Kenneth Lovelace (born August 18, 1936) is an American guitarist and singer best known for his former tenure with

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

Life

Lovelace was born in Cloverdale, Alabama. He grew up in a small village 12 miles from

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

, where his family worked on a farm. Lovelace hooked up with a band called the Go-Go-Boys, who later changed their name to The Five Jets. He was with them for twelve years. While playing in

Monroe, Louisiana Monroe (historically french: Poste-du-Ouachita) is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and parish seat of Ouachita Parish. With a 2020 census-tabulated population of 47,702, it is the principal city of the Monroe metropol ...

, he met

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

legend Jerry Lee Lewis, through Jerry's sister

Linda Gail Lewis Linda Gail Lewis (born July 18, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. She has recorded with Stephen Ackles, Van Morrison, and with her brother, Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an ...

. Lewis wanted to hire the whole band, but the others had families to look after, so Jerry hired Kenny. He has been guitarist and band leader of the Memphis Beats for more than 40 years. Kenny lives in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

with his wife. Lovelace has also recorded with artists such as

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American Country music, country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later s ...

and

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998) Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, beginning in 19 ...

.Ken Burke. "The Continuing Saga of Dr. Iguana – the Kenneth Lovelace Interview." ''Rock N Roll Freaks'' (September 15, 2015). http://www.rocknrollfreaks.com/jerry-lee-lewis-week/the-continuing-saga-of-dr-iguana-the-kenneth-lovelace-interview/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovelace, Kenny American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers 1936 births Living people Musicians from Montgomery, Alabama Guitarists from Alabama Rockabilly guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians