Kenny Rankin

Kenny Rankin sustained a lengthy career performing both pop material and standards. His recording debut arrived in 1967 with the album Mind Dusters, which contained the soft rock hit "Peaceful." Throughout the opening half of the 1970s he steadily cultivated listeners by issuing a consistent series of albums and playing concerts that mixed original compositions, recent material, and classic standards. By the close of the decade he had begun reconnecting with his singer/songwriter foundation, most clearly on After the Roses, the 1980 release that served as his first project for Atlantic Records. Live work kept him visible during the 1980s, although new recordings appeared only at irregular intervals. In 1991 he completed two separate albums, Hiding in Myself and Because of You, each issued by a different label. Three years later he joined Private Music and delivered Professional Dreamer, an album centered on standards. Here in My Heart followed in 1997 and carried a Brazilian influence. For the balance of the decade Rankin concentrated on touring, then issued his first live album in twenty years with the 1999 release The Bottom Line Encore Collection.