Photo: Doug Anderson · CC BY 2.0 · credits
Tier 2 · legacy legend
Kenny Neal
Person · male · United States · Erwinville · born 1957 · recording since 1988
American blues guitarist and singer
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Also known as ケニー・ニール
Timeline
19 events▣ Album 16◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1✦ Award 1
1950s
1980s
· Debut release
Debut release: Big News From Baton Rouge!!
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography291 words · 2 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1365135820
Biography
Kenny Neal (born October 14, 1957), is an American blues guitar player, singer, and band member.
Neal was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Raful Neal, and he comes from a musical family. He has often performed with his brothers in his band. In 2026 Neal was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
Career
Neal preserves the blues sound of his native south Louisiana, as befits someone who learned from Slim Harpo, Buddy Guy, and his father, harmonica player Raful Neal.
In 1987, Neal cut his debut album for the Florida record producer Bob Greenlee — an updated swamp feast initially marketed on King Snake Records as Bio on the Bayou. Alligator Records picked it up the following year, retitling it Big News from Baton Rouge!! He released his third album, Walking on Fire
Walking on FireSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Look but Don’t Touch2The Truth Hurts3I Put My Trust in You4Blues Stew5Morning After6I.O.U.7My Only Good Thing8I Been Missing You, Too9Caught in the Jaws of a Vise10Things Got to Get Better11Walking on Fire12Bad Luck Card, in 1991.
In 1991, he proved to be a talented actor in the Broadway production of the folk musical Mule Bone (by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston), singing numbers written by Taj Mahal.
Neal has played with blues stars including Lucky Peterson and Lazy Lester, and was at one time a member of The Downchild Blues Band, during a period of relocation to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
In September 2006, Neal announced he was taking a year's break from recording and performing, due to an undisclosed illness. He returned to the public eye at the Monterey Blues Festival in June 2007. He has children named Kenny, Syreeta, and Micah.
In 2010, he was touring with the Efes Pilsen Blues Festival.
In 2016, Neal's album Bloodline
BloodlineSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Ain’t Gon Let the Blues Die3:192Bloodline3:503Plain Old Common Sense5:124Funny How Time Slips Away4:465Keep on Moving3:496I Go by Feel3:457I’m So Happy3:438Blues Mobile4:019I Can’t Wait3:4910Real Friend3:5111Thank You BB King4:39 received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Neal recorded Bloodline in Nashville, Los Angeles and Baton Rouge. He co-produced it with Buddy Guy’s Grammy-winning producer, Tom Hambridge.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 10 | 58.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 17 | 85.9th |
| Studio albums | 16 | 95.1th |
| Awards recorded | 2 | 92.6th |
| Timeline events | 19 | 93.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 34 | 72.8th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (17 release groups · 16 studio albums)
Albums · 16
1988 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 40:34
1Outside Looking In4:472Caught Your Back Door Man4:413Don’t Dip in My Business3:154Bio on the Bayou3:585Evalina4:006Loretta2:557Baby Bee4:338Is It All Right?3:169Cost of Living4:0710Early One Morning2:3211Early One Morning (acoustic version)2:301989 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 40:39
1Any Fool Will Do3:572Bad Check3:213Our Love Is Running Out4:264Can't Have Your Cake (And Eat It Too)3:205Devil Child3:136The Son I Never Knew3:477On My Way to Heaven3:428Yack Yack Yack3:079Change My Way of Livin'4:4610I Owe It All to You3:5311The Further We Go3:071991 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks
1Look but Don’t Touch2The Truth Hurts3I Put My Trust in You4Blues Stew5Morning After6I.O.U.7My Only Good Thing8I Been Missing You, Too9Caught in the Jaws of a Vise10Things Got to Get Better11Walking on Fire12Bad Luck Card1992 · studio album
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Tracklist · 14 tracks · 55:57
1Howling at the Moon3:132Right Train, Wrong Track3:343Branded5:194Gonna Put You Out of My Misery3:335Lightning’s Gonna Strike3:406That Knife Don’t Cut No More6:117Bayou Blood3:158Do I Have to Go That Far?3:349Smoke Signals4:0410Neal and Prey3:4811Going to the Country3:3812I Can Read Between the Lies3:4813Big City Ways3:2114You Ain’t Foolin’ Me4:591994 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 51:12
1I'm a Blues Man4:122Don't Fix Our Love4:113Why Should I Stay?3:514Just One Step4:345The Real Thing4:406If Heartaches Were Nickels5:127Bad Memory3:268Hoodoo Moon3:189Believe in Yourself3:3010Carrying the Torch6:1711Money Don't Make the Man3:2512It Hurts Me Too4:361998 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 41:55
1Big Boss Man3:512Shadow on the Moon3:433My Babe3:554The Things I Used to Do5:085Someday3:556Just a Matter of Time3:027Blues Fallin' Down Like Rain4:218I'm Ready4:489Full-Time Fool3:0510Strike While the Iron Is Hot3:0311Can't Say I Didn't Try3:041998 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 57:32
1Going Down Slow3:382The Son I Never Knew (take 2)6:013I Just Keep Loving Her3:034My Babe3:155Early One Morning4:106Going to the Country3:267Don’t Start Me to Talking4:298Mannish Boy7:469Billy and Kenny’s Stomp4:4310Baby Bee4:2311Northern Man Blues6:4212The Son I Never Knew (take 1)5:562000 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 51:50
1I Smell Smoke4:412Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right4:043Neal and Pray3:314Little Brother4:305What You Got4:316Blues Ain’t Nothing but a Good Man Feeling Bad4:177Deja Vu4:028I’m the Man Your Mama Told You About2:479Loving on Borrowed Time4:0210You’ve Been Spying on Me5:1511Never Thought About Growing Old5:5212Killed the Goose That Laid the Golden Egg4:182001 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 56:57
1No More One More Change4:012Remedy4:413Lovers Will3:514Walk Out in the Rain4:435One Step Closer to the Blues5:236Hidden in Plain Sight3:457High on a Hilltop4:098Back Door Tipper4:549Congo Square5:2110You Care4:5811Whiskey Tears5:2312She Ain't Happy Unless She's Sad5:48Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, 2004
2004 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:11:07
1Goin' Down Slow5:342The Son I Newer Knew5:033I Just Keep Loving Her5:294It Hurts Me, Too4:035My Babe6:486Peeping and Hiding7:587Hoochie Coochie Man7:258The Things I Used to Do6:159Don't Start Me to Talking8:3010Baby Bee3:1611Harmonica Duo5:0312Blues Falling Down Like Rain5:43A Tribute to Slim Harpo & Raful Neal
2005 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 38:50
1Rainin' in My Heart3:382What a Dream4:343Swamp Boogie2:254Late Last Nite5:035King Bee4:286Te-Ni-Ne-Ni-Nu3:307Scratch My Back3:138Baby Bee5:079Worry, Worrin'3:3210Got Love If You Want It3:202008 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 50:07
1Let Life Flow4:382Blues, Leave Me Alone5:033You've Got To Hurt Before You Heal5:144Louisiana State4:235Starlight Diamond3:166Another Man's Cologne4:507Broken Dreams4:518Bleeding Heart4:049Since I Met You Baby4:5510Fly Away4:3811It Don't Make Sense You Can't Make Peace4:152010 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 49:23
1Hooked on Your Love4:452Bitter With the Sweet4:493Down in the Swamp3:354Blind, Crippled, or Crazy4:235If Walls Could Talk3:436Things Have Got to Change4:417New Lease on Life3:278Ain't Nothing You Can Do2:549Old Friends4:3710Tell Me Why4:4311Voodoo Mama4:0112You Don't Love Me3:452015 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 47:21
1Christmas Comes But Once A Year5:192Silver Bells4:283Winter Wonderland3:044Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas2:475Please Come Home For Christmas3:246I'll Be Home For Christmas5:007Merry Christmas Baby (Version 2)3:408Lonesome Christmas6:299Merry Christmas Baby (Version 1)6:0010O Come All Ye Faithful3:3611Silent Night3:342016 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 44:44
1Ain’t Gon Let the Blues Die3:192Bloodline3:503Plain Old Common Sense5:124Funny How Time Slips Away4:465Keep on Moving3:496I Go by Feel3:457I’m So Happy3:438Blues Mobile4:019I Can’t Wait3:4910Real Friend3:5111Thank You BB King4:392022 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 46:27
1Blues Keep Chasing Me4:242Mount Up On The Wings Of The King3:203I'll Play The Blues For You4:524Two Timing4:105Louise Ana4:506It Don't Cost Nothing4:297Bon Temps Rouler4:078It's Been So Long3:019Someone Somewhere5:5010I Got To Tell Somebody3:1811New Orleans4:06
Album · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Deluxe EditionSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 16 tracks · 1:05:231Caught in the Jaws of a Vise3:48 2That Knife Don't Cut No More6:12 3Outside Looking In4:44 4Hoodoo Moon3:13 5The Truth Hurts4:29 6Caught Your Back Door Man4:39 7Evalina3:59 8Baby Bee4:30 9Neal and Prey3:49 10Any Fool Will Do3:56 11Lightning's Gonna Strike3:41 12Morning After3:06 13The Son I Never Knew3:47 14Howling at the Moon3:13 15Change My Way of Livin'4:47 16Believe in Yourself3:30 | Compilation | 1997 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Kenny Neal head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 10 | 58.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 17 | 85.9th |
| Studio albums | 16 | 95.1th |
| Awards recorded | 2 | 92.6th |
| Timeline events | 19 | 93.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 34 | 72.8th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Theatre World Award | won | |
| 1991 | Theatre World Award | won |
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downchild Blues Band(band) | — | present | |
| Kenny Neal Band(band) | — | present |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kenny_Neal.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/adf3d1c6-6a7d-446c-b191-28bac7a2ee4adiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/adf3d1c6-6a7d-446c-b191-28bac7a2ee4acore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1738982genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1738982seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Nealbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Neal
Why this artist is in the database
- List of blues musicians — rank #69
| 1957 | | Louisiana | Electric blues |
Tier rule: genre canon: blues
Image: Doug Anderson · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q1738982 · MusicBrainz: adf3d1c6-6a7d-446c-b191-28bac7a2ee4a
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