Mart Kenney
Herbert Martin Kenney
Musical career
Kenney was born in
Kenney and his band gained a foothold in network radio in 1935 with the
While originally a septet, Kenney toyed with his band's lineup frequently, enlarging it to as many as 30 musicians on some of his recordings. See "Appendix A~ Mart Kenney's Musicians" in Mart Kenney and his Western Gentlemen for additional details. Western Gentlemen's guitarist (Summer 1937โ1942) Tony Bradan married former Western Gentlemen's vocalist (1940-late 1943) Judy Richards.
Retirement from music and municipal career
Kenney's semi-retirement and relocation to Mission, British Columbia, saw the end of the Western Gentlemen. However, he continued to organize orchestras for special occasions such as CBC TV's In the Mood in 1971, and a Canadian National Exhibition appearance in 1975, and for engagements throughout the 1980s in the Vancouver area.
In Mission, Kenney took up the real estate business and ran successfully for municipal councillor, while also volunteering extensively with the
Kenney was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1980,[3] and in 1985 was awarded an honorary LLD by the University of Lethbridge. In 1995, he reprised his wartime concert performances when he conducted a dance band at the Bay Street Armoury in Victoria, BC to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The following year, he released a new album, Mart Kenney: the 78 rpm Years, containing twenty-two of the songs previously recorded with his band in times past.[2]
Federal politics
Kenney attempted to enter politics in 1968 but lost the Liberal nomination in York North to Barney Danson who went on to serve as a cabinet minister under Pierre Trudeau.[4]
Family
Kenney had three children.[5] In 1930 in Regina, he married Rosetta Smillie, and the couple had two sons, Martin and Jack, before Rosetta died in 1936. He subsequently married Madge, Rosetta's sister, although this marriage ended in divorce in the 1950s.[6] In addition to instrumentalists, Kenney also featured numerous singers over the years, most notably Norma Locke, whom Kenney married in 1952 and who performed with Kenney from 1944 until his retirement in 1969. Norma, who died of cancer in 1990, was also instrumental in community affairs, having helped create the Mission Heritage Association, and being the driving force for the creation of the Fraser River Heritage Park.[7]
Death and legacy
Kenney died on February 8, 2006, aged 95, following a lengthy battle with
The District of Mission commemorated the contributions of the Kenneys by naming Kenney Avenue, which runs off Oyama Avenue near the Mission Sports Park,[2] which is near their former home.
Kenney was added into the Alberta's grade 6 music curriculum draft in 2021, which credited him as the author of "When I Get Back to Calgary". Some expressed concerns regarding Kenney being one of only two examples of big band jazz and his relation to the then premier of Alberta, Jason Kenney.[9]
References
- ^ "BC Radio History and Mart Kenney".
- ^ a b c "Street Stories: Kenney Avenue, Mission Community Museum website, page 2
- ^ "Order of Canada: Mart Kenney". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- ^ a b "Decorated war veteran Barney Danson was defence minister under Trudeau". Globe and Mail. October 20, 2011. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
- ^ "Windsor/Smillie & Hunt/Griffin:Information about Rosetta Matilda Smillie". Genealogy.com. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- ^ "Kenney, Herbert Martin, "Mart" (1910-2006)". 2 September 2012.
- ^ Street Stories: Kenney Avenue, Mission Community Archives site, page 1 Archived 2015-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Hansard, House of Commons, Canada, 36th Parliament, 1st Session (1998-03-17). "Edited Hansard No. 75".
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Rosove, Jay (2021-03-30). "Outcry online as Kenney's music gets added to Alta. Grade 6 curriculum โ No, not that Kenney". Edmonton. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
External links
- Swing Band Leader Mart Kenney Dies
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, "Mart Kenney and His Western Gentlemen"
- Mart Kenney discography at Discogs
- Mart Kenney and his Western Gentlemen by Mart Kenney (1981, Western Producer Prairie Books, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)
- Mart Kenney playlist, Youtube.com