Kelly Kenning "Pure Strait Country"

Real Country: cd available www.cdbaby.com Kelly Kenning was born with Country Music in his blood. The only child of a mom who once sang country music , and a dad who had just become the Vice President of the Whataburger of Alice, Inc. franchise. Mr. Kenning moved his young family to San Antonio. During their brief stay in San Antonio, Kelly performed at the Whataburger Convention at the Inn of the Mountain Gods in Rio Dosa, NM, at the ripe old age of eleven, as his proud papa looked on. He wowed the crowd with his unique version of the Kenny Rogers hit, "Lucille." This was more than enough to wet Kelly's appetite for entertaining, prompting him to take the next step and get his feet wet.

It didn't take Kelly long to learn to pick the guitar, and from there, all he needed was a band. At 13, Kelly and a few of his buddies formed his first band, Wildfire. Almost immediately, local radio snatched up "Love's Not A Game," a song that Kelly and Wildfire had recorded. At 14, he was a regular on KBIC radio. Wildfire's flame burnt out after about six years, when the band wanted to take a path away from the traditional country sound that Kelly desired. Kelly formed a new band called The Rocking Horse Riders, named after a song he had on radio at the time. Their sound was traditional, derived from similar sounds of Kelly's strongest influences, including the likes of Johnny Rodriguez, George Strait, Vern Gosden, Merle Haggard, Johnny Paycheck, and Freddy Fender.

Kelly covered a lot of ground between his days with The Rocking Horse Riders and his eventual move to Nashville, in 1996. He traveled the high- ways and byways of Texas, playing music and honing his craft. Intent on developing his vocal abilities, he would drive the torturous four-hour trip to Houston every week to take voice lessons from respected vocal coach, Debbie Beinhorn.

Kenning's fondness for the music of Johnny Rodrigez is very evident in his delivery and his bi-lingual skills. "Johnny was a huge influence on me as an artist,and having been from south Texas, I speak a little Spanish. It just made sense to record in Spanish too", says Kenning. He continued playing shows and charming fans while opening for such country music legends as Conway Twitty and Lorrie Morgan. He also played the Go Western Gala at the San Antonio Livestock Show, the George Strait Team Ropin' Classic-The Calcutta. Additionally, he has opened for Tracy Lawrence, Rick Trevino and The Bellamy Brothers to name a few. Kelly recalls his most embarrassing moment on stage while performing at the Texas Rice Festival in Winney, TX. "I was performing in front of 10,000 people. I got this huge adrenaline rush, and decided to be cool. I went to bust my guitar on the stage, unfortunately, it decided to bounce back, and bust my mouth...taking a front tooth with it! Needless to say, my guitar busting days are over!"

In '96, not too long after a performance with Tracy Lawrence, Kelly received a phone call at home from Tracy. He told Kelly that he and Earl Clark, along with other band members, had been listening to his CD, and began suggesting that Kelly take a chance and move to Nashville. It didn't take long, after receiving that phone call, for Kelly to decide that it was time to move, and pursue a career in Nashville.

Early on, Kenning recognized the importance of a song. He knew the secret to his success in the music business was going to be a hit song. He has paired with hit makers David Chamberlain (Am I Blue-George Strait, Without You What Do I Do With Me-Tanya Tucker ), Royce Porter (Miami My Amy-Keith Whitley, Ocean Front Property-George Strait) and Gerald Smith, (Every Second-Colin Raye, What Part Of No-Lorrie Morgan) and others to co-write all most all of the cuts on his newest project.

He continues to play his music in and around Nashville, at such haunts as Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, Rippy's, and Erv Woolsey's club, The Trap. Today, Kelly Kenning is reaching confidently for his place in the future of Country Music, and with his voice and determination, his future will land him securely in the Country Music History books.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• country music

[scd574]

DAMN GOOD SONG AND USES A LOT OF GEORGES SONG TITLES AND MAKES IT ALL TIE TOGETHER! GEORGE SHOULD HEAR THIS THIS IS A GOOD COUNTRY SONG,SINGER,AND THIS IS WHAT COUNTRY SHOULD SOUND LIKE!!!!

[australianfan]

@scd574 Clever lyrics for sure... Aussie 

[lindalovesal]

Thank you for sending australianfan another great singer.Wow I am enjoying all your sending.

[australianfan]

@lindalovesal My aim is to please lol ! happy you like the music cheers Aussie ☺

[latokatn506]

Ain't aussie great she is the best DJ on any thing that can play country music just like this great song and singer Kelly Kenning

[usarmy382]

I hope Nashville appreciates him.He is great!!

[landrykkb]

First time I heard it and I had to save it to one of my playlists.I love it.It's nice to discover music you didn't necessarily look for and that's the beauty of YouTube.

[justmusicandme]

Sounds like he came by his great country sound honestly. It's good to know that real country music is alive and well 'Down Under.' Thank you!

[Sugarfoot3]

Hey Aussie another great new one for me...I will have to work longer to keep up with these great singers..Kelly has a great strong voice and carries this song to a T..5*

Look forward to getting Kelly's album from CDbaby,..

[britchick292002]

what a great voice.

[farmladyful]

another new voice to me, seems an never ending barrel you have australianfan. Alovely old type of country nusic, sung bya great voice. Yes i love it.