Kenny Malone 1938 - 2021

Kenny Malone
1938 - 2021

Prolific and beloved Nashville drummer Kenny Malone died of Covid in August.

Over a career in Music City spanning fifty years and multiple genres, Kenny's artistry has graced records by Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard, Carl Perkins, John Prine, Dolly Parton, Ray Charles, Ronnie Milsap, Amy Grant -- the list goes on and on.

Dave Pomeroy, president of the Nashville Musicians Union and a bass-player on many sessions with Kenny, says, "He expanded the vocabulary of Nashville drumming and was always an innovator who invented his own unique style of hand drumming, often combining sticks and brushes with hand percussion to create a unique sound and feel that left lots of space for other instruments and the vocals. He was well known for asking for a lyric sheet instead of a chord chart and always put the song first in a way that was very special”.

In 1995 my husband Bobby King produced this recording of my song "I Wish I Was a Train" (co-written with Sally Barris), and Kenny brought to life this acoustic half-time groove just like we knew he would.

Thank you, Kenny -- may your love for music outlive us all...