Postby WildcatOne » Mon Jun 05, 2017 8:33 pm
In the glorious summer of 1969, I took my girlfriend up from Galveston to a nightclub in Houston that was on the top floor of an ancient building located at Allen's Landing called the Love Street Light Circus and Feel Good Machine. There were no chairs in the main hall; it was a padded floor that you laid back with pillows and watched the fantastic light show which was called Jellywall Eyes Pack, and the bands played right in front of you. It was dreamland in the flesh. That night the headline band was The Children, a Texas band who had recently released a psychedelic classic album called Rebirth. The opening act was Johnny Winter. It was a marvelous evening. Johnny Winter had recently released his first album called The Progressive Blues Experiment, and needless to say, he was incredible.
But The Children were beyond special. They were downright unbelievable. Each member was a virtuoso, but what grabbed us right off the top was their 14-year-old guitar player, who we agreed was every bit as good as anybody else who was famous and successful at that time. What stood out about him other than his obvious advanced skill on his instrument, was his casual and easy-going demeanor. He was just having a good time playing with a good band. His performance (and Johnny Winter's as well) inspired me to knuckle down on my guitar work and hopefully one day, to follow in their footsteps. The kid's name was Kenny Cordray.
By the time I was playing live in electric bands in the early 80s, Kenny and his band were playing the same circuit we were. I knew a little about him, that he had co-written the ZZ Top hit "Francine" and that he was well-known as an outstanding musician with several credits in his resume, including John Mayall, John Lee Hooker, Jaco Pastorius and Wayne Cochran's CC Riders, as well as Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Miles and a concert spot on the Midnight Special. Regionally, he worked with the Sisters Morales, The Champion Sisters, Skylark, TKOH, Durango 95, and he manned the helm of his own projects, including The Civilians, Blue Science, Love Street Light Circus, and CRC.
His recent activities were with the bands Tex Beck, the Bad Texans, and he was a prolific songwriter, working at SugarHill and even more recently at Wire Road Studios, collaborating on projects for Willie Nelson, Archie Bell, Roy Head, and many other grammy nominated and winning artists.. His latest album from 2012 is titled "It Takes Everything" and it features performances by the best musicians in Houston. He worked as a teacher and many of his students have gone on to their own careers in music. He also ran Rock Camp Live, a summer music camp for aspiring 10-18 year-old musicians in the Houston/Galveston Bay Area. He could have gone anywhere, but he chose to live here and to play with people he liked.
In 2005, the Citykings were recording their album "Four Lifetimes" at SugarHill studios with Andy Bradley engineering and co-producing our work. I was in Studio B, recording the lead guitar for our song "Diablo", which Racin' & Rockin' now uses as their opening theme. I played the solo and nailed it. When I was finished, a guy walked in, came up to me and he said "Santana, right?" I said "Thank you. Carlos is one of my heroes, but this song is one of mine." He looked at me and paused for a moment, then he said "VERY nice!" Then he went into the control room where Andy and the rest of the band were and he hung out with us for half an hour, listened to our stuff and complimented all of us on what we were doing. When he left, I asked Andy, who was that guy? He's one of the nicest people I've ever met! Andy said "That was Kenny Cordray. He's here doing session work this week. He's our go-to guy for the best stuff we do." I had no idea that was him. He didn't have to come in and hang out with us, he's the best there is. But he went out of his way to meet us. He was a fan, and supporter of everyone he met, a true encourager, and his visit with us was a highlight of that experience.
That was the kind of guy Kenny Cordray was, and everybody who knew him would say the same thing. We all loved him. He had recently celebrated his 12,000th day of sobriety, and worked tirelessly to help others find their way to a healthy and sober life. The world of Music, but especially the Houston Music Community, his many friends, his children, his wife, and extended family, are at this time embracing an incomprehensible loss.
Kenny Cordray was born in Texarkana, July 21st, 1954, and left us much too soon, May 21st, 2017, at the age of 62. He is survived by his wife of 36 years Patricia Cordray, son Coleman Cordray, daughter Julia Cruse, son-in-law Ryan Cruse and granddaughter Linden Cruse. He is also survived by numerous other relatives and an endless list of devoted friends.
This has been JB's Take as a celebration of this great man. I only scratched the surface of his great life and the people whose lives he touched. Kenny, you were the best of all of us, and you will never be forgotten. May you rest in peace.
I'm looking forward to featuring Russell and Angel Shaner from New Castle, Pennsylvania as Racers of the Week next Monday night!
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Last edited by
WildcatOne on Tue Jun 06, 2017 3:05 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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