Kenny Brown (guitarist)

Kenny Brown (born on the Air Force base in Selma, Alabama, July 5, 1953) is a blues slide guitarist from Nesbit, Mississippi. Skilled in the North Mississippi Hill Country blues style popularized by his mentor R. L. Burnside, Brown began his career by apprenticing with Mississippi Joe Callicott, Johnny Woods, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. [http://www.fatpossum.com/artists/kennybrown.html Kenny Brown] ] [http://www.thirstyearfestival.com/interviews/brown.html Thirsty Ear Magazine On-Line: Interviews] ] He has also cited Muddy Waters, [http://www.myspace.com/kennybrownmusic MySpace.com - Kenny Brown - Potts Camp, Mississippi - Blues / Musique Roots / Americana - www.myspace.com/kennybrownmusic] ] Mojo Bufford, Jessie Mae Hemphill, [ [http://www.kennybrown.net/ KennyBrown.Net] ] Junior Kimbrough, Johnny Winter, and Johnny Shines as influences. He records for the Fat Possum Records label.

In 1971 Brown began performing with R. L. Burnside, who claimed Brown as his "adopted son." [ [http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/blues-edge-kenny/mar-06/18694 Blues on the Edge Kenny Brown] ] and affectionately called him "white boy on guitar" and "my white son." [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1078462/ Internet Movie Database entry for Kenny Brown] ] Both Brown and Burnside have noted the singularity of Brown's being a white musician playing in the previously predominantly African American genre of North Mississippi Hill Country blues. [ [http://www.mnblues.com/review/burnside-intv.html Interview with Kenny Brown and R. L. Burnside] ]

Brown's guitar work was featured in the 2006 film "Black Snake Moan", where he provided backing for star Samuel L. Jackson's vocals. [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1078462/ Kenny Brown (I)] ] He can also be seen in the film's climax as a guitarist in a blues band, playing alongside Burnside's grandson Cedric.

He has also performed with rock bands Widespread Panic and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.

Brown currently lives in Potts Camp, Mississippi, in the North Mississippi Hill Country.

Films

*"You See Me Laughin': The Last of the Hill Country Bluesmen" (2003; released by Fat Possum Records in 2005). Produced and directed by Mandy Stein. Oxford, Mississippi: Plain Jane Productions, Inc; Fat Possum Records.

References

External links

* [http://www.fatpossum.com/artists/kennybrown.html Kenny Brown page] from Fat Possum Records site
* [http://www.myspace.com/kennybrownmusic Kenny Brown] on Myspace Music
* [http://www.thirstyearfestival.com/interviews/brown.html Kenny Brown interview]
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