Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Beverly Kenney was born on January 29, 1932 in Harrison, New Jersey and her life saw her working for Western Union as a telephone birthday singer. After moving to New York City in 1954, she recorded a demo with Tony Tamburello and by the end of the year she had moved to Miami, Florida where she landed a recurring engagement at the Black Magic Room. Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey heard her and for several months she toured with the orchestra they co-led.

Moving back to New York, Beverly worked in clubs with George Shearing, Don Elliott and Kai Winding. After a short tour of the Midwest with Larry Sonn, she signed to Roost Records and released her first album in 1956. This recording, Beverly Kenney Sings for Johnny Smith with the quartet of the jazz guitarist Johnny Smith. The album was a success and as a result she secured a residency at the Birdland jazz club, where she was accompanied by the Lester Young Quintet. Her second release was Come Swing with Me with  Jimmy Jones led an ensemble behind her for her third and final release for Roost in 1957.

She moved to Decca Records and released three further albums with them, including Beverly Kenney Sings For Playboys in 1958, Born to Be Blue and Like Yesterday in 1959. Beverly Kenney Sings For Playboys featured liner notes by Steve Allen, in which he praised her vocal style and stated, “A word to Playboys: I would not recommend this album as Music to Make the Romantic Approach By. You’re apt to get more interested in Beverly than the girl you’re trying to impress”.

Kenney was a critically acclaimed musician, but she saw little widespread acceptance, due at least in part to the burgeoning rock & roll movement. She had an intense personal dislike for this music, even going so far as to compose a song called “I Hate Rock and Roll”, which she performed on The Steve Allen Show in 1958.

On April 13, 1960, vocalist Beverly Kenney committed suicide with an overdose of alcohol and seconal. She was 28 years old. She remains a cult figure in Japan, where all of her albums have been reissued to CD and have remained in print on a relatively steady basis. Japan’s SSJ Records have released three collections of unreleased Beverly Kenney material between 2006 to 2009: Snuggled on Your Shoulder, Lonely and Blue and What Is There To Say?, culminating in a dozen albums.

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