Gordon Kennedy

Gordon Scott Kennedy is an American songwriter, musician, and record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee whose most successful composition is the international hit song "Change the World", recorded by Eric Clapton, for which Kennedy and his co-writers received a Grammy Award for Song of the Year (1996). Kennedy also received a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album (2007), co-producing, composing, and performing on Peter Frampton's Fingerprints album. He was a member of the Christian rock band White Heart for six years in the 1980s. Kennedy has written 15 songs recorded by Garth Brooks, and has done projects with Frampton and Ricky Skaggs. Kennedy's songs have been recorded by artists including Bonnie Raitt, Alison Krauss, Stevie Nicks, Faith Hill, and Carrie Underwood. His compositions have been heard in the film soundtracks of Tin Cup, For Love of the Game, Where the Heart Is, Almost Famous, Summer Catch, Someone Like You, The Banger Sisters, Phenomenon and Disney's The Fox and the Hound 2. Early life Kennedy was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, but his family moved to Nashville in March 1961 when he was just over one year old. Both his parents were professional musicians who came to Nashville hoping to advance their careers. His father, Jerry Kennedy, was a guitar player in the house band of "Louisiana Hayride" and married Linda Brannon, Gordon's mother, who was a singer on the show with her own recording career. After moving to Nashville, his father became successful as a session musician (member of the Musicians Hall of Fame/A-team) and eventually his business acumen propelled his rise to CEO of Mercury Records (Nashville division), a job he held for 20 years. Kennedy is the oldest of three brothers— the next is Bryan and the youngest is Shelby. Both Kennedy's brothers are successful in music. Bryan wrote the Garth Brooks hit, American Honky-Tonk Bar Association and Shelby is a music executive who has composed songs recorded by Reba McEntire and Ray Charles. Of the brothers, Gordon took music most seriously. Kennedy recalls having a jukebox in their home stocked with 45 rpm records his father had played on or produced. The first non-country album Kennedy owned was Meet the Beatles! which he said "kind of lit a fire under me in the second grade". Attending recording sessions with his father was a common occurrence for him as a youth.