Kenny Rankin
| Kenny Rankin | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 10, 1940 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Died | June 7, 2009 (aged 69) Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | Jazz, rock, folk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Labels | Mercury, Little David, Atlantic, Cypress, Private Music, Verve |
Kenny Rankin (February 10, 1940 - June 7, 2009) was an American pop and jazz singer and songwriter from the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City.
Rankin was born in Los Angeles and raised in New York, and was introduced to music by his mother, who sang at home and for friends. Early in his career he worked as a singer-songwriter, and developed a considerable following during the 70s with a steady flow of albums, three of which broke into the Top 100 of the Billboard Album Chart. His liking for jazz was evident from an early age, but the times were such that in order to survive his career had to take a more pop-oriented course. By the 90s, however, he was able to angle his repertoire to accommodate his own musical preferences and to please a new audience while still keeping faith with the faithful. Rankin's warm singing style and his soft, nylon-stringed guitar sound might suggest an artist more attuned to the supper-club circuit than the jazz arena, but his work contains many touches that appeal to the jazz audience.
Rankin appeared on The Tonight Show more than twenty times. Host Johnny Carson was so impressed by him that he wrote the liner notes to Rankin's 1967 debut album Mind Dusters, which featured the single "Peaceful." Rankin would record the song again for 1972's Like A Seed, while Helen Reddy would reach #2 Adult Contemporary and #12 Pop in 1973 with a cover of the song, released as her follow-up single to "I Am Woman". Georgie Fame also had a hit with this song in 1969, Rankin's only songwriting credit to hit the British charts, reaching number sixteen and spending nine weeks on the chart.
Rankin's accompanists from time to time included Alan Broadbent, Mike Wofford and Bill Watrous, and on such occasions the mood slips easily into a jazz groove. His compositions have been performed by artists such as Mel Tormé and Carmen McRae, while Stan Getz said of him that he was "a horn with a heartbeat". Rankin was deeply interested in Brazilian music and his Here In My Heart, on which he used jazz guests including Michael Brecker and Ernie Watts, was recorded mostly in Rio de Janeiro. More contemporary songs were given an airing following his move to Verve Records, including the Beatles' "I've Just Seen a Face" and Leon Russell's "A Song for You."
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