Kenny Neal (born October 14, 1957), is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

player,

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, and band member. Neal was born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, the son of Raful Neal, and he comes from a musical family. He has often performed with his brothers in his band.

Career

Neal preserves the blues sound of his native south Louisiana, as befits someone who learned from

Slim Harpo Slim Harpo (born Isiah Moore or James Isaac Moore; February 11, 1924 – January 31, 1970)Martin Hawkins, "Slim Harpo at 100", ''Blues & Rhythm'', No.384, June 2024, p.23 was an American blues musician, a leading exponent of the swamp blues styl ...

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaug ...

, and his father, harmonica player Raful Neal. In 1987, Neal cut his debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

for the

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

Bob Greenlee — an updated swamp feast initially marketed on King Snake Records as ''Bio on the Bayou''.

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the '' Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using ...

picked it up the following year, retitling it ''Big News from Baton Rouge!!'' In 1991, he proved to be a talented actor in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

production of the

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

'' Mule Bone'' (by

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...

and

Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American writer, anthropologist, folklorist, and documentary filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-20th-century American South and published research on Hoodoo ...

), singing numbers written by

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

. Neal has played with blues stars including

Lucky Peterson Judge Kenneth "Lucky" Peterson (December 13, 1964 – May 17, 2020) was an American musician who played contemporary Blues music, blues, fusing soul music, soul, Rhythm and blues, R&B, gospel music, gospel and rock and roll. He was a vocalist, g ...

and

Lazy Lester Leslie Johnson (June 20, 1933 – August 22, 2018), known as Lazy Lester, was an American blues musician who sang and played the harmonica and guitar. In a career spanning the 1950s to 2018, he pioneered swamp blues, and also played harmonic ...

, and was at one time a member of The

Downchild Blues Band The Downchild Blues Band is a Canadian blues band, described by one reviewer as "the premier blues band in Canada". The Blues Brothers band was heavily influenced by the Downchild Blues Band. History Early history: 1969-1982 The Downchild Blue ...

, during a period of relocation to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada. In September 2006, Neal announced he was taking a year's break from

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

and performing, due to an undisclosed illness. He returned to the public eye at the Monterey Blues Festival in June 2007. He has children named Kenny, Syreeta, and Micah. In 2010, he was touring with the

Efes Pilsen Anadolu Efes Biracılık ve Malt Sanayii A.Ş.'' (lit. Anadolu Efes Brewery and Malt Industries)'' produces and markets beer and malt and non-alcoholic beverages in Turkey, the United States, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), E ...

Blues Festival. In 2016, Neal's album ''Bloodline'' received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Neal recorded ''Bloodline'' in Nashville, Los Angeles and Baton Rouge. He co-produced it with Buddy Guy’s Grammy-winning producer,

Tom Hambridge Thomas Jay Hambridge (born December 20, 1960) is an American rock, country, and blues, producer, songwriter, musician drummer and vocalist. Hambridge has received two Grammy Awards, an ASCAP award, seven Grammy nominations, seven Boston Music A ...

Awards

Honors * 2011 - Inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame * 2005 - Official Statement to Kenny Neal, by the Governor of Louisiana * 1993 - Washington, D.C., USIA Certificate of Appreciation for representing the U.S. with Kenny Neal's Blues Band for tour in Africa Winner * 2019 -

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

for Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year * 2011 - Jus' Blues Music Foundation Contemporary/Traditional Blues Song Of The Year for "Hooked on Your Love" * 2011 - Critic's Poll Living Blues Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album of the Year * 2009 - Monterey Bay Blues (M.O.B.B.A.Y.) Artist of the Year Award * 2009 -

winner for Song of the Year, "Let Life Flow" * 2009 - West Coast Blues Hall of Fame Awards for Blues CD of the Year "Let Life Flow" and Blues Band of the Year * 2009 - Blueswax Album of the Year "Let Life Flow" * 2008 - Blues Critic Awards Readers Poll, Blues Album of the Year "Let Life Flow" and also Contemporary Blues Artist of the Year * 2008 - Jus' Blues Awards "Junior Wells Harp Award" * 2008 - Hometown Video Awards, Entertainment Talk Show * 2007 - W.A.V.E. Award, Talk Show-Entertainment/Pro * 2005 - W.C. Handy Blues Awards - Acoustic Blues Album * 2003 - Slim Harpo Award in Baton Rouge * 1994 - Theatre World Award "Outstanding New Talent" on Broadway * 1989 - Big Bill Broonzy Award in Paris * 1989 - JD Miller Award "Outstanding Performance" Nominated * 2016 - Grammy Nomination for ''Bloodline'' - "Best Contemporary Blues Album" * 2009 - Grammy nominations in four categories * 1999 - Grammy Nomination for ''Tribute to Howlin' Wolf'' - "Best Traditional Blues Album"

References

External links

* kennynealmusic.com Official Home Page * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, Kenny 1957 births Living people Blues musicians from New Orleans American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers American male singers Swamp blues musicians Singers from Louisiana Guitarists from Louisiana 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Blind Pig Records artists Cleopatra Records artists Theatre World Award winners

Career

Awards

See also

References

External links