Kendell Marvel is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer and songwriter. He released his debut solo album, ''Lowdown & Lonesome'' in October 2017.

Early life

Kendell Marvel was born and raised in

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...

. He quickly discovered his talent as a musician when his father would take him to play Honky Tonks starting at 10 years old. He grew up between

Galatia Galatia (; , ''Galatía'') was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (cf. Tylis), who settled here ...

and

Thompsonville, Illinois Thompsonville is a village in Cave Township, Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 486 at the 2020 census. History There was an early settlement started in the general vicinity called "Jordan's Settlement". It was found ...

, and spent much of his youth traveling around the area playing shows. Marvel decided to relocate to

Cheatham County, Tennessee Cheatham County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,072. Its county seat is Ashland City. Cheatham County is located in Middle Tennessee, and is part of the Nashville-Davidson� ...

in 1998, to pursue his career as a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee.

Career

On his first day in Nashville, Kendell wrote the song " Right Where I Need to Be" which was cut by

Gary Allan Gary Allan Herzberg (born December 5, 1967) is an American country music singer. Signed to Decca Records in 1996, he made his country music debut with the release of his single "Her Man (song), Her Man", the lead-off to his gold album, gold-cer ...

and peaked at number 5 on

Billboard's ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to the ...

country music chart. This initial success really boosted Kendell's career as a writer and allowed him to work with a wide array of acts including,

Jake Owen Joshua Ryan Owen (born August 28, 1981), known professionally as Jake Owen, is an American country music singer. Signed to RCA Nashville in 2006, he released his debut studio album, '' Startin' with Me'', that year. This album produced three ...

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...

and many more. As his career progressed he returned to his roots, feeling that a traditional sound was a more natural fit for his writing and own music style. In 2008 he wrote the title track for Jamey Johnson's Grammy nominated album,

That Lonesome Song ''That Lonesome Song'' is the second studio album by American country music singer Jamey Johnson. Initially released to digital retailers in 2007 without the promotion of a record label, the album was physically released on August 5, 2008 (see 2 ...

, which yielded the same name as the song. Kendell has also written over 60 songs with country star,

Chris Stapleton Christopher Alvin Stapleton (born April 15, 1978) is an American country singer-songwriter and guitarist. Born in Kentucky, Stapleton moved to Nashville in 1996 to study for an engineering degree from Vanderbilt University, but dropped out to pur ...

including his grammy winning track, " Either Way". In 2017 Marvel started a residency at Nashville's

Exit/In Exit/In is a music venue in Nashville, Tennessee. Exit/In is located on Elliston Place near Centennial Park (Nashville), Centennial Park and Vanderbilt University, west of downtown. It opened in 1971 under the management of Owsley Manier and Br ...

, performing monthly shows tagged as "Kendell Marvel's Honky Tonk Experience" playing original songs, and classic country hits, with a different set of special guests each month. Some of the guests that have joined him on this stage include,

Cody Jinks Meredith Cody Jinks (born August 18, 1980) is an American outlaw country music singer and songwriter. His breakout 2016 album, '' I'm Not the Devil'', reached No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Country Albums chart, while a number of other albums such a ...

Brothers Osborne Brothers Osborne is an American country music duo from Deale, Maryland. The duo consists of brothers TJ Osborne (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and John Osborne (lead guitar, background vocals). They signed a recording contract with EMI Records ...

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer, fiddler and music producer. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at ...

Jamey Johnson Jamey Johnson (born July 14, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to BNA Records in 2005, Johnson made his debut with his single "The Dollar (song), The Dollar", the title track to his 2006 album ''The Dollar (album ...

Chris Shiflett Christopher Aubrey Shiflett ( ; born May 6, 1971) is an American musician. He is the lead guitarist for the rock band Foo Fighters, which he joined in 1999 following the release of the band's third album '' There Is Nothing Left to Lose'' (1999 ...

of the

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

Randy Houser Shawn Randolph Houser (born December 18, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Houser has racked up over half a dozen hits and over 1 billion streams. His How Country Feels album topped the country radio charts with the title ...

Ashley McBryde Ashley Dyan McBryde (born July 29, 1983) is an American country music singer–songwriter. She grew up in Arkansas and she was drawn to various types of music from a young age. She also developed a passion for writing songs and later moved to Nash ...

and many more. In 2017, Marvel released his first solo album ''Lowdown and Lonesome'', a 10-track concept album that tells stories of heartbreak and vice, produced by

Keith Gattis Quenton Keith Gattis (May 26, 1970 – April 23, 2023) was an American country music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He released two studio albums and charted one single, "Little Drops of My Heart", on the ''Billboard'' Hot C ...

, featuring songs co-written by acts such as

and

. Marvel's second studio album, ''Solid Gold Sounds'', co-produced by

Dan Auerbach Daniel Quine Auerbach (; born May 14, 1979) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known as the guitarist and vocalist of The Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. As a member of the group, Auerbach has ...

and

David R. Ferguson David R. "Fergie" Ferguson (born July 2, 1962, in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee) is an American recording engineer. Career Ferguson's career began in 1980 when "Cowboy" Jack Clement hired him as a runner at Clement's Cowboy Arms Hot ...

, came out on October 11 of 2019.

Discography

Studio albums * ''Lowdown and Lonesome'' (Big Daddy, 2017) * ''Solid Gold Sounds'' (Easy Eye Sound, 2019) * ''Come On Sunshine'' (self released, 2022)

Songwriting credits

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marvel, Kendell American country singer-songwriters American country rock singers Musicians from Illinois Country musicians from Illinois Country musicians from Tennessee Singers from Nashville, Tennessee Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Illinois