James Kenneth Price (May 27, 1931 – August 4, 1987)[1] was an American country music singer, songwriter, and actor. Nicknamed the "Round Mound of Sound," Price recorded for the Boone and RCA Victor, MRC and Dimension record labels, charting thirty-four singles on the Hot Country Songs charts between 1966 and 1980. His highest-peaking singles, "Walking on New Grass" and "Happy Tracks," both reached No. 7 on that chart.
Kenny Price | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | James Kenneth Price |
| Born | May 27, 1931 Florence, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | August 4, 1987 (aged 56) Florence, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | Guitar |
| Years active | 1964–1984 |
| Labels | Boone, RCA Victor, MRC, Dimension |
Life and career
editPrice was born in Florence, Kentucky, United States, and was raised on a farm in Boone County, Kentucky.[1] He learned to play guitar when he was five years old.[1] From 1952 until 1954, Price served in the U.S. Army[1] during the Korean War, reaching the rank of corporal. While stationed in Korea, he auditioned for a USO show, and before being discharged, he had decided to become a professional musician.[2] He studied for a brief time at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and became a musician on Midwestern Hayride on WLWT, eventually taking over as the show's host until it went off the air in the early 1970s.[2]
He first recorded for Boone Records, then moved on to RCA Records in 1969, where he stayed until 1976.[1] For most of his career, Price worked with Ray Pennington, whose style complemented his own. Price had 34 singles chart in his career,[2] including "Walking on the New Grass" (a top 10 hit in 1966), "Happy Tracks", "Northeast Arkansas Mississippi County Bootlegger" (a top 20 hit in 1969),.[2] and "The Sheriff of Boone County" (which hit the Country top 10).[1] A 1970 novelty song he co-wrote with his producer Ronny Light, a B-side single called "The Shortest Song in the World"- which clocked in at a mere eighteen seconds long, enjoyed some airplay in 1970.
Standing 6'-6" tall and weighing nearly 300 lb (140 kg) for most of his professional career, he was nicknamed "The Round Mound of Sound", and wrote a song by the same name in 1968.[1] Many of his comedic songs made reference to his size — "The Heavyweight" is an obvious example. In later years, Price became significantly thinner and lampooned himself in the song "The Boone County Weight Watchers of America".
In 1975, Price relocated to Nashville, and after a few uncredited appearances became a regular on Hee Haw. He remained with the show until his death.[1] He served as the bass vocalist for the Hee Haw Gospel Quartet, which included Grandpa Jones, Buck Owens, and Roy Clark. Price and fellow Hee Haw cast member Lulu Roman got their own short-lived spin-off series called Hee Haw Honeys, which ran from 1978 to 1979. Price and Roman guest starred on two episodes of The Love Boat. He later had a small role in the film Cold Justice, which was released after his death.[3]
His wife, Donna Price, wrote a few memorable tunes for him, including the hit "Let's Truck Together", which was used in a late 70s Hee Haw skit. In the mid-1980s, Kenny and Donna starred in The Nashville Network (now Paramount Network) travelogue series called Wish You Were Here, where they traveled across the United States in a RV and visited places of interest.
Price died of a heart attack in Florence, Kentucky, at the age of 56.[4]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | One Hit Follows Another | 36 | Boone |
| 1968 | Southern Bound | 23 | |
| 1970 | Heavyweight | — | RCA Victor |
| Northeast Arkansas Mississippi County Bootlegger | — | ||
| 1971 | A Red Foley Songbook | — | |
| The Sheriff of Boone County | 42 | ||
| Charlotte Fever | 39 | ||
| 1972 | Super Sideman | — | |
| You Almost Slipped My Mind | 37 | ||
| 1973 | Sea of Heartbreak | — | |
| 30 California Women | — | ||
| 1974 | Turn On Your Light and Let It Shine | — | |
| 1977 | Heavy Duty Country | — | MRC |
| 1980 | The Best of Both | — | Dimension |
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | CAN Country | |||
| 1964 | "Low and Lonely" | — | — | singles only |
| 1965 | "White Silver Sands" | — | — | |
| "That's All That Matters" | — | — | One Hit Follows Another | |
| "Hunky Dory" | — | — | ||
| 1966 | "Walking On New Grass" | 7 | — | |
| 1967 | "Happy Tracks" | 7 | — | |
| "Pretty Girl, Pretty Clothes, Pretty Sad" | 26 | — | single only | |
| "Grass Won't Grow On a Busy Street" | 24 | — | Southern Bound | |
| 1968 | "My Goal for Today" | 11 | — | |
| "Going Home for the Last Time" | 31 | — | ||
| "Southern Bound" | 37 | — | ||
| "It Don't Mean a Thing to Me" | 59 | — | ||
| 1969 | "Who Do I Know in Dallas" | 64 | — | Heavyweight |
| "Atlanta Georgia Stray" | 62 | — | ||
| 1970 | "Northeast Arkansas Mississippi County Bootlegger" | 17 | 6 | Northeast Arkansas Mississippi County Bootlegger |
| "Biloxi" | 10 | 19 | The Sheriff of Boone County | |
| 1971 | "The Sheriff of Boone County"A | 8 | 9 | |
| "Tell Her You Love Her" | 55 | — | ||
| "Charlotte Fever" | 38 | — | Charlotte Fever | |
| 1972 | "Super Sideman" | 37 | 31 | |
| "You Almost Slipped My Mind" | 44 | — | You Almost Slipped My Mind | |
| "Sea of Heartbreak" | 24 | 13 | Sea of Heartbreak | |
| 1973 | "Don't Tell Me Your Troubles" | 53 | 63 | |
| "30 California Women" | 52 | 56 | 30 California Women | |
| "You're Wearin' Me Down" | 52 | — | single only | |
| 1974 | "Turn On Your Light (And Let It Shine)" | 29 | 40 | Turn On Your Light and Let It Shine |
| "Que Pasa" | 69 | — | ||
| "Let's Truck Together" | 42 | — | Heavy Duty Country | |
| 1975 | "Easy Look" | 67 | — | singles only |
| "Birds and Children Fly Away" | 65 | — | ||
| "I've Changed Since I've Been Unchained" | — | — | ||
| 1976 | "Too Big a Price to Pay" | 60 | — | |
| 1977 | "I'd Buy You Chattanooga" | 60 | — | Heavy Duty Country |
| "Leavin'" | 74 | — | ||
| 1978 | "Afraid You'd Come Back" | 50 | — | singles only |
| "Sunshine Man" | 74 | — | ||
| "Daddy's Hands" | — | — | ||
| 1979 | "Hey There" | 67 | — | The Best of Both |
| 1980 | "Well Rounded Traveling Man" | 60 | — | |
| "She's Leavin' (And I'm Almost Gone)" | 79 | — | ||
| 1984 | "If I Just Had You" | — | — | singles only |
| "Pete Pete" | — | — | ||
- A"The Sheriff of Boone County" also peaked at No. 19 on Bubbling Under Hot 100.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 324. ISBN 0-85112-726-6.
- ^ a b c d "Kenny Price | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ "Cold Justice (1991) - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ "Country Singer Kenny Price, 56, Regular on 'Hee Haw' Show, Dies". Los Angeles Times. August 7, 1987.
External links
edit- Kenny Price at AllMusic
- Kenny Price discography at Discogs
- Kenny Price at IMDb
- Kenny Price at Find a Grave