Kendell Marvel

Kendell Marvel is a country singer and songwriter whose authoritative baritone lends credence to his songs' outlaw- and rock-inspired narratives. He found success writing hits for other country artists, among them Gary Allan, Jake Owen, and George Strait, before releasing his solo debut, Lowdown & Lonesome, in 2017. Marvel collaborated with writers ranging from Dan Auerbach to Chris Stapleton on releases such as 2019's Solid Gold Sounds and 2022's Come On Sunshine. Born in raised in Thompsonville, Illinois -- closer to Nashville than to Chicago -- Marvel started playing honky tonks as young as ten, when his father, a coal miner, deemed him old enough to gig. Influenced by Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers Band as well as by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, he honed his writing skills while continuing to perform locally over the years. After starting a family, he eventually moved to Nashville in 1998 and co-wrote "Right Where I Need to Be" with Gary Allan allegedly on his first day in Music City. It became a Top Five country hit and landed in the top half of the Hot 100 after its release in 2000. Marvel's next hit was a few years in coming, but he reached the Billboard Hot Country Songs Top 20 as co-songwriter of Joe Diffie's "Tougher Than Nails" in 2004, then returned to the Top 20 in 2006 with "Yee Haw" by Jake Owen. Penned by Marvel, Owen, and Jimmy Ritchey, Jake Owen's "Startin' with Me" went to number six later the same year. The writing trio had an even bigger hit two years later with the Owen number two "Don't Think I Can't Love You." In 2009, Marvel returned to the Top 20 with George Strait's "Twang," this time with writing partners Jimmy Ritchey and Jim Lauderdale. After writing minor hits for the likes of Josh Thompson ("Comin' Around") and Blake Shelton ("Buzzin'"), he collaborated with Chris Stapleton and Tim James to write the Stapleton Top 20 country hit "Either Way," released in 2017. That year, Marvel finally performed his own material on the self-released debut album Lowdown & Lonesome. Produced by Keith Gattis, it included three songwriting collaborations with Stapleton. Spinefarm signed on to reissue the album in 2018. Marvel next entered the studio with producers Dan Auerbach and David Ferguson. The resulting Solid Gold Sounds arrived on Easy Eye Sound in 2019. It included songwriting collaborations with Auerbach, Ronnie Bowman, and Paul Overstreet, among others. His third album, 2022's Come On Sunshine, was produced by Beau Bedford (Quaker City Night Hawks, Sunny Sweeney) and featured a duet with Chris Stapleton ("Don't Tell Me How to Drink").
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