Jeannie Kendall
(Q)-Please state your name, place of birth and date of birth.
Jeannie Kendall- My name is Jeannie Kendall,I was born on November 13, 1954, in St. Louis, Missouri.
(Q)-Within the mix of the songs on your new album, “All the Girls I Am”, there is a broad spectrum of musical styles.
Jeannie Kendall-Yes there is.
(Q)-Why did you choose to explore so many diverse styles of expressing yourself with the music on, “All the Girls I Am”? Follow-up question. Is, “All The Girls I Am”, your own personal musical statement?
Jeannie Kendall- I wanted to make a statement that was different and exciting. Michael Stults came up with the idea of sending me a lot of songs to choose material from, while not trying to categorize me. (Note: Jeannie Kendall’s manager and co-producer, is Mike Stults. Brien Fisher also co-produced the new album.) So, I just picked out songs that I would like to do. Michael Stults went over about 1,000 songs and brought that (amount) down to around 100 songs, which he kept sending to me, little by little, to listen to. Then I would say, “I like this song. I think I can do this or that.” So we bravely went out there and tried to do whatever music we wanted to do without trying to figure out what (radio) stations would play it.
(Q)-Why?
Jeannie Kendall- We felt that would give a little excitement to the album. I like a lot of different kinds of music. I have always liked to listen to a lot of different kinds of music so, that’s how it all kind of started.
(Q)-Are you reintroducing listeners to who you are as a woman, a recording artist and an individual with this new recording project?
Jeannie Kendall- I think sometimes artists will get stuck in a little ditch and do only one kind of music. So they (the listeners and radio programmers) have you in that picture, with that specific sound in their minds.
(Q)-So, recording diverse music, is not a new attitude for you.
Jeannie Kendall- Even with the music that my dad (Royce Kendall) and I would record, there were times that we’d record songs and we’d stick our neck out and do other people’s songs. Then later, maybe those songs didn’t end up as (radio) singles, but since people don’t hear every song that you’ve recorded, nor do they buy every album that you’ve released, they weren’t aware of the diversity we’d recorded within our music.
(Q)-What’s different today? Why are there more possibilities and thus, opportunities for you and your new music?
Jeannie Kendall- Today, music is getting more blurred. Everything is not placed into one or another category. Maybe because of the Internet, people have more access to what they’re able to listen to. Maybe because they can put music onto their IPOD and have all different kinds of music on there. Today, people are used to listening to more diverse music within one particular product.
(Q)- When you began working on this recording project, did you have any preconceived notion as to how the finished product would turn out?
Jeannie Kendall-I really had no idea prior to going into the studio what the end result would sound like. I’d go into the studio to record a track and then later, I’d listen to the song and say, “Oh wow! That’s me?(Laughs.)” I didn’t know that was me. So, I’m kind of discovering my own self at the same time while I was recording this new music.
(Q)- Since going through the process of creating the music on, “All the Girls I Am”, do you like who you are rediscovering within yourself?
Jeannie Kendall- I think this has a positive message that women can do anything they want to and that you can do anything if you believe that you can do it. I think there’s a lot of possibilities for all women. This new music shows that can become if you are in a situation where you can do what you want to do and no one is placing any constrains on your music, then you can have a lot of fun with your music. To record a diverse album of music such as this one and to also be able to simply do that, is probably is not the (main)idea of most (major) record labels. That sometimes happens whenever an artist is first starting out. So in a way, it is kind of like a new start for me. We also felt that would give a little of the excitement to the album. I like a lot of different kinds of music, I have always liked to listen to a lot of different kinds of music, so that’s how it all kind of started.
(Q)-Are you reintroducing listeners to who you are as a woman, a recording artist and an individual with this new recording project?
Jeannie Kendall- I think sometimes artists will get stuck in a little ditch and do only one kind of music. So they (fans)have you in that picture and with that specific sound in their minds. Even with the music that my dad (Royce Kendall) and I would record, there were times that we’d record music and we’d stick our neck out and do other people’s songs. Then later, maybe those songs didn’t end up as (radio) singles. But, since people don’t hear every song that you’ve recorded nor do they buy every album that you’ve released, they weren’t aware of the diversity we’d recorded within our music.
(Q)-What is different today, that enables you to create a new album filled with diverse music?
Jeannie Kendall- Music is getting more blurred. Everything is not placed into one or another category. Maybe because of the Internet, people have more access to what they’re able to listen to or maybe because they can put music onto their IPOD and put all different kinds of music on there. Today, people are used to listening to more diverse music within one particular product. I really had no idea prior to going into the studio what the end result would sound like. I’d go into the studio to record a track and then later, I’d listen to the song and say, “Oh wow! That’s me? (Laughs.)”. I didn’t know that was me. So, I was kind of discovering my own self at the same time while I was recording this new music.
(Q)- Do you like who you are discovering, within yourself, as a woman, while you were going through the process of creating the music on, “All the Girls I Am”?
Jeannie Kendall- I think this has a positive message that women can do anything they want to and that you can do anything, if you believe that you can do it. I think there’s a lot of possibilities for all women. If you are in a situation where you can do what you want to do and no one is placing any constrains on your music, then you can have a lot of fun with your music. To record a diverse album of music such as this one and to be able to do that, is probably is not an idea that most (major) record labels want to have. Although, that sometimes happens whenever an artist is first starting out, so in a way it is kind of like a new start for me.
(Q)-Long before country artist’s were attempting to cross over with their music, you were within the groundbreaking country vocal group The Kendalls. The Kendalls Grammy Award winning single in 1977, “Heaven’s Just a Sin Away”, also was a huge success around the world. What are your feelings today, watching other individuals in the recording community, attempting to do what you already achieved years ago?
Jeannie Kendall- Music is always evolving and we all are inspired by others throughout our lives. For me personally, there are moments when I am glad to see that other recording artists are aware of me and my music. I once worked on a recording project with Alan Jackson. He went into the studio and I had already had my vocal down (Recorded her vocals in the recording studio.)and he sang with me. When I was in the studio with him, at one point I said to him, ”That sounds great.”, and Alan said, ”I’ve been singing with you for years,you just didn’t know it. The first country music concert I went to was a Kendalls concert”. So,today it feels good for me to know that I have inspired somebody.
(Q)-Do you find yourself having a new-found sense of confidence in your life now that you are focused on your career as a solo artist?
Jeannie Kendall-Yes.
(Q)-Are you going to tour behind this new album?
Jeannie Kendall-I hope to get out and do a few shows then more of a major tour. We’re all looking forward to what the future will bring.