About David
DAVID KENT is an American songwriter, musician and performer whose career has spanned more than five decades in the worlds of rock, folk, country and jazz music. As a performer he is best known for his keyboard and vocal work with Hall and Oates in the late 1970s. As a writer, he has sustained an award winning country music career in Nashville starting in 1990, including Blake Shelton’s debut smash hit number one single, “Austin”, from 2001 as well as numerous BMI million sales awards and gold and platinum records. He has also won songwriting awards in Christian and country and scored hits in the field of bluegrass music.
Kent is the middle son, born in the middle of the day, in the middle of the year in the middle of the century (12 PM, June 30, 1951) in Akron, Ohio. His father was an NYC born classically trained violinist, graduate of Manhattan’s High School of Music and Arts. His mother was an Akron native, who taught high school French and English. David’s musical education began with piano lessons at age 4 and music has remained his love, his focus and his career ever since.
In a home where only classical music was played, his earliest popular music influence had to come from an easily concealed Motorola 6 transistor AM radio. At that time, the Top 40 format spun a potpourri of rock, easy listening, soul, country, jazz, folk and novelty music, from Marty Robbins to Rockin’ Robin, the Kingston Trio to the Kingsmen and Ray Conniff to Ray Charles. His teenage babysitter provided the 7-year-old with an ongoing supply of 45s (mostly Ricky Nelson, Elvis, and the Everly Brothers). Just as importantly… when his grandparents brought a ukulele back from a trip to Hawaii, she taught him to play it. At age 11 however, when he was bested at an elementary school talent show by a kid with a real full sized guitar, he begged his parents for one, got it and taught himself to play. Soon after, David started writing songs and playing in a series of garage rock bands and folk ensembles. At 14 he played his first paying gig… a fraternity party for the older brother of a band mate. Between the influences of The Beatles, the ensuing British Invasion and Motown, he was already set on finding a career in popular music.
With his first guitar… about age 14
The 1950s and ‘60s were part of Akron’s heyday when the moguls of its bustling tire and rubber industry (Goodyear, Goodrich and Firestone) had schools named after them. David’s high school was named for Harvey S. Firestone Junior, hence, he attended Harvey S. Firestone Junior Senior High School from 1966-1969. It was a well funded place with a vibrant music and arts program, noted for graduating many well known rock musicians, including Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders (also class of ‘69) and Black Keys members Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach. At FHS David took advantage of every vocal music program the school had to offer: school choir, men’s glee, the madrigal singers, three Broadway musical productions, and in his senior year starred as Professor Harold Hill in “The Music Man”. Alternatively, It was also a time of turmoil, with the Civil Rights movement and the war in Vietnam dominating the daily news, so… the topical protest music of Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Bill Broonzy and others were also on his regular playlist.
As Prof. Harold Hill in FHS production of “The Music Man”, 1968
High school “folkie” at FHS, 1969
After high school Kent enrolled in Ithaca College as a music major, but performing eclipsed studying and he was not invited back after his sophomore year. He remained in upstate NY performing as a solo folk singer and joined an established local rock band “Albatross” playing dates in the Finger Lakes area and across New England for the next 3 years. By now, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor had been added to that earlier list of influences, and he was twice featured on the long-running celebrated “Bound For Glory” folk music radio show on Cornell’s FM station WVBR. The topical and political songs he had been listening to informed “The Ali Shuffle” in 1970, a support song he wrote for the world heavyweight champ whose title had been unfairly revoked.
On “Bound For Glory” radio show, Annabel Taylor Hall, Cornell University, 1970
In 1973 Albatross sent some garage recordings of David’s songs on cassette to a group of New York City music publishing companies gleaned from the Yellow Pages, where it caught the attention of a young employee at Chappell Music named Tommy Motolla. Motolla brought the band to the city to record a few sides for MGM Lion records, but nothing of note happened as the result of those first recordings. A few months later Tommy invited David back to New York to sing a song written by his friend, Sandy Linzer, who had written hits for the Four Seasons, Jay and the Techniques, and The Toys. That song was “I Got Love For You Ruby”, which he recorded under the alias of “Shayne”, and although 3 versions of Linzer’s song were eventually released (by Kent, Frankie Valli and Glen Campbell), the song was never a hit. However, it was on that recording date that David was introduced to two young singers from Philadelphia that Motolla had been working with, Daryl Hall and John Oates, who dropped in to sing background harmonies to David’s lead vocal. The three hit it off and Daryl and John asked David to audition for a keyboard/percussion/BGV slot in their band. Originally he turned down the request, thinking that Albatross still needed time to pursue its own recording deal, but a year and a half later, in mid 1974, he was again asked to audition. This time he agreed, passed the audition and joined the band, touring and recording with the duo for the next five years. Also, at about this time, David got his first nationally released album cut, “I’ve Been On The Mountain”, which appeared on the album “Get Me To The Country“ by the folk-rock band McKendree Spring on the Pye label in 1975.
Albatross circa 1973: (L to R) Clark Kenowitz, Jeffrey Steele, Bennet Gale, Kent, Howie Kates
With Hall & Oates on Silver album tour, 1975: (L to R) Hall, Steven Dees, Eddie Zyne, Oates, Todd Sharp, Kent
While on tour with Hall & Oates he appeared on bills with the Eagles, The Kinks, John Sebastian, Leo Sayer, Jimmy Buffett, Dave Mason, Al Stewart, Andrew Gold, Eric Carmen, and many others. More meaningful for David, however, was Oct. 20, 1977, when he found himself onstage with the boys at Blossom Music Center, the outdoor music shell/summer home of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, returning to the venue where he had worked two summers as an usher 9 years earlier.
Kent’s second most passion these days is cooking… and oddly enough, it was a shared interest in international and regional cuisines that occasionally found Daryl and David taking time together while on tour to visit local restaurants across Europe and the US to sample the local fare. These adventures, combined with an introduction to Asian food from his uncle, James Sacks, with whom he was living at the time, were the start of a life long journey into ethnic and regional foods and the culinary arts.
At the mini-moog on tour with Hall & Oates, circa 1978
In 1980 Hall & Oates hired an all new band and David began to pursue a solo record deal. He assembled the David Kent Band with bandmates Jeff Steele, Howie Kates, David Longworth, and Columbia Records recording artists the Burns Sisters. By 1981 the group had been pared down to a quartet with Michael Starmer replacing Longworth. It was this formation that recorded the David Kent Band album produced by Jon Anthony (of Queen and Ace fame) and released on the Epic Records label in 1982. The only single from the album sent to radio was “Split Personality”, which failed to chart. The label pulled support after three weeks and the album was a total flop.
“David Kent Band” album, shot 1982: (L to R) Jeffrey Steele, Michael Starmer, Howie Kates, Kent
Head shot from David Kent Band album photo session, 1982
Back in Ithaca, NY, David paused pursuing the music business on a national level and spent the next few years working in construction and playing in local bands for fun and extra cash. His favorite gig was as the “boy singer” in Joe Salzano’s 18 Piece Big Band performing the great jazz standards of the Ellington/Basie golden Big Band era.
David Kent Band at Cornell University Quad, circa 1981: (L to R) Jeffrey Steele, Kent, Michael Starmer, Howie Kates
In 1985 he was approached by friend and noted bluegrass songwriter Tom “Harley” Campbell with an offer to co-write country songs. The two got to work and soon were noticed by rocker Huey Lewis who signed them both as staff writers to the Nashville division of his publishing company, Bob-A-Lew Music. By ‘96 Kent and Campbell began making annual pilgrimages to Nashville to pitch their wares, and after meeting with some favorable response, were told, “If you are serious about doing this, you should consider moving to Nashville.” Two and a half years later, David took that advice and made the move to Tennessee in August of 1990.
1st week in Nashville, 1990, with Paul Craft’s “Brother Jukebox”
Kent had met Hall of Fame songwriter Paul Craft on one of his earlier visits, who offered him a staff writing job with Paul Craft Music Publishing on the day he arrived in Music City. Kent accepted the position, and for the next 35 years his focus was almost entirely on songwriting. In time, David went on to expand his career by moving on as a staff writer with larger, more influential companies; first to Tom Collins Music, then to Almo-Irving Music, and eventually Talbot Music Co. During those years he was fortunate enough to work side by side with such celebrated hit songwriters as Paul Craft, Max D. Barnes, Craig Wiseman, Lari White, Bob Regan, Sherman Kelly, Kent Robbins, Tim Johnson, Peter Callander, and Thom Schuyler.
An early break came that first year in Nashville with his first country chart single, “Lessons Of Love”, by Jerry Landsdowne on Step One Records, which helped David connect with other publishing companies and their writers in a town where networking is so important. In time, his work began to get noticed and starting in 1992 the country cuts began to trickle in. Over the years, he has compiled a list of major label album cuts, top twenty, top ten and number one singles; first from Neal McCoy, then Martina McBride, followed by other stars in country music: Mark Wills, Marilyn Martin, Tracy Byrd, Rodney Atkins, Tracy Lawrence, Emilio, Shenandoah’s Marty Raybon, Lari White, Blake Shelton and others.
With Cynthia and Blake Shelton at BMI annual awards dinner, November 2001
Meanwhile, notable bluegrass artists Charlie Sizemore, Tim O’Brien, and the Seldom Scene recorded and released some of his catalog. The cowboy comedy act “Riders In The Sky” cut one of his tunes, and two of his songs have appeared in feature films: “Terminal Velocity” starring Charlie Sheen and Natasia Kinski, and Michael Moore’s “Captain Mike’s Across America/Slacker Uprising.”
With songwriting legend Bobby Braddock, “Austin” #1 party, 2001
In 2014 David came on board as a writer with the non-profit service organization “Operation Song”, an ongoing initiative developed to pair professional songwriters with U.S. military veterans, active duty members and families affected by PTSD, physical wounds and other issues. Its mission is in to help these people heal by telling their often difficult stories through songwriting. He has found it to be personally inspirational, and hundreds of Operation Song songs later, he continues offering his services to this marvelous organization and contributing to its mission.
David’s only Nashville musical venture that did not involve songwriting was his 20 year long membership in the band FAB… an all-Beatles cover band comprising some of Nashville’s finest instrumental studio session players, singers, producers… and him. From 1997 through 2007 he played with them to sold out houses in Nashville, Florida, Alabama and Bermuda.
David has been married to artist and author Cynthia Kent since 1999 and has 3 grown children: Claudia Crook Wolfe, Jackson Crook, and James Kent. David and Cynthia live in Pleasant View, TN and Newfield, NY, where he continues to write songs for the country music market and Operation Song, “portrait” songs for and about people he knows, poems about birding, and the occasional commercial jingle… when he’s not cooking.