Williams ~ Kelly Willis ~ Lee Ann Womak
Wynonna ~ Trisha Yearwood ~ John Starling & Emmylou Harris ~ Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga
| Song | Recorded by | Year | Achieved | Co Written | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Have Mercy | The Judds | 1985 | No 1 | ||
| Cry Myself to Sleep | The Judds | 1986 | No 1 | ||
| Young Love (Strong Love) | The Judds | 1989 | Example | No 1 | |
| Let Me Tell You About Love | The Judds | 1989 | Example | No 1 | |
| Give a Little Love | The Judds | 1988 | Example | No 2 | |
| Born to Run | Emmylou Harris | 1982 | No 3 | ||
| Walking Shoes | Tanya Tucker | 1990 | No 3 | ||
| In My Dreams | Emmylou Harris | 1984 | No 4 | ||
| The Blue Side of Town | Patty Loveless | 1989 | No 4 | ||
| Chains of Gold | The Sweethearts of the Rodeo | 1987 | No 5 | ||
| Tempted | Marty Stuart | 1991 | No 5 | ||
| One Hundred and Two | The Judds | 1991 | No 6 | ||
| Tell Me True | Juice Newton | 1988 | No 8 | ||
| Hillbilly Rock | Marty Stuart | 1990 | No 8 | ||
| Heartbreak Hill | Emmylou Harris | 1989 | No 8 | ||
| Little Things | Marty Stuart | 1991 | No 8 | ||
| One Man Woman | The Judds | 1990 | No 8 | ||
| Till I Found You | Marty Stuart | 1991 | No 12 | ||
| White Line | Emmylou Harris | 1985 | No 13 | ||
| Heaven Only Knows | Emmylou Harris | 1989 | No 14 | ||
| Western Girls | Marty Stuart | 1990 | No 20 | ||
| Heart Trouble | Martina McBride | 1993 | No 21 |
NOTE (18 of the above songs received BMI Awards, 15 of which were 1 million plays, 4 were 2 million plays and 1 was a 3 million play award)
| Year | Song | Artist | Album | Co-written with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Southern Boys | Matchbox | Midnight Dynamos | |
| 1981 | Born to Run | Emmylou Harris | Cimarron | |
| 1982 | Gonna Write a Letter | Waylon Jennings | Black on Black | |
| 1983 | Feel so Right | Dave Edmunds | Information | |
| 1983 | The Watch on my Wrist | Dave Edmunds | Information | |
| 1983 | I'll be Faithful to You | The Kendalls | Movin Ttrain | |
| 1983 | That's the Truth | Johnny Cash | Johnny 99 | |
| 1983 | Brand New Dance | Johnny Cash | Johnny 99 | |
| 1983 | Let it Roll | Charlie Daniels | A Decade of Hits | |
| 1983 | Crazy Old Soldier | David Allan Coe | Hello in There | Troy Seals |
| 1983 | In my Dreams | Emmylou Harris | White Shoes | |
| 1984 | The First in Line | The Everly Brothers | EB 84 | |
| 1984 | I'll be Faithful to You | Glen Campbell | Letter To Home | |
| 1984 | Where Would I Be (Without You) | Waylon Jennings | Never Could Toe the Mark | |
| 1984 | Rock and Roll Shoes | Ray Charles | Friendship | Graham Lyle |
| 1984 | Crazy Old Soldier | Ray Charles | Friendship | Troy Seals |
| 1984 | Nothing Can Hurt Me Now | Gail Davies | Where Is a Woman To Go | Bob McDill |
| 1984 | Take that Woman Away | John Anderson | Eye of a Hurricane | |
| 1984 | I'll Be Faithful to You | Don Williams | Cafe Carolina | |
| 1985 | I've Got Me a Woman | John Anderson | Tokyo, Oklahoma | |
| 1985 | Have Mercy | The Judds | Rockin' with the Rhythm | |
| 1985 | Cry Myself To Sleep | The Judds | Rockin' with the Rhythm | |
| 1985 | Feels so Right | Brenda Lee | Feels so Right | |
| 1985 | I'll be Faithful | Marie Osmond | There's no Stopping your Heart | |
| 1985 |