Remembering those we recently lost
Be the first to plant a tree in their memory
Key moments and achievements from Jerry Kennedy's life.
Jerry was born
· Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Career Milestone
Jerry Kennedy received his first guitar when he was eight or nine and began taking lessons from legendary guitarist Tillman Franks. By age 10, he was a finalist in the annual Bob Wills Talent Discovery Show, at 11 he signed a singing contract with RCA, and by 18 he had joined the house band of the Louisiana Hayride.
Career Milestone
Jerry Kennedy received his first guitar when he was eight or nine and began taking lessons from legendary guitarist Tillman Franks. By age 10, he was a finalist in the annual Bob Wills Talent Discovery Show, at 11 he signed a singing contract with RCA, and by 18 he had joined the house band of the Louisiana Hayride.
Career Milestone
Kennedy moved to Nashville in 1961 and within days landed a job as Shelby Singleton's assistant at Mercury Records. He eventually became the label's vice president in charge of country music, wielding enormous influence over the Nashville sound.
Career Milestone
Kennedy moved to Nashville in 1961 and within days landed a job as Shelby Singleton's assistant at Mercury Records. He eventually became the label's vice president in charge of country music, wielding enormous influence over the Nashville sound.
Career Achievement
As a session guitarist, Kennedy played the driving guitar lick on Roy Orbison's Oh, Pretty Woman in 1964. He also contributed dobro passages on Jeannie C. Riley's Harper Valley P.T.A. and the distinctive guitar intro of Tammy Wynette's Stand By Your Man.
Career Achievement
As a session guitarist, Kennedy played the driving guitar lick on Roy Orbison's Oh, Pretty Woman in 1964. He also contributed dobro passages on Jeannie C. Riley's Harper Valley P.T.A. and the distinctive guitar intro of Tammy Wynette's Stand By Your Man.
Won Award
Kennedy won four Grammy Awards during his career as a producer and musician. He was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007 as part of the Nashville A-Team and was honored in the Country Music Hall of Fame's Nashville Cats series in 2008.
Won Award
Kennedy won four Grammy Awards during his career as a producer and musician. He was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007 as part of the Nashville A-Team and was honored in the Country Music Hall of Fame's Nashville Cats series in 2008.
Coleman Barks joined the faculty at the University of Georgia in Athens in 1967 and taught literature and creative writing there for over three decades, retiring as professor emeritus in 1997. It was during his tenure at UGA that he began his transformative work interpreting the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi, rewriting existing English translations into accessible contemporary verse despite never learning Persian himself. His 1995 volume "The Essential Rumi" became an international bestseller and is widely credited with popularizing Rumi in the English-speaking world, making the medieval Sufi poet one of the best-selling poets in the United States. In 2006, the University of Tehran awarded Barks an honorary doctorate in recognition of his decades of work bringing Rumi's poetry to new audiences.
Coleman Barks joined the faculty at the University of Georgia in Athens in 1967 and taught literature and creative writing there for over three decades, retiring as professor emeritus in 1997. It was during his tenure at UGA that he began his transformative work interpreting the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi, rewriting existing English translations into accessible contemporary verse despite never learning Persian himself. His 1995 volume "The Essential Rumi" became an international bestseller and is widely credited with popularizing Rumi in the English-speaking world, making the medieval Sufi poet one of the best-selling poets in the United States. In 2006, the University of Tehran awarded Barks an honorary doctorate in recognition of his decades of work bringing Rumi's poetry to new audiences.
Jerry Kennedy passed away
