Kenny Nolan (born September 30, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter from Los Angeles.
He is best remembered for the 1976–77 song "
I Like Dreamin'", which he wrote and performed; it reached No. 3 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 4 on the
Easy Listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
chart.
He wrote ''Swing Your Daddy,'' which became a 1975 summer hit for Jim Gilstrap, reaching No.4 in the UK charts and No.10 on the American Billboard Black Music chart of that year.
Nolan also
co-wrote several
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
with
Bob Crewe
Robert Stanley Crewe (November 12, 1930 – September 11, 2014) was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. He was known for producing, and co-writing with Bob Gaudio, a string of Top 10 singles for the Four Season ...
, including
Frankie Valli
Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice.
...
's "
My Eyes Adored You
"My Eyes Adored You" is a 1974 song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan. It was originally recorded by The Four Seasons in early 1974. After the Motown label balked at the idea of releasing it, the recording was sold to lead singer Frankie Valli ...
" and
Labelle's "
Lady Marmalade
"Lady Marmalade" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan, originally for Nolan's disco group. The song is famous for the repeated refrain of " ''Voulez-vous coucher avec moi''?" in French as part of the chorus, a sexually suggestive line ...
" (both 1974).
Life and career
At the age of 13 he won a scholarship to the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
for
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...
, but dropped out after six months, bored with the conventional regimen. Four years later, a scholarship to
Chouinard went the same way, and Nolan decided to send songs in to any musician he thought might be suitable. It brought him to the attention of both veteran songwriter Bob Crewe and entrepreneur
Wes Farrell
Wes Farrell (December 21, 1939 – February 29, 1996) was an American musician, songwriter and record producer, who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s.
Career
Farrell was born in New York, United States. Farrell's catalogue includes clos ...
, both of whom harnessed the then youngster's talent.
As house producer at Farrell's
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
record label, Nolan wrote and/or produced a string of successful
singles
Singles are people not in a committed relationship.
Singles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series
* ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe
* ''Singles'' ...
for the label, including
Jim Gilstrap
James Earl Gilstrap (born November 10, 1946)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 1 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American singer, considered one of the most prolific session musicians in the industry. He is best known for ...
's "Swing Your Daddy" and "Take Your Daddy for a Ride";
Dee Clark
Dee Clark (November 7, 1938 – December 7, 1990) was an American soul singer best known for a string of R&B and pop hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the song " Raindrops", which became a million-seller in the United States in ...
's "Ride a Wild Horse"; and Linda Carr's "High Wire". With Crewe, meanwhile, he co-wrote some of the era's biggest successes. They included
Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes
Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes were a disco musical ensemble, group of the 1970s, featuring Monti Rock III (born "Joseph Montanez Jr."). The band is best known for their two disco hits "Get Dancin'" and "I Wanna Dance Wit' Choo (Doo Dat Dance)" ...
' "
Get Dancin'
"Get Dancin'" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan and performed by Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes, led by Monti Rock III. The song was produced by Bob Crewe and arranged by Bruce Miller. The song was featured on their 1975 album, ''Disc ...
",
Labelle's "
Lady Marmalade
"Lady Marmalade" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan, originally for Nolan's disco group. The song is famous for the repeated refrain of " ''Voulez-vous coucher avec moi''?" in French as part of the chorus, a sexually suggestive line ...
", and Frankie Valli's "
My Eyes Adored You
"My Eyes Adored You" is a 1974 song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan. It was originally recorded by The Four Seasons in early 1974. After the Motown label balked at the idea of releasing it, the recording was sold to lead singer Frankie Valli ...
". He wrote the song "Flirtin'" for the 1971 ''
The Donny Osmond Album
''The Donny Osmond Album'' is the debut album by pop singer Donny Osmond. It was released in 1971 on MGM when Osmond was 13 years of age. It was produced by Rick Hall, who was also responsible for most of the arrangements.
The album features on ...
'', as well as the final top 40 hit for
Tavares
Tavares may refer to:
Places Brazil
*Tavares, Paraíba
*Tavares, Rio Grande do Sul
*Rodovia Raposo Tavares, the longest highway in São Paulo
*Tavares Bastos (favela), a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
*Tavares River
Jamaica
*Tavares Garden ...
in 1982, entitled "
A Penny for Your Thoughts".
Nolan also had ambition to perform – he supplied the
falsetto
''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...
that dominated "Get Dancin'" – and, after a short tenure with Firefly, he moved onto the studio group
The Eleventh Hour. Produced by Crewe, the band scored two minor hits in the United States with "So Good" (1974) and the album, ''Hollywood Hot'' (1976).
In 1976, Nolan decided to
record his own version of a song he had been commissioned to write by another. "
I Like Dreamin'" was released by the Eleventh Hour's label,
20th Century
The 20th (twentieth) century began on
January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nuclear ...
, and in early November it finally entered the U.S. chart, to begin a three-month crawl to its peak at No. 3.
Nolan followed it the spring after with the top 20 hit "
Love's Grown Deep", taken from
his self-titled album; he was named Number One New Pop Singles Artist of 1977 by ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazine. "My Eyes Get Blurry" was the next single, from Nolan's second album, 1978's ''
A Song Between Us''. ''Night Miracles'' followed two years later, bringing a new single, "Us and Love (We Go Together)", to the mid-reaches of the chart in early 1980, but it failed to give Nolan any further major success.
He continued to record, however, signing to
MCA and releasing ''Head to Toe'' in 1982. That album produced two singles, "Love Song" and "Soft Rock Hard Love", but further commercial success as a recording artist eluded him. However, he continued to write songs that became hits for other artists, including "Shoot 'Em Up Movies", which became a top ten
R&B hit for soul/boogie band
the Deele
The Deele (pronounced like "deal") is an American band from Cincinnati, Ohio who achieved success in the 1980s with such hit singles as " Body Talk" and " Two Occasions". When the group began recording in the early 1980s, the lineup consisted of ...
in 1988.
In the 1990s he wrote "
Masterpiece
A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
" which became a crossover hit for another
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
band,
Atlantic Starr
Atlantic Starr is an American band based in White Plains, New York. They are best known for the hits " Always", "Secret Lovers", "Send for Me", "Circles", "Silver Shadow" and "Masterpiece".
History
Atlantic Starr began in Greenburgh, New York w ...
.
Discography
Singles
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nolan, Kenny
1949 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
20th Century Fox Records artists
Casablanca Records artists
USC Thornton School of Music alumni
Singers from Los Angeles
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
20th-century American male singers
21st-century American male singers
Singer-songwriters from California