Kevin McKendree

Last updated
Kevin McKendree
Birth nameKevin Yates McKendree
Born (1969-04-27) April 27, 1969 (age 55)
Nuremberg, Germany
Origin Washington, D.C., U.S.
Genres Electric blues [1]
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Piano, keyboards, guitar, vocals
Years active1987–present
Website Official website

Kevin Yates McKendree (born April 27, 1969) [2] is an American electric blues pianist, keyboardist, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to having a lengthy and varied career as a session musician, McKendree has released two solo albums.

Contents

Life and career

Born Kevin Yates McKendree, [3] in Nuremberg, Germany, [2] he is a self-taught pianist and guitarist, initially utilizing the playing of Little Richard, Ray Charles and B.B. King as inspiration. When he was 17, he became a professional musician and worked around the Washington, D.C. area playing alongside Big Joe Maher, Tom Principato, Bob Margolin and Mark Wenner. However, he also worked as a piano salesman to supplement his income. [4] He relocated to Nashville in 1995, and secured a job backing Lee Roy Parnell as part of his band known as the Hot Links. [5] McKendree co-wrote and co-produced the instrumental track "Mama, Screw Your Wig On Tight," which appeared on Parnell's 1997 album, Every Night's a Saturday Night . The piece was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1997 for Best Country Instrumental. [1] [6]

In 1997, McKendree toured with Delbert McClinton as his band leader, [1] and played piano and Hammond B3 organ on McClinton's albums Nothing Personal (2001) and Cost of Living (2005), both of which won a Grammy, and Room to Breathe (2002) which was nominated for a similar award. [5] Also McKendree worked in the recording studio backing a diverse array of musicians including Anson Funderburgh and Seven Mary Three ( The Economy of Sound , Orange Ave. ), as well as issuing his debut solo album Miss Laura's Kitchen in 2000. [1] His association with McClinton ended in 2011 allowing McKendree more flexibility. He worked with Brian Setzer, John Oates, T. Graham Brown, Tinsley Ellis, The Knockouts, Hal Ketchum, and George Thorogood ( 2120 South Michigan Ave. ) amongst many others. [5] His work with Tinsley Ellis has had him playing on, and occasionally producing, several of Ellis' albums, including Fire It Up , Kingpin , Hell or High Water , Moment of Truth , Speak No Evil , The Hard Way , Speak No Evil , Get It!, Midnight Blue, Tough Love, Red Clay Soul, Winning Hand, Ice Cream in Hell, and Devil May Care.

In 2005, McKendree issued his second album, Hammers & Strings. [7] AllMusic noted that it was "a set full of boogie-woogie piano (even on non-blues tunes), blues ballads, and New Orleans-style R&B, this is a delightful outing." [8] In the same year McKendree played on Brian Setzer's album, Rockabilly Riot Vol. 1: A Tribute To Sun Records. [9] [10] In 2008, McKendree contributed to Randy Houser's debut album, Anything Goes , playing Wurlitzer electric piano and Hammond organ. [11]

More recently, McKendree has focused on songwriting and production work in his own recording studio, The Rock House, which is based in Franklin, Tennessee. [4] [5] In 2013, he engineered Sean Chambers' album, The Rock House Sessions, which was recorded in his own studio. [12] [13]

McKendree performs regularly, most recently playing in the Mike Henderson Band at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. [14] [15]

Grammy awards and nominations

YearNominee / workAwardResultRef.
2020 Tall, Dark, & Handsome Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album Won [16]

Discography

YearTitleRecord label
2000Miss Laura's KitchenEast Folks Records
2005Hammers & StringsPowerhouse Records

[7]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Zac Johnson. "Kevin McKendree : Artist Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Kevin's Page". Reocities.com. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Kevin McKendree". Discogs.com. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Nik Rodewald (June 26, 2012). "Sideman Spotlight: Kevin McKendree". Bluesrockreview.com. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Kevin McKendree : Bio". Kevinmckendree.com. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  6. ↑ Kimmy Wix (January 6, 1998). "There's No Grammy Like A Country Grammy". Cmt.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Kevin McKendree | Discography". AllMusic . Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  8. ↑ Scott Yanow. "Hammers & Strings : Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Kevin". Theblackberryjam.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Kevin McKendree Biography". Last.fm. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Randy Houser : Anything Goes : Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Band". Seanchambers.com. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  13. ↑ "The Rock House Sessions - Sean Chambers - Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  14. ↑ "RealTracks Artist Bio: Kevin McKendree". Pgmusic.com. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Bluebird Cafe". Bluebirdcafe.com. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Kevin McKendree | Artist | GRAMMY.com". www.grammy.com. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
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