Kenny Rankin, the renowned singer, songwriter and musician, died from complications of lung cancer at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles on June 7. He was 69.
Rankin’s music career spanned 50 years beginning with a handful of singles for Decca Records in the late 1950s. A few years late,r he signed with Columbia Records and found himself playing guitar on Bob Dylan’s landmark 1965 album “Bringing It All Back Home.” Soon after, The Tonight Show host Johnny Carson became such a fan that Rankin was invited to appear on the show more than 20 times. Carson also contributed liner notes to Rankin’s 1967 debut LP “Mind Dusters,” which included his much covered pop standard “Peaceful.”
Growing up in the multicultural hotbed of New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood, he absorbed a broad array of musical influences, from Afro-Cuban to Top 40 to Jazz to Brazilian.
Rankin was recently signed to the Sly Dog imprint of Mack Avenue Records, and was scheduled to record a few weeks ago with the famed producer Phil Ramone when the label learned of his illness, which led to the cancellation of those sessions.
Rankin is survived by his son, two daughters and granddaughter. Funeral arrangements are pending, and a memorial service in Los Angeles is being planned.
