Just 4 years old and already he knew he was going to be a singer, he would stand on the kitchen table singing at the top of his lungs hoping someone would listen…
Born in Outlook Saskatchewan and raised in the small town of Fernie BC, Kenny was the middle child of a large working class family of 6 brothers and 2 sisters. Dad was a 6 day a week Monday through Saturday hard working man and the Family preacher in their small town Church of Christ every Sunday. This is where the whole family was taught to sing, every one of the kids was given their part to sing in the classic ole hymns that Dad and Mom loved to sing. Then when Church service was over Dad would break out his old 12 string guitar and start to play and sing some of his favorite country songs by greats like Hank Snow, Hank Williams, Charlie Pride and many more. All of the kids took their turns listening but Kenny couldn’t wait till it was his turn to belt out a new one from the stars of the day. And by the time Kenny was a teenager he had already set in motion his musical journey that he is still on today. Kenny Hess has now been a part of the music industry since the 80’s when he started a life of making music for a living.
At just 15 Kenny started traveling the country singing the songs of such greats as Charlie Pride, Don Williams and Merle Haggard and it wasn’t long before he was singing his own songs and sharing the stage with those very same great artists.
A prolific songwriter, Kenny was noticed by Nashville’ legendary songwriter Harlan Howard and soon Kenny began writing for Harlan Howard songs one of the most prestigious publishing houses in the country. This also led to a recording deal with Curb records Nashville. Though he has been blessed with a huge voice and songwriting skills, Kenny’ real strength has always been his ability to hold a crowd of any size in the palm of his hand whether it be with his voice, his sense of humor, or his heartfelt songs of life.
Kenny has had a very successful career with several songs reaching the top 40 nationally and 14 critically acclaimed CDs to his credit. He has also been nominated for Canadian Country Music Awards, and has won several BC country music awards including Male vocalist of the year, and Album of the year. In fact along with all of the other awards Kenny is the 8 time traditional country artist of the year and in 2010 Kenny was honoured with the Entertainer life time achievement award. In 2015 Kenny was called back home to BC where Kenny was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
“A natural born entertainer with a huge voice and great songs makes for a very special show. If you have never seen him perform, please go grab a seat, sit back and enjoy a little taste of good ole country music… Kenny Hess style!
