Roy Douglas Kenner (born January 14, 1948 in Toronto) is a Canadian singer and songwriter, most notable as the lead vocalist of Mandala in the late 1960s and as the lead vocalist of the

James Gang James Gang is an American rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. The band went through a variety of line-up changes until they recorded their first album as a power trio consisting of Joe Walsh (guitars, lead vocals), Tom Kriss (bass), and ...

during 1972–1974.

History

Kenner's international fame was primarily as the lead vocalist for the

from 1972 until 1974. He joined the group after the departure of Joe Walsh and was with the band with guitarist Domenic Troiano and later Tommy Bolin. He was also with Domenic Troiano in the Canadian bands Mandala and

Bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...

, both of which had some degree of international success, and sang on Troiano's solo albums. In the 1970s, Kenner was instrumental in launching the career of Lisa Dal Bello. Her first single, "(I Don't Want To) Stand in Your Way," was written by Kenner, and is regarded as one of the strongest songs on her self-titled 1977 debut album. Following his time with the James Gang, Kenner worked with a Toronto-based television musical variety show, Music Machine, for approximately two years, after which he worked with

Garry Peterson The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1965. The band originated in 1962 and achieved an international hit single with a cover of "Shakin' All Over" in 1965 under the name Chad Allan and the Expressions. After c ...

(drummer for The Guess Who) in an unrecorded R&B band, Delphia. In 1975, Kenner joined the U.S. band, Law, and recorded two albums with them, on the Goldhawke Records, Goldhawke record label, owned by Roger Daltrey. Kenner then rejoined Domenic Troiano, co-writing and singing on Troiano's 1979 album, ''Fret Fever''. The record included the dance hit "We All Need Love," Troiano's biggest commercial success. The two also collaborated on TV soundtracks, in particular the theme to the TV series " Night Heat". Despite his international success as a lead vocalist, Kenner has never released a solo album. In 1982, he contributed to one half of a six-song EP, ''Roy Kenner/The Royals'', with three songs co-written with and produced by Domenic Troiano.The other songs on the EP featured

George Olliver George Olliver is a Canadian music artist. A singer and organist, he was the lead singer for Mandala in the 1960s. He also founded the late 1960s, early 1970s jazz rock group Natural Gas. Background As a boy he was in the Anglican church choir. ...

and Bobby Dupont, two well-known Toronto-based rhythm and blues artists. Nearly fifteen years earlier, Kenner had succeeded Olliver as the lead singer of Mandala, resulting in Kenner, rather than Olliver, contributing the vocals to Mandala's 1968 ''Soul Crusade'' album. Kenner currently does jingles and voice-over work in Toronto, in addition to performing occasionally. He has performed at the 2006 and 2007 "We All Need Love" tribute concerts for Domenic Troiano, who succumbed to cancer in 2005.

Discography

Mandala

*1968 ''Soul Crusade'' ( Atlantic)

Bush

*1970 ''Bush'' ( Dunhill)

James Gang

*1972 '' Passin' Thru'' (

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

) *1972 '' Straight Shooter'' (ABC) *1973 ''

Bang Bang or bangs may refer to: Products * M1922 Bang rifle, a US semi-automatic rifle designed by Søren Hansen Bang * Bang, a model car brand * Bang (beverage), an energy drink Geography * Bang, Lorestan, a village in Iran * Bangs, Ohio, Uni ...

'' ( Atco) *1974 '' Miami'' (Atco)

Law

*1977 ''Breakin' It'' (

MCA MCA may refer to: Astronomy * Mars-crossing asteroid, an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars Aviation * Minimum crossing altitude, a minimum obstacle crossing altitude for fixes on published airways * Medium Combat Aircraft, a 5th gene ...

) *1977 ''Hold On To It'' (MCA)

Solo

*1982 ''Roy Kenner/The Royals''

Other contributions

*1977 Lisa Dal Bello, '' Lisa Dal Bello'' *1979 Domenic Troiano, '' Fret Fever'' *1986 Theme Song, ''Night Heat''

References

External links

*An image of Roy Kenner at the 2006 Domenic Troiano tribute concert (Kenner at far right) is accessibl
here
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenner, Roy Canadian rock singers 1948 births Living people James Gang members Mandala (band) members