Kenneth Cordray (July 21, 1954 – May 21, 2017) was an American guitarist and songwriter, who shared the stage with notable musicians and performers such as

John Mayall John Brumwell Mayall (29 November 1933 – 22 July 2024) was an English blues and Rock music, rock musician, songwriter and producer. In the 1960s, he formed John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among its members some of ...

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he develo ...

and

Billy Gibbons William Frederick Gibbons (born December 16, 1949) is an American rock musician, best known as the guitarist, primary vocalist, and only constant member of ZZ Top. He began his career in Moving Sidewalks, who recorded '' Flash'' (1969) and op ...

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...

. Cordray became the lead guitarist for The Children under the ATCO label and later on ODE records produced by Lou Adler. He co-wrote the song "

Francine :''This is a disambiguation page for the common name Francine.'' Francine is a female given name. The name is of French origin. The name Francine was most popular in France itself during the 1940s (Besnard & Desplanques, 2003), and was well used ...

", which peaked at 69 on the Billboard Hot 100, with Steve Perron for

's album '' Rio Grande Mud''. Cordray performed and wrote music with

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, ...

and played in Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Rider band at Pastorius' request. While playing with the C.C. Riders, Cordray backed up

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

on an episode of the ''Midnight Special'' and in concert. He moved to New Orleans to play with the former C.C. Riders and Edgar Winter's White Trash band members before forming his own group, Cordray. Members included Clay Hemphill, David Lee Watson, Allyn Robinson and Mark Campbell. Cordray's first national break came on January 6, 1986, in ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

''. In 1991, Cordray formed The Civilians and recorded a CD entitled ''Miracles''. In late 1992, Cordray, Dave Foster and Todd Harrison formed a "Texas rockin' blues psychedelic power trio", calling themselves Kenny Cordray and Blue Science. In March 2012, he released ''It Takes Everything'' with his band called Love Street. The core rhythm section for the album consists of

Mark Andes Mark Andes (born February 19, 1948) is an American musician, known for his work as a bassist with Canned Heat, Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne, Firefall, Heart, and Mirabal. Early life Andes was born in Philadelphia, but grew up in Los Angeles, one o ...

on bass guitar, Tyson Sheth on drums, Paul English on keyboards and Cordray on guitars. When the album was released, the ''Houston Chronicle'' called Cordray "one of Houston’s greatest guitarists". In November 2014, Cordray released his final work, ''C-R-C'', as a part of the power trio C-R-C, Cordray-Robinson-Campbell, featuring Mark Campbell and Allyn Robinson. Cordray gave guitar lessons to children and adults for many years. He also ran Rock Camp Live, a summer music camp for aspiring 10-18 year-old musicians in the Houston/Galveston Bay Area.

Death and legacy

Cordray was killed by his son on May 21, 2017, in an apparent murder-suicide. He is mentioned in the book, ''Boys From Houston: The spirit and image of our music''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordray, Kenny 1954 births 2017 deaths American rock musicians Place of birth missing American rock songwriters American rock guitarists American murder victims American music educators 2017 murders in the United States Murder–suicides in Texas Patricides