Kenny O'Dell
Kenny O'Dell | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Kenneth Guy Gist Jr.[1] |
Born | (1944-06-21)June 21, 1944 Antlers, Oklahoma, U.S. |
Died | (2018-03-27)March 27, 2018 (aged 73) Cool Springs, Tennessee, U.S. |
Genres | Country |
Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
Instrument | Guitar |
Years active | 1962–1979 |
Labels | Vegas, Capricorn |
Kenneth Guy Gist Jr. (June 21, 1944 – March 27, 2018),[2] known as Kenny O'Dell, was an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for writing the number-one country hits "Behind Closed Doors" (recorded by Charlie Rich, 1973) and "Mama He's Crazy" (The Judds, 1984). O'Dell was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Career
Early in his career, he worked with guitarist Duane Eddy, and his own band, Guys and Dolls.[3] When O'Dell first moved to Nashville in 1969, he ran Bobby Goldsboro's publishing company.[3]
He also wrote pop and soft rock songs, including "Next Plane to London", which was a Top 20 hit in 1967 for The Rose Garden. The Crickets recorded two of his songs in 1972 and 1973, namely "My Rockin' Days" and "Rock'n'Roll Man". Charlie Rich had a top 10 country hit in 1972 with the O'Dell song, "I Take It On Home".[3] It was followed by "Behind Closed Doors",[3] which won a Grammy Award in 1973 for Best Country & Western Recording. O'Dell wrote or co-wrote the number-one country hits "Trouble in Paradise" (Loretta Lynn, 1974) and "Lizzie and the Rainman" (Tanya Tucker, 1975). His other top-10 hit was "What I've Got in Mind" (Billie Jo Spears, 1976).[3]
As a performer, O'Dell had a top-40 pop hit with "Beautiful People", released in 1967.[3] He later had five top-40 country hits, topped by the top-10 hit "Let's Shake Hands And Come Out Lovin'" in 1978.[3] The follow-up, "As Long As I Can Wake Up In Your Arms" peaked at No. 12 in 1979.
Personal life and death
O'Dell's wife, guitarist Vivian J. "Corki" Ray (née Casey) Gist died at the age of 80 in 2017. The couple had three children.[4][5]
O'Dell died of natural causes on March 27, 2018, in Cool Springs, Tennessee. He was 73.[2]
Discography
Albums
Year | Album | Label |
---|---|---|
1968 | Beautiful People | Vegas |
1974 | Kenny O'Dell | Capricorn |
1978 | Let's Shake Hands and Come Out Lovin' |
Singles
Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Country | US [6] | CAN Country | |||
1962 | "Old Time Love" | — | — | — | single only |
1967 | "Beautiful People" | — | 38 | — | Beautiful People |
1968 | "Springfield Plane" | — | 94 | — | singles only |
"Happy with You" | — | 118 | — | ||
"Bless Your Little Heart" | — | — | — | ||
1970 | "If I Was a Rambler" | — | — | — | |
1971 | "Jubal" | — | — | — | |
1972 | "Why Don't We Go Somewhere and Love" | — | — | — | |
"Lizzie and the Rainman" | — | — | — | ||
1973 | "Rock and Roll Man" | — | — | — | |
1974 | "You Bet Your Sweet, Sweet Love" | 58 | — | — | Kenny O'Dell |
"I'll Find Another Way (To Say I Love You)" | — | — | — | ||
1975 | "Soulful Woman" | 18 | — | 36 | |
"My Honky Tonk Ways" | 37 | 105 | — | singles only | |
"I Can't Think When You're Doin'" | — | — | — | ||
1978 | "Let's Shake Hands and Come Out Lovin'" | 9 | — | — | Let's Shake Hands and Come Out Lovin' |
"As Long as I Can Wake Up in Your Arms" | 12 | — | 14 | ||
1979 | "Medicine Woman" | 32 | — | — | single only |
Awards
- 1973—Grammy\Best Country Song\"Behind Closed Doors"
- 1973—CMA\Song of the Year\"Behind Closed Doors"[3]
- 1973—CMA\Single of the Year\"Behind Closed Doors"
- 1973—ACM\Song of the Year\"Behind Closed Doors"
- 1973—ACM\Single of the Year\"Behind Closed Doors"
- 1984—Nashville Songwriters Association International\Songwriter of the Year
- 1984—NSAI\Song of the Year\"Mama He's Crazy"
- 1985—BMI\Country Song of the Year\"Mama He's Crazy"
References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
- ^ a b "Grammy-winning country songwriter Kenny O'Dell dies at 73". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 30, 2018. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1852. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ Betts, Stephen L. (May 15, 2017). "Corki Casey O'Dell, Musicians Hall of Fame Guitarist, Dead at 80". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "Vivian Gist Obituary – Nashville, TN | The Tennessean". Legacy.com. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955–2010. Record Research, Inc. p. 661. ISBN 978-0-89820-188-8.
External links
- Nashville Songwriters profile
- Kenny O'Dell discography at Discogs
- v
- t
- e
- "There Goes My Everything" - Dallas Frazier (1967)
- "Honey" - Bobby Russell (1968)
- "The Carroll County Accident" - Bob Ferguson (1969)
- "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" - Kris Kristofferson (1970)
- "Easy Loving" - Freddie Hart (1971-2)
- "Behind Closed Doors" - Kenny O'Dell (1973)
- "Country Bumpkin" - Don Wayne (1974)
- "Back Home Again" - John Denver (1975)
- "Rhinestone Cowboy" - Larry Weiss (1976)
- "Lucille" Roger Bowling, Hal Bynum - (1977)
- "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" - Richard Leigh (1978)
- "The Gambler" - Don Schlitz (1979)
- "He Stopped Loving Her Today" - Bobby Braddock, Curly Putman (1980)
- "He Stopped Loving Her Today" - Bobby Braddock, Curly Putman (1981)
- "Always on My Mind" - Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, Mark James (1982-3)
- "Wind Beneath My Wings" - Larry Henley, Jeff Silbar (1984)
- "God Bless the U.S.A." - Lee Greenwood (1985)
- "On the Other Hand" - Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz (1986)
- "Forever and Ever, Amen - Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz (1987)
- "80's Ladies" - K. T. Oslin (1988)
- "Chiseled in Stone" - Max D. Barnes, Vern Gosdin (1989)
- "Where've You Been" - Don Henry, Jon Vezner (1990)
- "When I Call Your Name" - Tim DuBois, Vince Gill (1991)
- "Look at Us" - Vince Gill, Max D. Barnes (1992)
- "I Still Believe in You" - Vince Gill, John Barlow Jarvis (1993)
- "Chattahoochee" - Jim McBride, Alan Jackson (1994)
- "Independence Day" - Gretchen Peters (1995)
- "Go Rest High on That Mountain" - Vince Gill (1996)
- "Strawberry Wine" - Matraca Berg, Gary Harrison (1997)
- "Holes in the Floor of Heaven" - Billy Kirsch, Steve Wariner (1998)
- "This Kiss" - Beth Nielsen Chapman, Robin Lerner, Annie Roboff (1999)
- "I Hope You Dance" - Mark D. Sanders, Tia Sillers (2000)
- "Murder on Music Row" - Larry Cordle, Larry Shell (2001)
- "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" - Alan Jackson (2002)
- "Three Wooden Crosses" - Doug Johnson, Kim Williams (2003)
- "Live Like You Were Dying" - Tim Nichols, Craig Wiseman (2004)
- "Whiskey Lullaby" - Bill Anderson, Jon Randall (2005)
- "Believe" - Ronnie Dunn, Craig Wiseman (2006)
- "Give It Away" - Bill Anderson, Buddy Cannon, Jamey Johnson (2007)
- "Stay" - Jennifer Nettles (2008)
- "In Color" - Jamey Johnson, Lee Thomas Miller, James Otto (2009)
- "The House That Built Me" - Tom Douglas, Allen Shamblin (2010)
- "If I Die Young" - Kimberly Perry (2011)
- "Over You" - Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton (2012)
- "I Drive Your Truck" - Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Jimmy Yeary (2013)
- "Follow Your Arrow" - Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves (2014)
- "Girl Crush" - Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose (2015)
- "Humble and Kind" - Lori McKenna (2016)
- "Better Man" - Taylor Swift (2017)
- "Broken Halos" - Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton (2018)
- "Beautiful Crazy" - Luke Combs, Wyatt Durrette, Robert Williford (2019)
- "The Bones" - Maren Morris, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz (2020)
- "Starting Over" - Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton (2021)
- "Buy Dirt" — Jacob Davis, Jordan Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins (2022)
- "Fast Car" — Tracy Chapman (2023)