Jerry Kennedy
| Jerry Kennedy | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jerry Glenn Kennedy |
| Born | August 10, 1940 |
| Origin | Shreveport, Louisiana, United States |
| Genres |
Country music Rock and Roll |
| Occupation(s) | Producer-Songwriter, Rhythm guitarist |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar, Dobro |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Labels | Mercury |
Jerry Glenn Kennedy (born 10 August 1940) is an American record producer, songwriter and guitar player.
Kennedy was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. As a child, he recalls "beating on broomsticks and other things" as his initial forays into music-making. His first guitar was a Silvertone, which his parents bought for him when he was "eight or nine." He began taking guitar lessons from local guitar legend Tillman Franks. Kennedy attended various shows around the Shreveport area as a boy, including the legendary Louisiana Hayride. One show he particularly remembers attending is Hank Williams' last show at the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium saying, "I was a kid sittin' on the front row."
In 1954, Elvis Presley performed on Louisiana Hayride, and Kennedy was in attendance with a friend. He recalls their frustration with the young girls who screamed incessantly, preventing his friend and him from hearing Scotty Moore, Elvis' guitar player, clearly during the performance. "[W]e got mad at all of the girls screamin', because we couldn't hear Scotty when Elvis was doin' his shakin'. It upset us that we couldn't hear the guitar."
Kennedy signed a recording contract with RCA Records at age 11. He subsequently recorded several singles, several of which included Chet Atkins. Thereafter Kennedy became something of a teen idol at his high school. Though he never became a star as a vocalist, he sang background vocals for several Mercury Records artists as a teenager. After working recording sessions around Shreveport for several years, he was convinced to move to Nashville by Irving Green, president of Mercury Records. Kennedy arrived in Nashville just as the country music boom of the 1960s was getting underway. Soon after his arrival, he was asked to not only work as a talent scout for Mercury's country subsidiary, Smash Records, but to begin producing sessions and playing in recording sessions as well.
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