“Kenny Cordray is one of the greatest blues and rock players alive.”
The Great Jaco Pastorious
Kenny Cordray is a Texas guitar force that cannot be stopped. A legendary guitar prodigy who has shared the stage with some of the world's most prominent artists including John Mayall, John Lee Hooker, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top and Jerry Lee Lewis , are just to name a few. However, it's his 40-year career span in music that requires one to sit up and take notice.
Starting out in Houston in the late sixties, a very young Kenny quickly joined the band The Children as lead guitarist. The band quickly gained a reputation in the Houston music scene and later got signed on to ATCO Records (a subsidiary record label of Atlantic Records ) and then onto to ODE Records, where they were produced by Lou Adler . Adler was a prominent pop music entrepreneur from the late 50's up until the mid-70's, working along with high ranking acts such as The Beach Boys, Carole King and The Mamas and Papas.
A few albums were produced with The Children however, Kenny quickly grew wary of the “band thing”, and stared pursuing a solo career as a guitarist. It didn't take long for the music industry to take notice of his remarkable guitar talent, where he started making guest appearances with a slew of famous recording artists. His collaborations eventually lead to the most ground-breaking point in his career where he co-wrote one of ZZ Top's all time top five songs called “Francine” . A rip-roaring opener on their very popular album Rio Grande Mud , that was originally released in 1972, and re-released in 1990 where “Francine” became ZZ Top's first chart topping hit.
What followed was a whirlwind of serious collaborations. The great Jazz instrumentalist and composer Jaco Pastorious quickly snapped up Kenny for The Wayne Cochran and C.C. Rider's Band . Thus, Kenny became a permanent member of the band and then moved on to his next remarkable collaboration with one of the grandfathers of rock and roll, Jerry Lee Lewis. Kenny was featured in Lewis' band in an episode of The Midnight Special and In Concert .
During that time Kenny found the time to work with producer extraordinaire David Foster in the soft rock band Skylark . Skylark was one of the early-recorded works of Foster , who eventually went on to write and produce Grammy-winning artists as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion. With Skylark, another hit single was born “Wildflower” ; a sweet number released in 1972 with haunting lyrics and beautiful guitar melodies
However, it was time for Kenny to pack his bags and move to New Orleans , where he rejoined forces with former members of The Wayne Cochran and C.C. Rider's Band . Unfortunately, tragedy followed where all of Kenny's guitars and equipment were stolen and the band soon went their separate ways.
Kenny returned home to Houston in the late seventies, taking a much-needed hiatus from national touring and focusing on the thriving local music scene at that time. He collaborated and performed with a number of popular bands including Durango 95 and Herschell Berry and The Natives, rejuvenating Kenny's creative juices and shifting his focus back on his solo career. He even found time to establish a family.
It didn't take very long until Kenny returned back to the music scene with full force, upon a chance meeting with two incredible musicians that would create an indelible mark in his life. Dave Foster and Todd Harrison were both “A” list session musicians and veterans of the Montreaux Jazz Festival in addition to being featured rhythm musicians for the band Cold Sweat. Kenny joined the band picking up right where he left off, and soon thereafter formed a new group in 1991 called Civilians and opened for one of the ultimate rock bands of all time, Cheap Trick .
A few years followed where Kenny, Todd and Dave continued to hone their craft and their band Kenny Cordray and Blue Science, releasing a couple of albums. However, their most recent project entitled Love Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine that marks as Kenny's most accomplished piece of work. Recorded at his home studio in early 2004 and mixed at the legendary SugarHill Recording Studios , with Engineer Andy Bradley, the album pays homage to Cordray's blues guitar roots and features a variety of guest performances by local Houston artists. Those include Tommie Lee Bradley (Vocals). Kelly Dean (Saxophone), Ian Varley (of funk/jazz band Drop Trio on Keyboards), Ralz Mathius (Vocals),Louis Cabaza{piano} and Todd Harrison (Drums).
Released in March 2005, Love Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine is a total departure from all of his previous albums, proving Kenny Cordray as one of the greatest blues and rock players alive.