The Kendalls

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Kendalls

The Kendalls were a U.S. country music group, which had a number of hits during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The group consisted of Royce Kendall (born September 25, 1935 in St. Louis, Missouri; died May 22, 1998) and his daughter Jeannie Kendall (born October 30, 1954 in St. Louis, Missouri).

Formed in 1969, The Kendalls recorded an album, from which a single, a cover of John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" (previously a hit for Peter, Paul & Mary) was released, which just narrowly missed the top fifty on the U.S. country charts. Subsequent singles, however, failed to chart, and they eventually parted with their record label, focusing on performing live for a number of years, before signing with the independent Ovation label in 1977. While their first single for the label, a cover of the Kitty Wells hit "Making Believe", failed to chart, it was their second single, a "cheating" song called "Heaven's Just a Sin Away", that proved to be their breakthrough. The song topped the country charts and was also a minor crossover pop hit, and won the 1978 Grammy for Best Country Vocal by a Duo or Group. Subsequent hits included "Just Like Real People", "It Don't Feel Like Sinnin' to Me", "Sweet Desire", "You'd Make an Angel Want to Cheat", and a cover of Dolly Parton's "Put it Off Until Tomorrow". (Jeannie Kendall's powerful soprano has often been compared to Parton's.) Their last top ten hit, "Thank God for the Radio" came in 1984, and while they released a number of singles into the early 1990s, their winning streak had ended. They did continue to tour and perform, however, up until Royce Kendall's death from a stroke he suffered in 1998. In the years since her father's death, Jeannie Kendall has released a solo album, and she continues to perform.