Harrison Kennedy: Old Fashioned Plain
By Ken Wallis | The Sound Cafe Journal
Photo Credit: Ken Wallis.
From an interview with Ken on BluesSource Radio
Harrison Kennedy has never been one to clad his music in glitz. At 84, with a voice that carries the sound of experience, he is still guided by instinct and feel. His new album, Old Fashioned Plain, lives up to his commitment to pure soul, blues and a touch of gospel. His music reflects the way he has been singing throughout his stellar career.
When I reached Harrison by phone, he was relaxed and very much the Harrison audiences have come to know and love. Downright funny, too.
“My music isn’t glitzy. I’m old fashioned plain,” he said. “There’s nothing fancy about it.”
When asked why he chose the title Old Fashioned Plain, he chuckled.
“My favourite donut. And I guess I gravitate to that saying, old fashioned. When you go to McDonald’s and you order, they say, ‘What would you like to have this with? This on it, and this has got cherries, and this has got so and so.’ And I’m saying, you know what? My music isn’t that way. I’m old fashioned. Playing it comes from there. There’s nothing fancy about it.”
That approach shaped the entire recording process. Harrison chose two musicians he deeply respects, Jesse O’Brien and Jimmy Bowskill. Both players have performed with numerous artists, and both understand the importance of playing with feel rather than flash.
Before they recorded, Harrison told them he didn’t want “No Hollywood, no Jaco Pastorius, no B.B. King impersonations. Just play what you feel.”
The result was ten songs recorded in two days, played from the heart, with no studio trickery and no vocal gloss. Even Steve Marriner dropped in to play for free, simply because he wanted to be part of it. The sessions were free-flowing and laid back, just the way Harrison likes it.
One of the album’s emotional anchors is “I’ll Take Care of You,” the first song Harrison ever performed in front of a large audience. He was 13 years old, nervous as could be, singing at Westdale High School with Bobby Washington on piano.
“I had a headache, my throat dried up, I was scared to death,” he recalled. “But the whole audience stood up. I thought they were crazy.”
That moment sparked a burning desire to perform. Soon he was singing in church, then in a band, and eventually shaping a career that would take him around the world.
But even in those early days, his natural style of bluesy, soulful singing wasn’t always welcomed. A choir director once stopped him in the middle of a song, insisting, “We don’t sing like that in this church.” The choir girls defended him, but Harrison walked away.
He couldn’t sing without feeling, and he still can’t.
The desire to stick to his roots is evident throughout Old Fashioned Plain. Harrison chose songs he loves and songs he can deliver naturally with that distinctive voice of his.
He spent the last year mulling over which songs he would include on the album, and when you listen to it, you know he made some wise choices.
“I’ve got enough tunes written to do three albums in a week,” he laughed. “But it’s too expensive.”
Even with government support, Harrison faced financial hurdles in completing the album.
“At one point, I was down to $125 in my bank account. But friends came through to help me.”
Andrew Galloway, president of Electro-Fi Records, and his Toronto crew shot photographs for free. Sarah French, who works at a church in Dundas, has been tirelessly promoting the album across Canada, the U.S., England, Germany and beyond.
“I get an update every day on who’s playing it,” Harrison said. “I don’t know if I’m scared to death or happy as hell.”
He has every right to be pleased with the acceptance the album is receiving. Old Fashioned Plain is a release that pays testament to a Hamilton icon.
Harrison has his own set of rules when it comes to this music.
“I have no interest in purple hair, ripped jeans, or pork pie hats.”
With his talent at the forefront, he doesn’t need any gimmicks. The album is filled with an honesty and perspective that come from a lifetime of performing, writing and simply being Harrison Kennedy.
Fans can find the album through Harrison’s website or pick it up at one of his live shows. And when you listen, you’ll hear the evidence that this one is plain good.
As Harrison put it with a grin, borrowing from the great James Brown:
“I feel good.”
And audiences feel good listening to Old Fashioned Plain.
Footnote: Harrison Kennedy was the second inductee into Hamilton’s Escarpment Blues Society’s Hall of Fame, of which Ken is President.
The Sound Cafe Journal
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