Shreveport Seeks Grammy Gold

Shreveport is looking for Grammy Gold this Sunday with an impressive FIVE local acts representing the Port City including our very own Kenny Wayne Shepherd making a repeat appearance!!! Let's be clear... Anyone who listens to my show knows I'm biased when it comes to Kenny Wayne. After all, I'm friends with his family. Between our love of horses and radio, it would be weird if I wasn't friends with 'Shotgun' Ken Shepherd et al. With that being said, I'll be rooting loudly for Kenny come Sunday when the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards air on CBS. Kenny's "Live! in Chicago" effort not only gave him the Grammy nomination, but also local legend Buddy Flett. And that's not all! foreverJones is a local gospel family band and they have, count 'em, TWO nominations! You might think I'm done, but no... We have tons of talent in our area, including Sarepta native and country music star Trace Adkins and nationally reowned jazz artist, John Beasley. And let's not forget Gordon Kennedy who is an award winning songwriter and Nashville musician. That's a whole lot of local hopefuls. I sure do wish them all the best. I get tickled pink when our city is represented well! If you want to read more about the individual artists, click here to get the full Shreveport Times story.

As for Kenny Wayne and his family, they've got a special place in my heart. I remember the first time I met big Ken and saw Kenny on stage. I was 21 years old and had just moved back to Louisiana. I was doing the morning show with JJ O'Brien on Oldies when it was still at 92.1. I know, a 21 year old doing Oldies! Don't kid yourself, I loved it and JJ was a great mentor. Either way, I was sent to the James Burton Rock and Roll Cafe (?? it was a bar ??) for a fund raiser for a local musician... and in walked young Kenny Wayne and his entourage... which consisted of his sisters and his Dad, who was my inspiration to get into radio in the first place! He was quiet and soft spoken... then he got on stage for a free for all jam with THE James Burton... O... M... G... To this day, thinking of those two just jamming together sends tingles down my spine. It was easily the best live performance I have ever seen and it was totally unrehearsed. And the best part is that they weren't even doing it because they were getting paid. They were doing it for another brother of theirs in music and for their love of music. As they say, after that, the rest is history but I have to tell you, if you haven't listened to the "Live! in Chicago" album yet, it's a must! They recorded it at the House of Blues in Chicago and if memory serves, Kenny was pretty sick that night. But, being a profession, the show must go on and even sick, he turned in a Grammy nominated performance. Another great disc to check out is Blues from the Back Roads. I promise, you won't be sorry! Oh yeah, I swear I'm not getting paid for this or anything, I'm just a fan, but keep looking for his new studio album. It's set to hit SOON;)