Kenny Holladay

[mpearce]

I'm kind of new here so I hope I'm posting this in the proper place. It seems that most of you are from the UK so I figured you may not be familiar with Kenny Holladay. I'm from the US and many here are not familiar with him. Kenny was originally from California and ended up in New Orleans via Boston. I'm originally from Boston and am now in New Orleans.

Anyway... Kenny was one of the finest musicians I've ever heard or known. Unfortunately he wasn't recorded all that much. He spent much of his career playing on the street. (I think you all call the busking)

Here are a couple of recordings of him playing with his band the Screaming Coyotes. They are Youtube videos, but don't show him actually playing. He played an old biscuit bridge Dobro with a magnetic pickup installed.

This is the Albert King song "As The Years Go Passing By"



This is the Joe Zawinul/Cannonball Adderly song "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy":



I think you might like them.

Kenny passed away last year. It's too bad he wasn't heard by more people.

-Mike

[snakehips]

Hi Mike !

Actually, I did see him busk and play in New Orleans, way back in the summer of 1991.
I left a comment or two on some of those YouTube videos, but some of the videos then disappeared. Perhaps they are back now ?

Kenny was great.
I must admit, at the time, I asked his name about 5 times but couldn't for the life of me understand his accent, so I never found out his name until years later.
I saw him busk in front of the Royal Hotel, on the corner of Royal and Bourbon (I think).
Would have watched him for hours BUT I was with my big brother on this trip and moaned at me sitting on the pavement in the direct sun watching him. Caught him busk there over 3 days and asked him to play over and over a song I liked (his slide version of Junior Well's "Come On In This House"). I taught myself how to play his version as best as I can remember it, and have a video of me playing it on YouTube :


I remember his playing quite well - it made a real lasting impression on me.
He was amazing, fretting behind the slide etc.
His singing reminds me of Robert Nighthawk a bit.
He was playing his battered chrome Dobro with the pickup on it (and vol+tone knobs on the coverplate). I do have a photograph of him playing there, somewhere in the house. Just need to find it and get it scanned in to a PC.

On the 3rd day I watched him busking, a huge Japanese guy joined him to play harmonica. Great player. I asked Kenny if he was playing anywhere at night and he directed me to a venue at the edge of the French Quarter, I think. Think it might have been called Checkpoint Charlie's or something.
We went to see him that night and he had a small-bodied Gibson guitar (flat top, I think) with a soundhole pickup (may have been the Dearmond 210 soundhole pickup). He was playing with an English piano player we had seen earlier that week - excellent boogie woogie player called Carl Sonny Leyland.
Another great time in New Orleans !!!

Years later I found a website for Carl Sonny Leyland, and emailed him to ask if he remembered the name of the guitarist I saw him play with. Finally, I had a name to put to a well-remembered face and music !
Sad to hear he passed away, too young. Great musician.

[mpearce]

The Japanese harp player you saw playing with Kenny was almost certainly Naoki Kubo. Naoki is living in Japan. I got to know him and play with him a bit a few years after you saw him. He's a very good player and a nice guy.

I find it interesting that someone from Edinburgh couldn't understand Kenny's accent. I have a hard time understanding anything anyone from Edinburgh says.

Checkpoint Charlie's is the place you are thinking of. It's still there. There have been two benefit shows for Kenny and the first was at Checkpoint Charlies. It was a great night. John Mooney, Anders Osbourne, Walter Wolfman Washington and many others performed at the benefit. It was touching. I was fortunate enough to play at a second benefit for his family. It was an honor.

Though I'd known of Kenny for many years prior I first met him around the same time you saw him. Back then all of the up and coming slide players would flock to Kenny. I met Corey Harris while we were both watching Kenny busk in the French Quarter. One of the first things Corey said to me was, "I learn something new every time I see him play."

Over the years I got to know Kenny fairly well. He was an even better person than he was a performer.

Not long before he passed away Kenny did some recording which never saw the light of day with the exception of a very limited run of CD's a friend of his pulled together. I managed to get my hands on a copy. The CD is impressive.

-Mike

[stevie]

Thanks mpearse and snakehips, I've just found Naoki Kubo facebook page, it has a picture of a young Kenny Holladay!

[doctorhepcat]

Hi all, I'm a new poster but been lurking for some time. Saw the post about my friend Kenny Holladay and just yesterday digitized some 1985 recordings of his Cambridge, MA based band The Screaming Coyotes. With permission of Kenny's widow Deanna I'm putting up some very early recordings circa 1985 of NOLA/Cambridge guitarist Kenny Holladay for download. Kenny was a friend of mine and a great musician. The recording quality isn't the greatest but feel free to download these and enjoy! This is with his Cambridge, MA band The Screaming Coyotes and beside Kenny on guitar/vocals are Washtub Robbie Phillips on washtub bass and Charles Robinson on drums. Download will only be available for the next week or so. www.dropbox.com/sh/ozsn7yn78nj5qli/KvH8oj4Pn3

Best, DoctorHepcat

[snakehips]

Hi there !

That is mighty fine of you to post these songs.
I'm listening now to the tracks as I type this.
His slide guitar solo at circa 4mins into the song is great.

[twang1]

Thank you,thank you,thank you for posting those songs! I love them!
I also briefly met Kenny in New Orleans one day I was down at the Checkpoint Charlie playing.
He came in, looked at my dobro with a big smile, and we jammed on one Jimmie Reed number before he had to run away. Just a few minutes.
I remember he said his name was Kenny. I remember his name because at the time I was trying to track down my friend Kenny Brown
up in Mississippi and I thought..."those Kennys!"
I also love his singing as well as the playing. Very soulful!
Makes me think about how a song can be really deep after a thorough busking treatment. Lots of time spent on the same song until you really feel it...
Frank