Benny Kay is an American recording artist and award-winning producer who has been creating music for over thirty years. Kay began his career in music by playing

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and barrelhouse piano at

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

s in the Boston, Massachusetts area. He became known for recording a risque version of

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

's "Cheesecake", and appeared several times on the Joel "Fats" Rogers Show on WBCN in Boston. Kay recorded his first album for the

Aladdin Records Aladdin Records was a record company and label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by brothers Eddie and Leo Mesner. It was originally called Philo Records before changing its name in 1946. Aladdin was known for jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock mus ...

label, at the age of eighteen, serving as piano player for the seven-piece rhythm and blues band, Powerhouse. Among the highlights of the initial and subsequent Powerhouse releases are guest performances by

Bull Moose Jackson Benjamin Clarence "Bull Moose" Jackson (April 22, 1919 – July 31, 1989)Allmusic biography Accessed January 2008. was an American blues and rhythm-and-blues singer and saxophonist, who was most successful in the late 1940s. He is considered a p ...

and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

J. Geils John Warren Geils Jr. () (February 20, 1946 – April 11, 2017), known professionally as J. Geils or Jay Geils, was an American guitarist. He was known as the leader of The J. Geils Band. Growing up in New York City, Geils became interested in ...

. Over several years of regional touring with Powerhouse, Kay performed with or opened for

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

, Muddy Waters, James Cotton, Big Walter Horton,

J. B. Hutto Joseph Benjamin Hutto (April 26, 1926 – June 12, 1983) was an American blues musician. He was influenced by Elmore James and became known for his slide guitar playing and declamatory style of singing. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame ...

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

Blood Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura Ny ...

, NRBQ, Bob Margolin, Janis Ian, The Nighthawks and many others. Kay moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 1985 to produce music for the successful television program ''You Magazine'' and fashion videos for

Liz Claiborne Anne Elisabeth Jane Claiborne (March 31, 1929 – June 26, 2007) was an American fashion designer and businesswoman. Her success was built upon stylish yet affordable apparel for career women featuring colorfully tailored separates that cou ...

, Anne Klein and others. ''Blue Whispers'' marked Kay's debut as a solo release of romantic ballads and included accompaniment by the

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

Ray Brown,

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

Grady Tate, Jr. and keyboardist Carlton Holmes. Five of the tracks from ''Blue Whispers'' were added to rotation on CHFI-FM, Canada's largest FM radio station, along with

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

's ''

Duets A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers. Duets or The Duets may also refer to: Films and television * ''Duets'' (film), a 2000 film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Huey Lewis * "Duets" (''Glee''), a 2010 episod ...

'' album. Russ Davis, at WQCD first drew attention to ''Blue Whispers'' in the U.S. by airing an advance copy of several cuts prior to the release. Twenty-two FM stations followed in the United States and broadcast ''Blue Whispers'' in rotation for over nine months. In 1997, Kay produced the international collaboration between Russian recording artist Boris Grebenshchikov and members of The Band, including original members Garth Hudson, Rick Danko and later members Jim Weider and Randy Carlianti. The resulting release was the ''Lilith'' album. Kay has been actively involved in the production of various media projects throughout his career. Kay was executive producer of the independent

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

''Hero'' which won the silver award at the U.S. Film Festival in 1984. He has received numerous notices in the press and CNN highlighted one of his events in their summation of noteworthy events of the 1980s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kay, Benny American blues pianists American male pianists Film producers from Massachusetts Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Boston 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male musicians