Paul Kennerley

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

Paul Kennerley (born 1948) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer working in the American contemporary country music industry.

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.

From an early age, Kennerley had a strong passion for music. In the early 1970s, he managed the London "pub rock" band The Winkies while still working in advertising. In 1974, he left the industry to pursue songwriting full time. In 1975, after hearing Waylon Jennings' record "Let's All Help the Cowboys Sing the Blues," he became captivated by country music, later recalling that the discovery "led me to explore an entire genre I had never listened to before."

Finding it difficult to write authentically about modern rural America, Kennerley turned to historical storytelling, which resulted in the acclaimed Civil War concept album White Mansions .

His songs have been featured in hit films such as Thelma & Louise (1991) and A Star Is Born (2018), and have been recorded by numerous major artists including Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Ringo Starr, The Judds, Kenny Rogers, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Chet Atkins, Mark Knopfler, Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Marty Stuart, Patty Loveless, Charlie Daniels, The Highwaymen, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Solomon Burke, Don Williams, and The Crickets.

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 , featuring Johnny Cash as Frank James, Levon Helm as Jesse James, Emmylou Harris, Charlie Daniels, and Albert Lee. Produced by Glyn Johns, the album tells the story of the James brothers through its songs. It was later re-released with White Mansions as a two-CD set.

Misery with a Beat

In 1995 Kennerley released the EP Misery with a Beat," which featured Richard Bennett, Billy Bremner, Michael Rhodes, and Chad Cromwell. Songs included "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 1979–2005

In 2025, Kennerley released the double album Paul Kennerley Demos 1979–2005, a collection of his original demo recordings of songs later recorded by artists including Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, The Judds, Marty Stuart, Tanya Tucker, Levon Helm, Patty Loveless, Charlie Daniels, The Highwaymen, Solomon Burke, Chet Atkins, Mark Knopfler, Linda Ronstadt, Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, and Wynonna. Several of these songs became Top 5 hits on the Billboard Country chart. All tracks were sung and recorded by Kennerley except "You're the Kind of Trouble," performed by The Wrights, and "Diggin' My Grave," sung by Morgane Stapleton.

Songwriting

Although White Mansions and The Legend of Jesse James were not major commercial successes, they established Kennerley as a respected songwriter. His early composition "Born to Run" was recorded by Emmylou Harris in 1981 for her album Cimarron and remains one of her concert staples.

Kennerley moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1983, where he co-wrote and co-produced Harris’s semi-autobiographical concept album The Ballad of Sally Rose . ^[2]

He went on to write 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"), and The Everly Brothers ("The First in Line").

Personal life

In 1979, Kennerley married Jenny Dugan Chapman in London. The couple had two children, a daughter Marisha and a son Charles, before divorcing in 1984. In 1985, he married Emmylou Harris; they divorced in 1991. ^[3] 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)

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 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	Welfare Line	The Highwaymen	Highwayman	Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson
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, Vol. 2
1989	Mary Danced with Soldiers	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Emmylou Harris	Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Vol. 2
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	Love Can Build a Bridge	Wynonna Judd and 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 & 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	The Road to Hell	Paul Kennerley	Misery with a Beat
1996	Ain’t That Lonely Yet	Dwight Yoakam	Gone
1996	What’ll I Do	Patty Loveless	The Trouble with the Truth
1996	She Drew a Broken Heart	Patty Loveless	The Trouble with the Truth
1996	To Feel That Way at All	Patty Loveless	The Trouble with the Truth
1997	Tear Stained Letter	Jo-El Sonnier	Come on Joe
1997	A Love That Will Never Grow Old	Emmylou Harris	All the Roadrunning	Gustavo Santaolalla
1997	You’ve Got a Lover	Ricky Skaggs	Solid Ground
1998	Lovin’ All Night	Patty Loveless	Long Stretch of Lonesome	Rodney Crowell
1998	Burnin’ the Roadhouse Down	Steve Wariner & Garth Brooks	Burnin’ the Roadhouse Down	Steve Wariner
1998	To Be with You	Emmylou Harris	Spyboy
1999	Love’s the Only House	Martina McBride	Emotion	Buzz Cason
1999	You’ve Got to Grow	Paul Kennerley	Misery with a Beat
1999	Don’t Tell Me	Paul Kennerley	Misery with a Beat
2000	Strong Hand (Just One Miracle)	Emmylou Harris	Red Dirt Girl	Emmylou Harris
2000	My Baby Needs a Shepherd	Emmylou Harris	Red Dirt Girl	Emmylou Harris
2000	The Pearl	Emmylou Harris	Red Dirt Girl	Emmylou Harris
2000	Michelangelo	Emmylou Harris	Red Dirt Girl	Emmylou Harris
2000	Tragedy	Emmylou Harris & Patti Scialfa	Red Dirt Girl	Emmylou Harris
2000	I Don’t Want to Talk About It Now	Emmylou Harris	Red Dirt Girl	Emmylou Harris
2001	Here I Am	Patty Loveless	Mountain Soul
2002	Here I Am	Emmylou Harris	Stumble into Grace
2002	I Will Dream	Emmylou Harris	Stumble into Grace	Malcolm Burn
2002	Little Bird	Emmylou Harris	Stumble into Grace	Kate McGarrigle
2003	Lost Unto This World	Emmylou Harris	Stumble into Grace
2003	One of These Days	Emmylou Harris	Stumble into Grace
2004	If This Is Goodbye	Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris	All the Roadrunning	Mark Knopfler
2004	Love and Happiness for You	Paul Kennerley	Misery with a Beat
2005	Old Yellow Moon	Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell	Old Yellow Moon	Rodney Crowell
2005	Dreaming My Dreams	Emmylou Harris	Pieces of the Sky (reissue)
2006	The Road	Emmylou Harris	All the Roadrunning	Mark Knopfler
2006	I Dug Up a Diamond	Emmylou Harris & Mark Knopfler	All the Roadrunning	Mark Knopfler
2006	Rollin’ On	Emmylou Harris & Mark Knopfler	All the Roadrunning	Mark Knopfler
2007	Strong Hand (Just One Miracle)	Emmylou Harris	Songbird: Rare Tracks & Forgotten Gems
2008	How She Could Sing the Wildwood Flower	Emmylou Harris	All I Intended to Be	Kate McGarrigle
2008	Gold	Emmylou Harris	All I Intended to Be	Emmylou Harris
2008	Not Enough	Emmylou Harris	All I Intended to Be	Patty Griffin
2008	Old Five and Dimers Like Me	Emmylou Harris	All I Intended to Be	Billy Joe Shaver
2008	Broken Man’s Lament	Emmylou Harris	All I Intended to Be	Mark Germino
2009	The Road to Hell	Paul Kennerley	Misery with a Beat
2010	Take That Woman Away	Marty Stuart	Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions
2011	I’ll Fly Away	Allison Krauss & Emmylou Harris	The Life & Songs of Emmylou Harris
2013	Love Hurts	Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell	Old Yellow Moon	Boudleaux Bryant
2013	Black Caffeine	Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell	Old Yellow Moon	Rodney Crowell
2013	Chase the Feeling	Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell	Old Yellow Moon	Rodney Crowell
2014	The Traveling Kind	Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell	The Traveling Kind	Rodney Crowell
2014	If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home Now	Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell	The Traveling Kind	Rodney Crowell
2014	No Memories Hanging Round	Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell	The Traveling Kind	Rodney Crowell
2014	Weight of the World	Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell	The Traveling Kind	Rodney Crowell
2015	Bring It on Home to Memphis	Paul Kennerley	Misery with a Beat
2017	My Name Is Emmett Till	Emmylou Harris	The Life & Songs of Emmylou Harris
2018	You’re Learning	Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell	The Traveling Kind (Deluxe Edition)	Rodney Crowell
2019	Goodbye	Emmylou Harris	Live at the Ryman	Steve Earle
2020	Easy	Paul Kennerley	Misery with a Beat
2021	The Pain of Loving You	Emmylou Harris & Dolly Parton	50 Years of Dolly	Porter Wagoner
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	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. Hurst, Jack (10 March 1985). "More Than A Hint Emmylou Harris Comes Out In 'Ballad Of Sally Rose'". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 30 October 2025.
3. Jerome, Jim (14 January 1991). "Emmylou Harris". People . Retrieved 30 October 2025.

External links

• Paul Kennerley at AllMusic
• Paul Kennerley discography at Discogs