Henry
Cordell (Pa) Kemp
FROM THE
Transcribed by Melba Greene Wilkins
FROM THE
Transcribed
by Fred and Elaine Brown Ryan
Kemp,
Henry Cordell (Pa)
1909 – 2005
CORDELL KEMP
Mr. Cordell Kemp, an accomplished banjo player, a longtime resident of the Difficult community died at the age of 96 at 7 a.m. Friday
morning, July 15, 2005 at the Smith County Health Care Center in
Services from the Hackett Chapel of Sanderson Funeral Home were conducted on
Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. by Bro. Jackie Dillehay. Burial was in the
His wife of almost 68 years, Maggie Olean Canter Kemp, died on January 11, 1999. They were married Valentine's Day February 14, 1931. They were preceded in death by a son, Robbie Kemp, on December 12, 1985 and by three grandchildren, Stanley and Jon Kemp and Angela Denise Kemp.
Born Henry Cordell Kemp in the Friendship Hollow at Defeated Creek, he was one of five children and the only son of the late James Stanton "Jimmy" and Sweet Sally Toney Kemp.
Four sisters preceded Mr. Kemp in death,
Mr. Kemp was a retired farmer and was a former custodian at the
Surviving is a son, Bobby Kemp and wife Ruth of Lafayette; nine grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
FROM
THE
Kemp,
Henry Cordell (Cordell/Pa)
1909 - 2005
Cordell
Kemp
Mr.
Cordell Kemp, an accomplished banjo player, a longtime resident of the
Difficult Community, died at the age of 96 at 7:00 a.m. Friday morning, July 15,
2005 at the Smith County Health Care Center in
Services
from the Hackett Chapel of Sanderson Funeral Home were conducted on Sunday
afternoon at 3:00 p.m. by Bro. Jackie Dillehay. Burial was in the
His
wife of almost sixty eight years, Maggie Olean Canter Kemp, died on January 11,
1999. They were married on Valentine's Day, 1931.
They
were preceded in death by a son, Robbie Kemp, on December 12, 1985 and by three
grandchildren, Stanley and Jon Kemp and Angela Denise Kemp.
Born
Henry Cordell Kemp in the Friendship Hollow at Defeated Creek, he was one of
five children and the only son of the late James Stanton "Jimmy" and
Sweet Sally Toney Kemp.
Four
sisters preceded Mr. Kemp in death,
Mr.
Kemp was a retired farmer and was a former custodian at the
He
was of the Primitive Baptist belief.
Surviving
is a son, Bobby Kemp and wife Ruth of Lafayette; nine grandchildren and
fourteen great-grandchildren.
Sanderson
of Kempville in charge of arrangements
FROM THE TENNESSEAN NASHVILLE, TN (online edition) 16 July 2005
Kemp,
Henry Cordell (Pa)
1909 – 2005
Cordell KEMP
Smith Co.
Age 96
July 15, 2005
Age 96, a retired farmer and
accomplished banjo player of the Difficult Community. July 15, 2005. Son of the late Jimmy and Sally Toney Kemp. Preceded in death by wife of 68 years, Olean Canter Kemp on
January 11, 1999. Survived by son, Bobby Kemp and wife Ruth
of Lafayette; 9 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren. Services 3 p.m.
Sunday, Hackett Chapel of Sanderson Funeral Home, with Bro. Jackie Dillehay
officiating. Pallbearers Brandon Powell, Hughie Gregory,
Billy Claridy, James and
Online Obituary from
Sanderson's Funeral Home: 15 July 2005
Kemp,
Henry Cordell (Pa)
1909 – 2005
Cordell Kemp
Mr. Cordell Kemp, age 96, of
Difficult, died Friday morning, July 15, (2005) at the
Mr. Kemp is at the Hackett
Chapel of Sanderson Funeral Home where his service will be
conducted Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. with Bro. Jackie Dillehay officiating. Interment in the Defeated
The family will receive friends at the Hackett Chapel on Saturday from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. until service time at 3:00 p.m.
Submitted by Gary Pace
FROM: The Old Time Herald •
Cordell was born into a musical family and took up banjo at a very early age. His interest was accelerated by boyhood opportunities to hear and meet Uncle Dave Macon, who occasionally played at the Defeated schoolhouse where Cordell would years later serve as janitor. Throughout his life, Cordell was notoriously reluctant to travel too far from home, declining an invitation to participate in the 1986 Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife. He nonetheless shared his talents generously and influenced a number of players who sought him out, including Leroy Troy, John Hartford, and Stephen Wade. He also passed his banjo skills on to his grandson Shannon Kemp of Defeated.
In the 1980s Cordell gained wider recognition as the result of being
featured in Korine and Dunlap’s documentary film The
Uncle Dave Macon Program (aired on PBS in 1981), and on the Tennessee Folklore
Society’s subsequent LP recording, Tennessee: The Folk Heritage, Vol. 2, The
Mountains (TFS-103). He performed at the 1982 Knoxville World’s Fair Folklife Festival and was a regular favorite in the early
years of
Cordell Kemp was a well-loved and colorful character who showed remarkable vitality even in his 90s. In the last year of his life, local friend Barclay Rhea produced a long overdue CD recording of his music, and information about it is available online at http://sunset992001.tripod.com/id10.html.
-Robert Cogswell
Folklife Program,