Ep. 31: Kenny Kinsey

Kenneth Lester Kinsey, co-founder of the famed Blues clan “Big Daddy Kinsey & the Kinsey Report” was born January 21, 1963 in Gary, Indiana, the same birthplace of that other famous musical family, The Jackson 5. 

 As the youngest of three brothers, and raised in a house of music, Ken was influenced by all the music around him, mostly Blues, old school Funk, Rock…and later Reggae.  (Brother and guitarist, Donald Kinsey recorded and toured with Reggae legends Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.)  But it wasn’t until high school, when Ken knew Bass was his instrument of choice for life.  He joined the high school Jazz Band that “taught me the language of music and gave me the confidence to play with others”.  Over the next few years Ken started to jam with his brothers (music veterans by this time), but playing with eldest brother Ralph Kinsey (drummer) taught him how to groove and play “in the pocket”.

 In the early 80’s, after graduating from college and his brothers pursuing other musical endeavors, the family came together, along with their father (Big Daddy Kinsey) to form the Kinsey Report.  Three decades later, the Kinsey’s have recorded nine CD’s, toured nationally and internationally, traveling from Chicago to Tokyo; from Helsinki to Australia, sharing stages with such giants as B.B. King, Albert Collins, Allman Brothers, Black Crowes and many more.  (Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes appears on the Kinsey Report’s 1993 Crossing Bridges CD.