Paul Kennerley

Paul Kennerley
Born	Hoylake, Cheshire, England
Genres	Country music
Occupation(s)	Vocalist Songwriter Guitarist
Instrument	Guitar
Years active	1972–present
Labels	A&M Spinout

Paul Kennerley (born 1948) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer working in the American contemporary country music industry.

Biography

Kennerley was born in Hoylake, Cheshire, England in 1948. In 1976, he was living in London and working in advertising when he first heard country music — particularly, the song "Let's All Help the Cowboys Sing the Blues" by Waylon Jennings. "It really excited me," Kennerley recalls in his artist biography for Universal Music Group. "I immediately hunted down every Waylon record I could find."

Kennerley quit his job in advertising and allowed himself three months to develop his talents as a songwriter.

Recordings

In 1972, Kennerley recorded an album with a rock band called 'Holy Roller' at Virgin Records' newly opened Manor studio, with Tom Newman (Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells etc.) and Philip Newell, and Newman subsequently sang all the songs on the demonstration tapes of the White Mansions album.

Kennerley's first project was White Mansions, a 1978 concept album set in the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. The project was picked up by A&M Records, with Glyn Johns producing. A number of notable artists recorded the music, including Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, Steve Cash of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Eric Clapton.

In 1980, a second concept album was released, The Legend of Jesse James, which featured more notable artists, including Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Charlie Daniels, Albert Lee and Levon Helm.

Misery with a Beat, his 1995 EP, featured Richard Bennett and Billy Bremner on guitar, Michael Rhodes on bass, and Chad Cromwell on drums with songs including "Love Match"; - "Heart Full of Rain"; - "Tryin' to Get Over You" (co-written with J Ford & Bobby Womack); - "She was Mine" - and - "The Heartbreak Kind" (co-written with Marty Stuart)

Songwriting

Neither White Mansions nor Jesse James were commercially successful, but they did establish Kennerley as a serious songwriter. Among his early compositions was "Born to Run", which Emmylou Harris recorded in 1981 for her album, Cimarron, and she continues to frequently perform the song in her concerts.

Kennerly continued to live in London while he wrote songs, but in 1983 moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he started working with Harris on her semi-autobiographical concept album, The Ballad of Sally Rose, co-writing and producing the album. Kennerley also collaborated with Harris on her albums Thirteen and Bluebird, and writing the songs "In My Dreams" and "Heartbreak Hill".

Kennerley also wrote songs for The Judds ("Young Love", "One Man Woman", "Let Me Tell You About Love", "Cry Myself to Sleep", "Have Mercy" and "Give a Little Love"), Marty Stuart ("Hillbilly Rock", "Western Girls", "Tempted", "Till I Found You", "Little Things"), Tanya Tucker ("Walking Shoes"), Sweethearts of the Rodeo ("Chains of Gold"), Patty Loveless ("Blue Memories"), Juice Newton ("Tell Me True"), The Everly Brothers ("The First In Line") as well as Carla Olson & John York (First In Line).

Personal life

Kennerley was married to Emmylou Harris from 1985 to 1993.

Awards

Kennerley was named Broadcast Music Incorporated Writer of the Year in 1989.

Songs used in television shows

TV Programme	Song
Northern Exposure	"Poor Boy Blues"
The Sopranos	"Heaven Only Knows"
Nashville	"Ball and Chain"
Nashville	"You're the Kind of Trouble"
Animal Kingdom	"That's the Truth"
Ken Burns : Country Music	"Born to Run"

Songs used in films

Film	Song
Baja, Oklahoma	"In My Dreams"
Thelma and Louise	"I Don't Want to Love You (But I Do)"
The Lost Boys	"Crazy Old Soldier"
A Star is Born	"Diggin My Grave"
Wild Rose	"Born to Run"

Top 20 songs on the Billboard Country Charts written by Kennerley

Song	Recorded by	Year	Achieved	Co Written
Have Mercy	The Judds	1985	No 1
Cry Myself to Sleep	The Judds	1986	No 1
Young Love (Strong Love)	The Judds	1989	No 1	*
Let Me Tell You About Love	The Judds	1989	No 1	*
Give a Little Love	The Judds	1988	No 2
Born to Run	Emmylou Harris	1982	No 3
Walking Shoes	Tanya Tucker	1990	No 3
In My Dreams	Emmylou Harris	1984	No 4
The Blue Side of Town	Patty Loveless	1989	No 4	*
Chains of Gold	The Sweethearts of the Rodeo	1987	No 5
Tempted	Marty Stuart	1991	No 5	*
One Hundred and Two	The Judds	1991	No 6	*
Tell Me True	Juice Newton	1988	No 8	*
Hillbilly Rock	Marty Stuart	1990	No 8
Heartbreak Hill	Emmylou Harris	1989	No 8	*
Little Things	Marty Stuart	1991	No 8	*
One Man Woman	The Judds	1990	No 8
Till I Found You	Marty Stuart	1991	No 12	*
White Line	Emmylou Harris	1985	No 13	*
Heaven Only Knows	Emmylou Harris	1989	No 14
Western Girls	Marty Stuart	1990	No 20	*
Heart Trouble	Martina McBride	1993	No 21

NOTE ( 18 of the above songs received BMI Awards, 15 of which were 1 million plays, 4 were 2 million plays and 1 was a 3 million play award )

Discography

Recordings

• 1978: White Mansions (A&M) all songs written by Kennerly and performed by other artists
• 1979: The Legend of Jesse James (A&M) all songs written by Kennerly and performed by other artists
• 1998: Misery With A Beat EP (Spinout)

As producer

• 1985: Emmylou Harris - The Ballad of Sally Rose (Warner Bros.)
• 1986: Emmylou Harris - Thirteen (Warner Bros.)

As composer

Year	Song	Artist	Album	Co-written with
1980	Southern Boys	Matchbox	Midnight Dynamos
1981	Born to Run	Emmylou Harris	Cimarron
1982	Gonna Write a Letter	Waylon Jennings	Black on Black
1983	Feel so Right	Dave Edmunds	Information
1983	The Watch on my Wrist	Dave Edmunds	Information
1983	I'll be Faithful to You	The Kendalls	Movin Ttrain
1983	That's the Truth	Johnny Cash	Johnny 99
1983	Brand New Dance	Johnny Cash	Johnny 99
1983	Let it Roll	Charlie Daniels	A Decade of Hits
1983	Crazy Old Soldier	David Allan Coe	Hello in There	Troy Seals
1983	In my Dreams	Emmylou Harris	White Shoes
1984	The First in Line	The Everly Brothers	EB 84
1984	I'll be Faithful to You	Glen Campbell	Letter To Home
1984	Where Would I Be (Without You)	Waylon Jennings	Never Could Toe the Mark
1984	Rock and Roll Shoes	Ray Charles	Friendship	Graham Lyle
1984	Crazy Old Soldier	Ray Charles	Friendship	Troy Seals
1984	Nothing Can Hurt Me Now	Gail Davies	Where Is a Woman To Go	Bob McDill
1984	Take that Woman Away	John Anderson	Eye of a Hurricane
1984	I'll Be Faithful to You	Don Williams	Cafe Carolina
1985	I've Got Me a Woman	John Anderson	Tokyo, Oklahoma
1985	Have Mercy	The Judds	Rockin' with the Rhythm
1985	Cry Myself To Sleep	The Judds	Rockin' with the Rhythm
1985	Feels so Right	Brenda Lee	Feels so Right
1985	I'll be Faithful	Marie Osmond	There's no Stopping your Heart
1985		{ Waylon Jennings	{
1985	Welfare Line	{ Willie Nelson	{ Highway Man
1985		{ Johnny Cash	{
1985		{ Kris Kristofferson	{
1985	You Make it Feel so Right	Steve Wariner	Greatest Hits
1986	Chains of Gold	Sweethearts of the Rodeo	Sweethearts of the Rodeo
1986	Looking for Suzanne	Waylon Jennings	Sweet Mother of Texas
1986	I'll Be Faithful To You	Don Williams	Lovers And Best Friends
1986	Sweetheart of the Pines	Emmylou Harris	Thirteen	Emmylou Harris
1986	When I Was Yours	Emmylou Harris	Thirteen	Emmylou Harris
1986	I Had my Heart Set on You	Emmylou Harris	Thirteen	Rodney Crowell
1986	I've Got Me a Woman	Waylon Jennings	Will the Wolf Survive
1986	We Remember The King	Class of '55 *	Memphis Rock & Roll Homecoming
1987	When He Calls	Emmylou Harris	Angel Band
1987	Lying In Her Arms	John Anderson	Blue Skies Again	John Anderson
1987	Let It Shine On Me	Nanci Griffith	Lone Star State of Mind
1987	The Blue Side Of Town	Rosie Flores	Rosie Flores	Hank DeVito
1987	Woman Walk The Line	Highway 101	Highway 101	Emmylou Harris
1987	Tell me True	Juice Newton		Brent Maher
1988	The Blue Side Of Town	Patty Loveless	Honky Tonk Angel	Hank DeVito
1988	Give a Little Love	The Judds	Greatest Hits
1988	Heaven only Knows	Emmylou Harris	Bluebird
1988	Heartbreak Hill	Emmylou Harris	Bluebird	Emmylou Harris
1989	Away From You	Jason & the Scorchers	Thunder and Fire	Jason Ringenberg
1989	One Man Woman	The Judds	River of Time
1989	Young Love	The Judds	River of Time	Kent Robbins
1989	Let Me Tell You About Love	The Judds	River of Time	Carl Perkins and Brent Maher
1989	When I Get My Rewards	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band	Will the Circle be Unbroken-V2
1989	Mary Danced With Soldiers	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band	Will the Circle be Unbroken-V2
1989	The Tears that I Cry	John Anderson	Too Tough to Tame	John Anderson
1989	Hillbilly Rock	Marty Stuart	Hillbilly Rock
1989	Western Girls	Marty Stuart	Hillbilly Rock	Marty Stuart
1989	Easy to Love, Hard to Hold	Marty Stuart	Hillbilly Rock	Marty Stuart
1990	Poor Boy Blues	Chet Atkins & Mark Knopfler	Neck and Neck
1990	Sweet Dreams of You	Emmylou Harris	Brand New Dance	John David
1990	Brand New Dance	Emmylou Harris	Brand New Dance
1990	Walking Shoes	Tanya Tucker	Tennessee Woman
1990	I Don't want to Love You, (But I Do)	Kelly Willis	Well Travelled Love
1990	Looking for Someone Like You	Kelly Willis	Well Travelled Love	Kevin Welch
1990	Love can Build a Bridge	The Judds
1990	One Hundred and Two	The Judds		Wynonna Judd & Don Potter
1990	Blue Memories	Patty Loveless	On Down the Line	Karen Brooks
1990	I've Got to Stop Loving You (and Start Living Again)	Patty Loveless	On Down the Line
1990	I'll be Faithful to You	Marie Osmond	The Best of Marie Osmond
1991	Trail of Tear	Tanya Tucker	What Do I Do With Me
1991	Till I Found You	Marty Stuart	Tempted	Hank DeVito
1991	Tempted	Marty Stuart	Tempted	Marty Stuart
1991	Little Things	Marty Stuart	Tempted	Marty Stuart
1992	Woman Walk the Line	Trisha Yearwood	Hearts in Arm	Emmylou Harris
1992	Live With Jesus	Wynonna Judd	Wynonna
1992	Danger Ahead	Tanya Tucker	Can't Run from Yourself
1992	Down Home	Marty Stuart	This One's Gonna Hurt You	Marty Stuart
1992	Hey Baby	Marty Stuart	This One's Gonna Hurt You	Marty Stuart
1992	Letter of Love	Jason Ringenberg	One Foot in the Honky Tonk
1992	Feels so Right	Jason Ringenberg	One Foot in the Honky Tonk
1992	The Blue Side of Town	The Del McCoury Band	Blue side of Town	Hank DeVito
1993	World without You	Kelly Willis	Kelly Willis	Kelly Willis
1993	Sugar Babe	Billy Burnette	Coming Home	Billy Burnette
1993	Heart Trouble	Martina McBride	The Way that I Am
1994	One More Chance	Barry & Holly Tashian	Straw into Gold	Barry Tashian
1995	Love Match	Paul Kennerley	Misery With a Beat
1995	Heart Full of Rain	Paul Kennerley	Misery With a Beat
1995	Tryin' to Get Over You	Paul Kennerley	Misery With a Beat	J Ford & Bobby Womak
1995	She was Mine	Paul Kennerley	Misery With a Beat
1995	The Heartbreak Kind	Paul Kennerley	Misery With a Beat	Marty Stuart
1996	Draggin' My Heart Around	Travis Tritt	The Restless Kind	Marty Stuart
1996	Double Trouble	Travis Tritt	The Restless Kind	Marty Stuart & Travis Tritt
1996	Country Girls	Marty Stuart	Honky Tonkin's What I do Best	Marty Stuart
1996	Rocket Ship	Marty Stuart	Honky Tonkin's What I do Best	Marty Stuart
1998	Heartbreak Kind	Linda Ronstadt	We Ran	Marty Stuart
1998	Born to Run	Emmylou Harris	Spyboy
1999	He Was Mine	Linda Ronstadt & Emmilou Harris	Western Wall:The Tucson Sessions
1999	Love Match	Buddy Miller	Cruel Moon
2000	When I Get My Rewards	The Waco Brothers	Electric Waco Chair
2001	Rodeo or Mexico	Garth Brooks	Scarecrow	Bryan Kennedy & Garth Brooks
2002	I'll be Faithful to You	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band	Will the Circle be Unbroken
2003	Draggin' My Heart Around	Patty Loveless	On Your Way Home	Marty Stuart
2003	Heartbreak Hill	Albert Lee	Heartbreak Hill	Emmylou Harris
2003	Heaven Only Knows	Albert Lee	Heartbreak Hill
2003	Born To Run	Albert Lee	Heartbreak Hill
2003	In My Dreams	Albert Lee	Heartbreak Hill
2003	Jupiter Rising	Emmylou Harris	Stumble into Gracee
2003	Heart Trouble	Wanda Jackson	Heart Trouble
2003	It Happens Every Time	Wanda Jackson	Heart Trouble	Joe Brown
2003	Lonely For You	Wanda Jackson	Heart Trouble	Marty Stuart
2003	If You Want Me Around	Marty Stuart	Country Music	Marty Stuart
2005	When I Get Just My Rewards	Rick Danko	Cryin' Heart Blues
2005	Young Love	Wynonna Judd	Her Story	Kent Robbins
2005	Let Me Tell You About Love	Wynonna Judd	Her Story	Carl Perkins and Brent Maher
2006	Honey, Where's the Money Gone?	Kenny Rogers	Water and Bridges	Barry Tashian
2006	Honey, Where's the Money Gone?	Solomon Burke	Nashville	Barry Tashian
2006	You're the Kind of Trouble	Solomon Burke	Nashville	Shannon & Adam Wright
2008	Got Me A Woman	Levon Helm	Dirt Farmer
2008	A Train Robber	Levon Helm	Dirt Farmer
2008	The Wishing Well	Joe Brown	More of the Truth	Shawn Camp
2008	No Cadillac	Joe Brown	More of the Truth
2009	Diamond in my Crown	Patty Loveless	Maintain Soul II	Emmylou Harris
2009	Live With Jesus	The Oak Ridge Boys	A Gospel Journey
2010	Fallin' for You	Dierks Bentley	Up on the Ridge	Shawn Camp
2010	You're the King of Trouble	The Holmes Brothers	Feed my Soul	Shannon & Adam Wright
2011	A Train Robber	Levon Helm	Ramble at the Ryman
2014	When I Get My Rewards	Harry Dean Stanton	Partly Fiction
2014	Rock And Roll Shoes	Johnny Cash	Out Among The Stars	Graham Lyle
2014	Lonely For You	Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis	Our Year	Kelly Willis
2014	Rock and Roll Shoes	Johnny Cash	Out Among the Stars	Graham Lyle
2016	Born to Run	Lee Ann Womak	The Life & Songs of Emmylou Harris
2018	Diggin My Grave	Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper	A Star is Born
2019	Born to Run	Jessie Buckley	Wild Rose
2021	Born to Run	Emmylou Harris & The Nash Ramblers	Ramble in Music City

* Class of 55 (Carl Perkins; Jerry Lee Lewis; Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash)

External links

• Paul Kennerley at AllMusic
• Paul Kennerley discography at Discogs