Kerry Marx

Last updated

Kerry Marx
Kerry Marx - Opry Picture.jpg
Background information
Born Aiken, South Carolina
Occupation Studio musician
Website www.kerrymarx.com
South Carolina Entertainment & Music Hall of Fame (Inducted 2023)

Kerry Alan Marx is an American guitarist and studio musician who has served as Music Director of the Grand Ole Opry since 2018. He is best known for his work with that organization, [1] [2] where he has been staff guitarist since 2000. [3] He has been described as being among "Nashville's most in-demand musicians", [4] and has played with many notable musicians including Johnny Cash, [5] Taylor Swift, John Legend, James Taylor, and Steven Tyler. He was guitarist for the CD "Songs From The Neighborhood," which received a Grammy award, the album Many Moods of Moses which received a Grammy nomination, and for the 2 time multi-platinum self-titled album by musical group Blackhawk.

Contents

Marx was also a member of The Johnny Cash Show band, [6] and toured extensively with Don McLean. In June 2023, Marx was inducted into the South Carolina Entertainment & Music Hall of Fame. [7] [8] [9]

Biography

Born in Aiken, South Carolina, [7] Marx studied music at the University of South Carolina; [10] a 1971 article noted that he was a "stand-in bass guitarist" for a band called Wax Bean, the winning band in an Aiken Battle of the Bands. [11] He then went on to concentrate in jazz guitar while attending North Texas State University in Denton, TX. [10] He moved to Nashville in 1981 and has played a variety of jazz, pop, rock, and country music in the Nashville recording scene. [10] Marx "broke into the demo scene gradually, in between road trips". [12] Marx related the frustrations of working as a session musician during that time, noting that session producers often did not convey their thoughts about whether the session had gone well. On one song recorded by both Mark Chesnutt and Chad Mullins, Marx "came up with a guitar line that the publisher said he wasn't crazy about", but that Marx then heard on the records, "played by a steel instead of a guitar"—an experience that Marx said "reassures me about my song sense and session sense". [12]

Marx toured with artists such as Ray Price (1979–1981), Jerry Reed (1981–1983), Razzy Bailey (1983–1984), Ronnie Milsap (1984–1987), Johnny Cash (1989–1992), Toby Keith and Shania Twain (1993), Don McLean (2001–2023), Lee Ann Womack (2004), Porter Wagoner (2006), Steve Wariner (2006–2007), Lynda Carter (2008–2022), [13] Olivia Newton-John (2012–2018), Johnny Mathis (2016-2024). [10] A 1986 review of a Ronnie Milsap benefit concert in Durham, North Carolina noted that despite the country tones of the show, "other aspects of the performance more closely resembled a rock concert, such as Kerry Marx's soaring lead guitar solo". [14] He was noted for his contribution to Cash's song, "I'm an Easy Rider" from the 1991 album, The Mystery of Life , described as "a road song featuring Kerry Marx's hard-edged and doubled-up baritone guitar". [15] In 2000, he was lead guitarist in TNN's Prime Time Country band. [16] A 2001 review of the Grand Ole Opry house band noted that "pianist Tim Atwood and guitarist Kerry Marx play with rare taste, feel, and soul". [17]

Marx has performed and composed for major networks, most notably for the Lionel Richie Special (2012), Hannah Montana, American Music Awards (2005–2017), Billboard Music Awards (20012–2022), Academy of Country Music Awards (2003–2022), CMA Christmas (2012–2019), Country Music Association (CMA) Awards (2011-2021, 1992 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, and the 1985 Grammy Awards. [10] Working with Lynda Carter, Marx also performed original music for the 2015 video game, Fallout 4 . In 2020, he performed on a Christmas project for sisters Kandy Isley and Kim Johnson. [18] In February 2021, Marx was one of four members of the Opry house band brought into Daywind Studios in Hendersonville, Tennessee, as an electric guitarist on the Darin & Brooke Aldridge song, "Grand Ole Circle". [19] [20]

In March 2023, Marx was inducted into the South Carolina Entertainment & Music Hall of Fame for his music career, [7] [8] [9] and in May 2023, Marx toured with Don McLean in Australia. [21] In November 2024, Marx played with Josh Rawlings while sailing the Raja Ampat Archipelago in Indonesia. According to Joe Glaser, these performances included several improvisational moments that "changed music in ways that will not be understood for millennia".[ citation needed ]

Discography

Television

Guitarist and composer

[10]

Live TV credits

[10]

Film soundtracks

[10]

Jingles and commercial products

[10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chet Atkins</span> American country music guitarist (1924–2001)

Chester Burton Atkins, also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music style which expanded its appeal to adult pop music fans. He was primarily a guitarist, but he also played the mandolin, fiddle, banjo, and ukulele, and occasionally sang.

<i>Grand Ole Opry</i> Country music concert and radio and television program in Nashville, Tennessee, US

The Grand Ole Opry is a regular live country-music radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the time of year. It was founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as the WSM Barn Dance, taking its current name in 1927. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment, it is the longest-running radio broadcast in U.S. history. Dedicated to honoring country music and its history, the Opry showcases a mix of famous singers and contemporary chart-toppers performing country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and gospel music as well as comedic performances and skits. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and millions of radio and internet listeners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Jackson</span> American country singer and songwriter

Alan Eugene Jackson is an American country music singer-songwriter. He is known for performing a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country", as well as writing many of his own songs. Jackson has recorded 21 studio albums, including two Christmas albums, and two gospel albums, as well as three greatest-hits albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Tubb</span> American country singer (1914–1984)

Ernest Dale Tubb, nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronnie Milsap</span> American recording artist; country music singer and pianist (b. 1943)

Ronnie Lee Milsap is an American country music singer and pianist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Clark</span> American singer, musician, and TV host (1933–2018)

Roy Linwood Clark was an American singer, musician, and television presenter. He is best known for having hosted Hee Haw, a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark was an important and influential figure in country music, both as a performer and in helping to popularize the genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merle Travis</span> American country/Western singer-songwriter and musician

Merle Robert Travis was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic exploitation of American coal miners. Among his many well-known songs and recordings are "Sixteen Tons", "Re-Enlistment Blues", "I am a Pilgrim" and "Dark as a Dungeon". However, it is his unique guitar style, still called "Travis picking" by guitarists, as well as his interpretations of the rich musical traditions of his native Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, for which he is best known today. Travis picking is a syncopated style of guitar fingerpicking rooted in ragtime music in which alternating chords and bass notes are plucked by the thumb while melodies are simultaneously plucked by the index finger. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark O'Connor</span> American violinist and composer

Mark O'Connor is an American fiddle player, composer, guitarist, and mandolinist whose music combines bluegrass, country, jazz and classical. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he has won six Country Music Association Musician Of The Year awards and was a member of three influential musical ensembles: the David Grisman Quintet, The Dregs, and Strength in Numbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tennessee Three</span> Backing band for Johnny Cash

The Tennessee Three was the backing band for country and rockabilly singer Johnny Cash for nearly 25 years, providing the unique backing that came to be recognized by fans as "the Johnny Cash sound".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie McCoy</span> American musician

Charlie McCoy is an American harmonica virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist in country music. He is best known for his harmonica solos on iconic recordings such as "Candy Man", "He Stopped Loving Her Today", "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool", and others. He was a member of the progressive country rock bands Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry. After recording with Bob Dylan in New York, McCoy is credited for unknowingly influencing Dylan to decide to come to Nashville to record the critically acclaimed 1966 album "Blonde on Blonde".

Arthur Smith was an American musician, composer, and record producer, as well as a radio and TV host. He produced radio and TV shows; The Arthur Smith Show was the first nationally syndicated country music show on television. After moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, Smith developed and ran the first commercial recording studio in the Southeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhonda Vincent</span> American bluegrass singer

Rhonda Lea Vincent is an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sammi Smith</span> American country singer (1943–2005)

Jewel Fay "Sammi" Smith was an American country music singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 1971 crossover hit "Help Me Make It Through the Night", which was written by Kris Kristofferson. She became one of the few women in the outlaw country movement during the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherryholmes</span> American bluegrass band

Cherryholmes was an American Bluegrass band from Los Angeles, California. The band was made up of six members of the Cherryholmes family: father Jere (Pop), mother Sandy Lee, daughters Cia Leigh, and Molly Kate, and sons B.J. and Skip.

Buddy Spicher is an American country music fiddle player. He is a member of The Nashville A-Team of session musicians, and is Grammy-nominated. He was nominated as Instrumentalist of the Year by CMA in 1983 and 1985. He was the first fiddler in the "Nashville Cats" series of the Country Music Hall of Fame. He recorded with virtually every major country star of the sixties, seventies, and early eighties, including Faron Young, Johnny Paycheck Little Jimmy Dickens, Reba McEntire, George Jones, Don Williams, Dolly Parton, Crystal Gayle, Loretta Lynn, Bob Wills, Asleep at the Wheel, Don Francisco, Ray Price, Willie Nelson, George Strait, Bill Monroe, David Allan Coe, and Emmylou Harris.

<i>The Living Room Sessions</i> (B. J. Thomas album) 2013 studio album by B.J. Thomas

The Living Room Sessions (2013) is B.J. Thomas' first "unplugged" album, celebrating fifty years in the recording industry and forty-seven years since his first gold record. The Living Room Sessions offers many of Thomas' most recognizable hits, the album was produced to instill the atmosphere of an intimate setting and includes duet performances from some of Thomas' favorite artists.

Ray Quarles Edenton was an American guitarist and country music session musician.

<i>Ronnie Milsap Live</i> 1976 live album by Ronnie Milsap

Ronnie Milsap Live is the first live album by country music artist Ronnie Milsap. It was recorded at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1976, the same year Milsap became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and released that same year. Country music disc jockey and television host Ralph Emery introduced Milsap at the concert and also wrote the album's liner notes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Weber White</span> American country fiddler

Laura Weber White, also known as Laura White, Laura Weber, Laura Cash, and Laura Weber Cash is an American country fiddler, singer, songwriter, and guitar player. White has worked as a session musician on many albums and toured with several artists, including the late Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. She has released two solo albums: Among My Souvenirs in 2003 and Awake But Dreaming in 2010. Both were recorded at the Cash Cabin Studio. White became known as a fine stage fiddler after winning both state and National Fiddler contests in Oregon and Idaho. She is an artist on 16 Cash family albums from 2003 to 2014.

References

  1. "Country singer graciously shares his memorable night at the Opry". The Augusta Chronicle. May 9, 2006. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  2. Hollabaugh, Lorie (December 3, 2013). "Artist Updates". Music Row. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  3. Waddell, Ray (June 17, 2000). "Strong Support System: Opry Band, Singers and Dancers Think and Play on Their Feet". Billboard. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  4. Schube, Will (September 7, 2021). "Kristin Chenoweth Announces Holiday Album, 'Happiness Is...Christmas!'". www.udiscovermusic.com. Chenoweth teamed up with award-winning producers Jay Landers (Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler) and Fred Mollin (Jimmy Webb, Johnny Mathis) for the album... The duo enlisted a group of Nashville's most in-demand musicians for the recording sessions, including guitarists Bryan Sutton and Kerry Marx...
  5. Washburn, Jim (August 10, 1992). "Pop Music Review: Johnny Cashes In on the Past at the Coach House". L.A. Times. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  6. Smith, John L. (1999). Another song to sing: the recorded repertoire of Johnny Cash. Scarecrow Press.
  7. 1 2 3 Moore, Stephanie (March 27, 2023). "4 new inductees announced for SC Entertainment & Music Hall of Fame". WYFF 4 . The third inductee for 2023 is Kerry Marx. Marx is the current music director at the Grand Ole Opry and has been since 2018. Before that, Marx was a guitarist at the Grand Ole Opry. He is from Aiken, South Carolina.
  8. 1 2 Putnam, Jeannie (March 28, 2023). "Three Upstate entertainers named 2023 SC Entertainment & Music Hall of Fame inductees". Greenville Journal.
  9. 1 2 "Hall of Fame Induction Show, Inductees for June 3rd., 2023". South Carolina Hall of Fame.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Kerry Marx". kerrymarx.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  11. "'Wax Bean' Is Winner In Battle Of Bands", Aiken Standard (November 3, 1971), p. 4-B.
  12. 1 2 Dan Daley, Nashville's Unwritten Rules-Inside The Business of Country Music (The Overlook Press, 1998), p. 268-70, ISBN   0879518898.
  13. Schwind, Brady. "Lynda Carter "This Life: My Music, My Story", At Jazz At Lincoln Center". BroadwayWorld.com.
  14. Bob Nowell, "Milsap weaves many influences into a memorable show", The Raleigh News and Observer (June 4, 1986), p. 11B.
  15. C. Eric Banister, Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black (Backbeat Books, 2014), p. 330. ISBN   978-1480385405
  16. Jay Orr, "'Opry' in the Pews Again: Month at Mother Church could mark the show's rebirth", The Tennessean (January 6, 2000), p. 1F, 4F
  17. "For great music, look into the shadows", The Tennessean (August 24, 2001), p, 7F.
  18. Kevin C. Johnson, "Sibling singers come up with their own Christmas project", St. Louis Post-Dispatch (December 25, 2020), p. G7.
  19. Roland, Tom (April 13, 2022). "Makin' Tracks: Bluegrass Duo Darin & Brooke Aldridge Honor Opry With 'Grand Ole Circle'". Billboard.com.
  20. Lawless, John (January 28, 2022). "Grand Ole Circle video from Darin & Brooke Aldridge". Bluegrass Today.
  21. Cashmere, Paul (May 1, 2023). "Don McLean Goes Out On The Top Of His Game On Final Australian Tour". noise11.com. The credentials in this band are worldclass. Guitarist Kerry Marx worked with Johnny Cash and when he isn't touring with Don is a member of the Grand Old Opry staff band performing with over 10 artists a week at the legendary Nashville music venue.