Welcome to the 1st Edition of the Songwriter Series. In this series, I will attempt to shed light on the songwriter...the star behind the star. Most of these writers do not have any of much name recognition. They are not mentioned in the same sentences of Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, George Strait etc. at your dinner table.
First up: Wayne Kemp!
Wayne Kemp does not have an expansive catalog of songwriting credits, like Harlan Howard or Hank Cochran. However, he has written some bonafide smash country songs. For instance: "One Piece At a Time" by Johnny Cash; "I'm The Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised" by Johnny Paycheck; "The Love Bug" by George Jones and George Strait; "Next in Line" by Conway Twitty; "The Fireman" by George Strait etc. etc. That is quite the consistent run. And consistent, is the name of the game for Wayne Kemp.
Born in 1940 in Arkansas, Kemp was born into a large musical family with many siblings being encouraged to play instruments. Later in the decade, the family relocated to Oklahoma, where Wayne started playing guitar and eventually was playing professionally for local Tulsa musician Benny Ketchum.
Kemp's big break came in 1965, when a friend gave a demo of "Love Bug" and "I Made Her That Way" to George Jones, who immediately recorded them. "Love Bug" is considered a classic, playing in bar bands all across the country, and was a #6 Hit for Jones. Some 30 years later, the song was recorded by George Strait, again released as a single and went to #8 on the charts. After this break, Kemp formed a band and began playing music professionally.
Tragedy, however, struck in 1967 when a drunk driver collided with the vehicle Kemp and his band were travelling in. Two band members perished in the accident, and Kemp himself was severely injured, being told he would never play guitar again. However, play again he would. While nursing his injuries, Kemp wrote "Next In Line", which Conway Twitty took all the way to #1 in 1968, for his first ever chart topper. He eventually got a gig playing rhythm guitar in Twitty's band for a few years.
Kemp then released (2) OUTSTANDING LPs in 1971 and 1973 on Decca and MCA. This is solid country gold, and true gems if you can find them in the wild. Kemp's songwriting success continued throughout the 1970's and was somewhat reinvigorated in the 1980's/ 90's when artists such as Ronnie Milsap, Ricky Van Shelton, Charley Pride among others, recorded his songs. He also continued recording a few other LPs on small labels, dually hard to find, and still fantastic records.
Wayne Kemp was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999. A prestigious, and well-deserved honor for the man who consistently wrote the best "tear-in-your-beer" country songs.
Drink a beer for Wayne Kemp. Hell, shed a tear into said beer if you feel inclined. Long live Country Music and the artists who contribute to it. Feel free to check out my Wayne Kemp songs playlist on Spotify, a link of which will be in the Instagram post and story.
