Jerry Kennedy has died at the age of 85 after playing a formative role in the American music industry, playing the guitar behind most of the songs known to music enthusiasts around the world.
The legendary star passed away on Wednesday, February 11th in his hometown of Nashville due to undisclosed causes.
A naturally gifted child, the country musician signed his first record label at just 11, went on to form a band at 18 and soon began collaborating with rising stars of the era.
Kennedy can be heard playing guitar in Roy Orbison’s Oh, beautiful womanJeannie C. Riley’s Harper Valley PTA., Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde sessions, Elvis Presley, Kris Kristofferson and Ringo Starr.
The Grammy winner left his mark on country music forever, as Kyle Young, executive director of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, stated, “As a first-time session musician, he created signature licks as recognizable as song titles, and as a producer and record label executive, he built a sonic platform for giants to stand on that he could stand on outside of his social and spiritual understanding. He spent his career making it better and bigger.”
Kennedy is survived by three sons, Gordon, Bryan and Shelby Kennedy, all of whom have followed in their father’s footsteps into the music industry.
