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Kerry Marx

{{Short description|American guitarist and studio musician}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}

{{Infobox musical artist

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| name = Kerry Marx

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| image = File:Kerry_Marx_-_Opry_Picture.jpg

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| birth_place = Aiken, South Carolina

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| occupation = Studio musician

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| website = {{URL|http://www.kerrymarx.com/}}

| module = South Carolina Entertainment & Music Hall of Fame (Inducted 2023)

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Kerry Alan Marx is an American guitarist and studio musician who has served as Music Director of the Grand Ole Opry since 2018. He is best known for his work with that organization,{{cite news | title =Country singer graciously shares his memorable night at the Opry | newspaper =The Augusta Chronicle | date =9 May 2006 | url =http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2006/03/09/rho_68409.shtml | access-date =16 January 2014 }}{{cite news | last =Hollabaugh | first =Lorie | title =Artist Updates | newspaper =Music Row | date =3 December 2013 | url =http://www.musicrow.com/2013/12/artist-updates-12313/ | access-date =3 January 2014 }} where he has been staff guitarist since 2000.{{cite news | last =Waddell | first =Ray | title =Strong Support System: Opry Band, Singers and Dancers Think and Play on Their Feet | newspaper =Billboard | date =17 June 2000 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=mw8EAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Kerry+Marx%22&pg=PA52 | access-date =7 January 2014 }} He has been described as being among "Nashville's most in-demand musicians",{{Cite web|url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/kristen-chenowrth-happiness-is-christmas/|title=Kristin Chenoweth Announces Holiday Album, 'Happiness Is...Christmas!'|first=Will|last=Schube|website=www.udiscovermusic.com|date=September 7, 2021|quote=Chenoweth teamed up with award-winning producers Jay Landers (Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler) and Fred Mollin (Jimmy Webb, Johnny Mathis) for the album... The duo enlisted a group of Nashville’s most in-demand musicians for the recording sessions, including guitarists Bryan Sutton and Kerry Marx...}} and has played with many notable musicians including Johnny Cash,{{cite news | last =Washburn | first =Jim | title =Pop Music Review: Johnny Cashes In on the Past at the Coach House | newspaper =L.A. Times | date =10 August 1992 | url =https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-08-10-ca-4782-story.html | access-date =3 January 2014 }} Taylor Swift, John Legend, James Taylor, and Steven Tyler. He was guitarist for the CD "Songs From The Neighborhood," which received a Grammy award, the album Many Moods of Moses which received a Grammy nomination, and for the 2 time multi-platinum self-titled album by musical group Blackhawk.

Marx was also a member of The Johnny Cash Show band,{{cite book | last =Smith | first =John L. | title =Another song to sing: the recorded repertoire of Johnny Cash | publisher =Scarecrow Press | date =1999 }} and toured extensively with Don McLean. In June 2023, Marx was inducted into the South Carolina Entertainment & Music Hall of Fame.{{cite web|url=https://www.wyff4.com/article/new-inductees-south-carolina-entertainment-music-hall-of-fame/43427364 |title=4 new inductees announced for SC Entertainment & Music Hall of Fame|first1=Stephanie|last1=Moore|work=WYFF 4|date=March 27, 2023|quote=The third inductee for 2023 is Kerry Marx. Marx is the current music director at the Grand Ole Opry and has been since 2018. Before that, Marx was a guitarist at the Grand Ole Opry. He is from Aiken, South Carolina.}}{{cite web|url=https://greenvillejournal.com/arts-culture/three-upstate-sc-entertainers-named-2023-sc-entertainment-music-hall-of-fame-inductees/ |title=Three Upstate entertainers named 2023 SC Entertainment & Music Hall of Fame inductees|first1=Jeannie|last1=Putnam|work=Greenville Journal|date=March 28, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.carolinafame.org/june-3rd-show |title=Hall of Fame Induction Show, Inductees for June 3rd., 2023|publisher=South Carolina Hall of Fame}}

Biography

Born in Aiken, South Carolina, Marx studied music at the University of South Carolina;{{Cite web|url=http://kerrymarx.com/index.htm |title=Kerry Marx|website=kerrymarx.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029000033/http://kerrymarx.com/index.htm |access-date=2016-09-02|archive-date=October 29, 2016 }} a 1971 article noted that he was a "stand-in bass guitarist" for a band called Wax Bean, the winning band in an Aiken Battle of the Bands."[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119875190/wax-bean-is-winner-in-battle-of-bands/ 'Wax Bean' Is Winner In Battle Of Bands]", Aiken Standard (November 3, 1971), p. 4-B. He then went on to concentrate in jazz guitar while attending North Texas State University in Denton, TX. He moved to Nashville in 1981 and has played a variety of jazz, pop, rock, and country music in the Nashville recording scene. Marx "broke into the demo scene gradually, in between road trips".Dan Daley, Nashville's Unwritten Rules-Inside The Business of Country Music (The Overlook Press, 1998), [https://archive.org/details/nashvillesunwrit00dand/mode/2up?q=%22Kerry+Marx%22 p. 268-70], {{ISBN|0879518898}}. Marx related the frustrations of working as a session musician during that time, noting that session producers often did not convey their thoughts about whether the session had gone well. On one song recorded by both Mark Chesnutt and Chad Mullins, Marx "came up with a guitar line that the publisher said he wasn't crazy about", but that Marx then heard on the records, "played by a steel instead of a guitar"—an experience that Marx said "reassures me about my song sense and session sense".

Marx toured with artists such as Ray Price (1979–1981), Jerry Reed (1981–1983), Razzy Bailey (1983–1984), Ronnie Milsap (1984–1987), Johnny Cash (1989–1992), Toby Keith and Shania Twain (1993), Don McLean (2001–2023), Lee Ann Womack (2004), Porter Wagoner (2006), Steve Wariner (2006–2007), Lynda Carter (2008–2022),{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/cabaret/article/BWW-Review-LYNDA-CARTER-THIS-LIFE-MY-MUSIC-MY-STORY-At-Jazz-At-Lincoln-Center-20191015|title=Lynda Carter "This Life: My Music, My Story", At Jazz At Lincoln Center|first=Brady|last=Schwind|website=BroadwayWorld.com}} Olivia Newton-John (2012–2018), Johnny Mathis (2016-2024). A 1986 review of a Ronnie Milsap benefit concert in Durham, North Carolina noted that despite the country tones of the show, "other aspects of the performance more closely resembled a rock concert, such as Kerry Marx's soaring lead guitar solo".Bob Nowell, "[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119875289/milsap-weaves-many-influences-into-a/ Milsap weaves many influences into a memorable show]", The Raleigh News and Observer (June 4, 1986), p. 11B. He was noted for his contribution to Cash's song, "I'm an Easy Rider" from the 1991 album, The Mystery of Life, described as "a road song featuring Kerry Marx's hard-edged and doubled-up baritone guitar".C. Eric Banister, Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black (Backbeat Books, 2014), p. 330. {{ISBN|978-1480385405}} In 2000, he was lead guitarist in TNN's Prime Time Country band.Jay Orr, "[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119875006/month-at-mother-church-could-mark-the/ 'Opry' in the Pews Again: Month at Mother Church could mark the show's rebirth]", The Tennessean (January 6, 2000), p. 1F, 4F A 2001 review of the Grand Ole Opry house band noted that "pianist Tim Atwood and guitarist Kerry Marx play with rare taste, feel, and soul"."[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119875854/for-great-music-look-into-the-shadows/ For great music, look into the shadows]", The Tennessean (August 24, 2001), p, 7F.

Marx has performed and composed for major networks, most notably for the Lionel Richie Special (2012), Hannah Montana, American Music Awards (2005–2017), Billboard Music Awards (20012–2022), Academy of Country Music Awards (2003–2022), CMA Christmas (2012–2019), Country Music Association (CMA) Awards (2011-2021, 1992 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, and the 1985 Grammy Awards. Working with Lynda Carter, Marx also performed original music for the 2015 video game, Fallout 4. In 2020, he performed on a Christmas project for sisters Kandy Isley and Kim Johnson.Kevin C. Johnson, "Sibling singers come up with their own Christmas project", St. Louis Post-Dispatch (December 25, 2020), p. G7. In February 2021, Marx was one of four members of the Opry house band brought into Daywind Studios in Hendersonville, Tennessee, as an electric guitarist on the Darin & Brooke Aldridge song, "Grand Ole Circle".{{Cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/country/makin-tracks-darin-brooke-aldridge-grand-ole-circle-1235058546/|title=Makin' Tracks: Bluegrass Duo Darin & Brooke Aldridge Honor Opry With 'Grand Ole Circle'|publisher=Billboard.com|first1=Tom|last1=Roland|date=April 13, 2022}}{{Cite web|url=https://bluegrasstoday.com/grand-ole-circle-video-from-darin-brooke-aldridge/|title=Grand Ole Circle video from Darin & Brooke Aldridge|publisher=Bluegrass Today|first=John|last=Lawless|date=January 28, 2022}}

In March 2023, Marx was inducted into the South Carolina Entertainment & Music Hall of Fame for his music career, and in May 2023, Marx toured with Don McLean in Australia.{{cite web|url=https://www.noise11.com/news/don-mclean-goes-out-on-the-top-of-his-game-on-final-australian-tour-20230501 |title=Don McLean Goes Out On The Top Of His Game On Final Australian Tour|first1=Paul|last1=Cashmere|website=noise11.com |date=May 1, 2023|quote=The credentials in this band are worldclass. Guitarist Kerry Marx worked with Johnny Cash and when he isn't touring with Don is a member of the Grand Old Opry staff band performing with over 10 artists a week at the legendary Nashville music venue.}} In November 2024, Marx played with Josh Rawlings while sailing the Raja Ampat Archipelago in Indonesia. According to Joe Glaser, these performances included several improvisational moments that "changed music in ways that will not be understood for millennia".{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Discography

Television

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Film soundtracks

Jingles and commercial products

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References

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External links

  • [https://www.opry.com/artists/the-opry-band-kerry-marx/ Grand Ole Opry page for Kerry Marx]
  • [https://www.everyonelovesguitar.com/2018/08/07/kerry-marx-interview/ Kerry Marx Interview – Music Director, Grand Ole Opry], Everyone Loves Guitar #292 (August 7, 2018)
  • {{IMDb name|5202796}}

{{Grand Ole Opry members}}

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Category:Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee

Category:Living people

Category:Grand Ole Opry members

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:American country guitarists

Category:The Great Eighties Eight members