Kenny Rankin
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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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, New York.
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Biography
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." Helen Reddy would reach #12 in 1973 with a cover of it. Georgie Fame also had a hit with this song in 1969.
When Paul McCartney and John Lennon were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, McCartney asked Rankin to represent them at the ceremony based on the strength of his 1975 versions of McCartney's songs Blackbird and Penny Lane.
Rankin was 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.
His accompanists might include 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". Stephen Bishop had a major hit in 1977 with his song "On and On", which was a #11 hit in the U.S. Rankin is 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 magnificent "A Song For You".
Rankin's own unique gift for reworking classic songs such as The Beatles' "Blackbird," which he recorded for his Silver Morning album, so impressed Paul McCartney that he asked Rankin to perform his interpretation of the song when McCartney and John Lennon were inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame
Rankin passed away from lung cancer on June 7, 2009.
Discography
Studio albums
- Mind-Dusters (1967)
- Family (1970)
- Like a Seed (1972)
- Inside (1975)
- Silver Morning (1975)
- The Kenny Rankin Album (1976)
- After the Roses (1980)
- Hiding in Myself (1988)
- Because of You (1991)
- Professional Dreamer (1994)
- Here in My Heart (1997)
- A Christmas Album (1999)
- A Song for You (2002)
Compilations
- Peaceful: The Best of Kenny Rankin (1996)
