Kenny Rankin’s remarkable record career spans over three decades. He is a brilliant songwriter, a unique guitarist, and above all, a great singer with an uncanny ability of getting to the heart of a song’s emotions. His smooth, pristine voice has made him a singer’s favorite, but his songwriting skills have been widely acknowledged by his peers. Peggy Lee sang a memorable rendition of “In the Name of Love”, while Mel Torme and Carmen McRae covered “Haven’t We Met,” his jazz and pop composition. Many artists have covered other Rankin compositions. He grew up in New York’s multicultural Washington Heights neighborhood and was exposed to a wide range of musical influences. He traces his rise to fame as a performer back to a childhood epiphany. He recalls that he sang “O Holy Night” in a Christmas play in fourth grade. “Miss Isabel Pringle, my teacher, came over and patted me on top and said, “Kenneth, that’s lovely.” “She set me on the music path that I am on today. The budding artist signed with Decca Records as a teenager and released a few singles. He signed with Columbia Records a few years later and was soon playing the guitar on Bob Dylan’s 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. He performed on The Tonight Show shortly thereafter, where Johnny Carson was such a huge fan, Kenny was eventually invited to appear more than 20 times. Carson also wrote liner notes for Rankin’s 1967 debut LP Mind Dusters. This LP featured his hit song “Peaceful”. The album’s mixture of original songs and other material would continue to produce rewarding results on subsequent releases like Family, Like a Seed and Inside. Silver Morning, Rankin’s 1975 album, featured a popular reworking by The Beatles of “Blackbird”. Paul McCartney was so impressed that Rankin was asked to represent him and John Lennon at the Songwriters Hall Of Fame induction ceremony. 1976’s acclaimed The Kenny Rankin album was recorded in the studio. It featured Rankin with a 60-piece orchestra arranged by Don Costa and conducted by him. This resulted in what many consider the first “torch” record. Rankin and Costa continued to collaborate on 1980’s After the Roses. Rankin remained primarily focused on live performances throughout the 1980s. He emphasized jazz and pop standards with jazz accompaniments. In 1995, Rankin ended a long hiatus from recording with two albums: Professional Dreamer (a collection of standards) and Here In My Heart (brazilian-flavored), both for the Private Music label. However one may attempt to pigeonhole Kenny Rankin-as jazz vocalist, pop artist or introspective singer/songwriter-the openhearted emotional forthrightness of his singing renders such classifications irrelevant. He says, “My interpretation of the lyrics is pure emotion.” “We have all been through heartbreak and disappointment, so that’s what I draw from. “A Song for You” and “Where Do You Start?” are two of my favorite songs. I feel so sorry for the people singing ‘A Song for You’ and ‘Where Do You Start?’ Because I don’t change lyrics, it’s almost always because I feel the song impacts me. Although I have been accused of not sticking to the melody, I feel and sing. When I first started, I felt very young and like the center of the universe. Over the years, I have come to realize that it isn’t about me. It’s about the work and having the chance to do great work. It’s inevitable to have ups and bottoms if you do any work for any length of the time. It’s okay to make mistakes. But you can learn from them. He concludes, “I feel privileged that my craft has been allowed to continue and I have been encouraged by all of the positive feedback I have received over the years.” You can’t get a better reward than hearing someone say that a song has changed their life or inspired them to see things differently. Miss Pringle would be proud. from http://www.kennyrankin.com
