Paul Kennerley

Paul Kennerley
Born	Hoylake, Cheshire, England
Genres	Country music
Occupation	Songwriter
Instrument	Guitar
Years active	1972–present
Labels	A&M Spinout

Paul Kennerley is an English songwriter living in Nashville, Tennessee.

Biography

Kennerley was born in Hoylake, Cheshire, England, in 1948, where his father was a director of a company based in nearby Liverpool. He was the youngest of four children. At the age of 8, he attended a preparatory boarding school in Cheshire, followed by Stowe School in Buckinghamshire, and Copford Glebe in Essex.

After leaving school, Kennerley apprenticed in the design studios of a Liverpool advertising agency. In 1969, he spent several months at an agency in New York City before returning to London, where he worked as a layout artist.

For as early as he can remember, he had an over-arching passion for music. In the early 70’s Kennerley held a secondary job managing the London “pub rock” band The Winkies. 1974 he left advertising in order to pursue and develop his songwriting. In 1975 he became enraptured by country music, having heard a Waylon Jennings record. "It really excited me and led me to discover many other artists and an entire genre I had never listened to before." Kennerley recalled.

Although he wanted only to write country songs, his lack of experience of rural American life and culture seemed inauthentic. That led him to write songs set in historical settings that eventually became the much lauded Civil War concept album White Mansions .

His songs have been featured in hit films such as A Star is Born (2018) and Thelma & Louise and have been recorded by the greats of music including Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Ringo Starr, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Nanci Griffith, Dave Edmunds, Brenda Lee, Glen Campbell, The Everly Brothers, Kenny Rogers, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, Martina McBride, The Judds, Marty Stuart, Patty Loveless, Charlie Daniels, The Highwaymen, Dierks Bentley, Lonnie Donegan, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Solomon Burke, Don Williams, The Crickets, and more.

Recordings

White Mansions

Kennerley's first major 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 and John Dillon of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and Eric Clapton. The Guardian described White Mansions as "the first and perhaps best outlaw country rock Civil War concept album ever recorded."

The Legend of Jesse James

In 1980 Kennerley released his second concept album, The Legend of Jesse James . It featured more notable artists, including Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Charlie Daniels, Albert Lee and Levon Helm. The Legend of Jesse James tells the story of the outlaw's life through various artists. It features Levon Helm as Jesse James and Johnny Cash as Frank James, with other notable performers including Emmylou Harris, Charlie Daniels, and Rosanne Cash. Produced by Glyn Johns, the album follows a chronological narrative and has been re-released as a two-CD set with Kennerley's previous album, White Mansions , both of which were produced by Glyn Johns.

Misery with a Beat

In 1995 Kennerley released the EP Misery with a Beat which, featured Richard Bennett, Billy Bremner, and himself 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" "She was Mine" - and - "The Heartbreak Kind" (co-written with Marty Stuart). ^[1]

Paul Kennerley Demos

In 2025, Kennerley released the double CD, Paul Kennerley Demos, a collection of his original rough and ragged homemade versions of songs that went on to be recorded by greats such as Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, The Judds, Marty Stuart, Tanya Tucker, Levon Helm, Patty Loveless, Charlie Daniels, John Anderson, The Highwaymen, The Class of ’55, Solomon Burke, Chet Atkins, Mark Knopfler, Linda Ronstadt, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, Wynonna and others. Several of the songs became number one and top five records on the Billboard Country Charts. On the album, all of the songs were sung and recorded by Kennerley with the exception of "You’re the Kind of Trouble," which was sung by The Wrights, and "Diggin’ My Grave" which was sung by Morgane Stapleton.

Personal Life

In 1979, Kennerley married Jenny Dugan Chapman in London. The couple had two children, a daughter Marisha and a son Charles. They divorced in 1984. In 1983, Kennerley moved to Nashville where he continued to have songs recorded by country music artists. In 1985 he married Emmylou Harris. They were divorced in 1991. ^[2] Kennerley continues to live in Nashville, Tennessee.

Awards

Kennerley was named Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) Country Writer of the Year in 1989.

Songs used in television shows

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"

Songs used in films

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 (2018)	"Diggin’ My Grave"
Wild Rose	"Born to Run"

Top 20 songs on the Billboard Country Charts written by Kennerley

Song	Recordedby	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	No 1	*
Let Me Tell You About Love	The Judds	1989	No 1	*
Give a Little Love	The Judds	1988	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 )

Discography

Recordings

• 1978: White Mansions (A&M) all songs written by Kennerly and performed by other artists
• 1979: The Legend of Jesse James (A&M) all songs written by Kennerly and performed by other artists
• 1998: Misery With a Beat EP (Spinout)
• 2025: Paul Kennerley Demos

As producer

• 1985: Emmylou Harris - The Ballad of Sally Rose (Warner Bros.)
• 1986: Emmylou Harris - Thirteen (Warner Bros.)

As composer

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 Train
1983	That's the Truth	Johnny Cash	Johnny 99
1983	Brand New Dance	Johnny Cash & June Carter	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	Welfare Line	Willie Nelson	Highway Man
1985	You Make it Feel So Right	Steve Wariner	Greatest Hits
1986	Chains of Gold	Sweethearts of the Rodeo	Sweethearts of the Rodeo
1986	Looking for Suzanne	Waylon Jennings	Sweet Mother of Texas
1986	I'll Be Faithful To You	Don Williams	Lovers And Best Friends
1986	Sweetheart of the Pines	Emmylou Harris	Thirteen	Emmylou Harris
1986	When I Was Yours	Emmylou Harris	Thirteen	Emmylou Harris
1986	I Had my Heart Set on You	Emmylou Harris	Thirteen	Rodney Crowell
1986	I've Got Me a Woman	Waylon Jennings	Will the Wolf Survive
1986	We Remember the King	Class of '55	Memphis Rock & Roll Homecoming
1987	When He Calls	Emmylou Harris	Angel Band
1987	Lying In Her Arms	John Anderson	Blue Skies Again	John Anderson
1987	Let It Shine On Me	Nanci Griffith	Lone Star State of Mind
1987	The Blue Side of Town	Rosie Flores	Rosie Flores	Hank DeVito
1987	Woman Walk the Line	Highway 101	Highway 101	Emmylou Harris
1987	Tell me True	Juice Newton		Brent Maher
1988	The Blue Side of Town	Patty Loveless	Honky Tonk Angel	Hank DeVito
1988	Give a Little Love	The Judds	Greatest Hits
1988	Heaven only Knows	Emmylou Harris	Bluebird
1988	Heartbreak Hill	Emmylou Harris	Bluebird	Emmylou Harris
1989	Away From You	Jason & the Scorchers	Thunder and Fire	Jason Ringenberg
1989	One Man Woman	The Judds	River of Time
1989	Young Love	The Judds	River of Time	Kent Robbins
1989	Let Me Tell You About Love	The Judds	River of Time	Carl Perkins and Brent Maher
1989	When I Get My Rewards	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Levon Helm	Will the Circle be Unbroken-V2
1989	Mary Danced With Soldiers	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Emmylou Harris	Will the Circle be Unbroken-V2
1989	The Tears that I Cry	John Anderson	Too Tough to Tame	John Anderson
1989	Hillbilly Rock	Marty Stuart	Hillbilly Rock
1989	Western Girls	Marty Stuart	Hillbilly Rock	Marty Stuart
1989	Easy to Love, Hard to Hold	Marty Stuart	Hillbilly Rock	Marty Stuart
1990	Poor Boy Blues	Chet Atkins & Mark Knopfler	Neck and Neck
1990	Sweet Dreams of You	Emmylou Harris	Brand New Dance	John David
1990	Brand New Dance	Emmylou Harris	Brand New Dance
1990	Walking Shoes	Tanya Tucker	Tennessee Woman
1990	I Don't want to Love You, (But I Do)	Kelly Willis	Well Travelled Love
1990	Looking for Someone Like You	Kelly Willis	Well Travelled Love	Kevin Welch
1990	One Hundred and Two	The Judds		Wynonna Judd & Don Potter
1990	Blue Memories	Patty Loveless	On Down the Line	Karen Brooks
1990	I've Got to Stop Loving You (and Start Living Again)	Patty Loveless	On Down the Line
1990	I'll be Faithful to You	Marie Osmond	The Best of Marie Osmond
1991	Trail of Tears	Tanya Tucker	What Do I Do With Me
1991	Till I Found You	Marty Stuart	Tempted	Hank DeVito
1991	Tempted	Marty Stuart	Tempted	Marty Stuart
1991	Little Things	Marty Stuart	Tempted	Marty Stuart
1992	Woman Walk the Line	Trisha Yearwood	Hearts in Arm	Emmylou Harris
1992	Live With Jesus	Wynonna Judd	Wynonna
1992	Danger Ahead	Tanya Tucker	Can't Run from Yourself
1992	Down Home	Marty Stuart	This One's Gonna Hurt You	Marty Stuart
1992	Hey Baby	Marty Stuart	This One's Gonna Hurt You	Marty Stuart
1992	Letter of Love	Jason Ringenberg	One Foot in the Honky Tonk
1992	Feels so Right	Jason Ringenberg	One Foot in the Honky Tonk
1992	The Blue Side of Town	The Del McCoury Band	Blue side of Town	Hank DeVito
1993	World without You	Kelly Willis	Kelly Willis	Kelly Willis
1993	Sugar Babe	Billy Burnette	Coming Home	Billy Burnette
1993	Heart Trouble	Martina McBride	The Way that I Am
1994	One More Chance	Barry Tashian & Holly Tashian	Straw into Gold	Barry Tashian
1995	Love Match	Paul Kennerley	Misery With a Beat
1995	Heart Full of Rain	Paul Kennerley	Misery With a Beat
1995	Tryin' to Get Over You	Paul Kennerley	Misery With a Beat
1995	She was Mine	Paul Kennerley	Misery With a Beat
1995	The Heartbreak Kind	Paul Kennerley	Misery With a Beat	Marty Stuart
1996	Draggin' My Heart Around	Travis Tritt	The Restless Kind	Marty Stuart
1996	Double Trouble	Travis Tritt	The Restless Kind	Marty Stuart & Travis Tritt
1996	Country Girls	Marty Stuart	Honky Tonkin's What I do Best	Marty Stuart
1996	Rocket Ship	Marty Stuart	Honky Tonkin's What I do Best	Marty Stuart
1998	Heartbreak Kind	Linda Ronstadt	We Ran	Marty Stuart
1998	Born to Run	Emmylou Harris	Spyboy
1999	He Was Mine	Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris	Western Wall:The Tucson Sessions
1999	Love Match	Buddy Miller	Cruel Moon
2000	When I Get My Rewards	The Waco Brothers	Electric Waco Chair
2001	Rodeo or Mexico	Garth Brooks	Scarecrow	Bryan Kennedy & Garth Brooks
2002	I'll be Faithful to You	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Emmylou Harris	Will the Circle be Unbroken
2003	Draggin' My Heart Around	Patty Loveless	On Your Way Home	Marty Stuart
2003	Heartbreak Hill	Albert Lee	Heartbreak Hill	Emmylou Harris
2003	Heaven Only Knows	Albert Lee	Heartbreak Hill
2003	Born To Run	Albert Lee	Heartbreak Hill
2003	In My Dreams	Albert Lee	Heartbreak Hill
2003	Jupiter Rising	Emmylou Harris	Stumble into Gracee
2003	Heart Trouble	Wanda Jackson	Heart Trouble
2003	It Happens Every Time	Wanda Jackson	Heart Trouble	Joe Brown
2003	Lonely For You	Wanda Jackson	Heart Trouble	Marty Stuart
2003	If You Want Me Around	Marty Stuart	Country Music	Marty Stuart
2005	When I Get My Just Rewards	Rick Danko	Cryin' Heart Blues
2005	Young Love	Wynonna Judd	Her Story	Kent Robbins
2005	Let Me Tell You About Love	Wynonna Judd	Her Story	Carl Perkins and Brent Maher
2006	Honey, Where's the Money Gone?	Kenny Rogers	Water and Bridges	Barry Tashian
2006	Honey, Where's the Money Gone?	Solomon Burke	Nashville	Barry Tashian
2006	You're the Kind of Trouble	Solomon Burke	Nashville	Shannon & Adam Wright
2008	Got Me A Woman	Levon Helm	Dirt Farmer
2008	A Train Robbery	Levon Helm	Dirt Farmer
2008	The Wishing Well	Joe Brown	More of the Truth	Shawn Camp
2008	No Cadillac	Joe Brown	More of the Truth
2009	Diamond in my Crown	Patty Loveless	Mountain Soul II	Emmylou Harris
2009	Live With Jesus	The Oak Ridge Boys	A Gospel Journey
2010	Fallin' for You	Dierks Bentley	Up on the Ridge	Shawn Camp
2010	You're the Kind of Trouble	The Holmes Brothers	Feed my Soul	Shannon & Adam Wright
2011	A Train Robbery	Levon Helm	Ramble at the Ryman
2014	When I Get My Rewards	Harry Dean Stanton	Partly Fiction
2014	Rock And Roll Shoes	Johnny Cash	Out Among the Stars	Graham Lyle
2014	Lonely For You	Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis	Our Year	Kelly Willis
2016	Born to Run	Lee Ann Womack	The Life & Songs of Emmylou Harris
2018	Diggin' My Grave	Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper	A Star is Born
2019	Born to Run	Jessie Buckley	Wild Rose
2021	Born to Run	Emmylou Harris & The Nash Ramblers	Ramble in Music City
2022	Night After Night	Daniel Tashian	Night After Night	Daniel Tashian and eight others
2023	Cry Myself to Sleep	Wynonna and Trisha Yearwood	A Tribute to the Judds
2023	Have Mercy	LeAnn Rimes	A Tribute to the Judds
2023	Young Love (Strong Love)	Ella Langley & Jamey Johnson	A Tribute to the Judds	Kent Robbins
2023	Let me Tell you About Love	Carl Perkins & Raul Malo	A Tribute to the Judds	Carl Perkins and Brent Maher
2024	Time On My Hands	Ringo Starr	Look Up	Daniel Tashian and T-Bone Burnett
2025	Night After Night	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band	Night After Night (EP)	Daniel Tashian

* Class of 55 (Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash))

References

1. Jana Pendragon. "Misery with a Beat: Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
2. Jerome, Jim (14 January 1991). "Emmylou Harris". People . Retrieved 30 October 2025.

External links

• Paul Kennerley at AllMusic
• Paul Kennerley discography at Discogs