Kenny Maines

Kenny was born in Lubbock, Texas, July 26, 1954 to James and Edith Maines. He was the third of a total of five siblings in the Maines’ household. Music was a major part of most family gatherings and that tradition continues today. James Maines, along with his older brother, Raymond or “Sonny” and younger brother, Wayne formed the original Maines Brothers Band in the late 1950s. Almost any weekend, you could find the brothers playing rodeo dances, VFW halls, community theaters, or the dance halls in Post, Texas (Lubbock was “dry” at the time so people had to drive southeast to Post or northwest to Nazareth to buy their “wet” beverage). James would sometimes take his sons to perform with the band. The boys had started singing together when Kenny was 7 years old and the “Little Maines Boys” loved entertaining the crowd. In those days, Kenny would have to stand on a wooden “soda pop” crate, just to reach the microphone.

After voters approved a portion of Lubbock County for package beer and liquor sales, several BYOB dance halls began to spring up outside the city. One of those dance halls was the Cotton Club, located on the highway between Lubbock and Slaton. The Cotton Club is where Kenny and his brothers honed their musical talents. The “Little Maines Boys” would play a Sunday Matinee and the older “Maines Brothers” would perform for the evening dance. Eventually, the “Little Maines Boys” became the next generation “Maines Brothers Band” and forged their own West Texas musical traditions during the 70s and 80s. The Maines Brothers Band recorded a total of eight albums, two of those for Mercury Records in Nashville, Tennessee. The band shared the stage with Alabama, Reba McIntire, Barbara Mandrell, Ronnie Milsap, Dr. Hook, The Judds and many other artists of the era. After years of playing music on the road, the band decided to settle down to raise families and pursue other careers.

Kenny was elected Lubbock County Commissioner in 1992 and held that position for 12 years. In 2004, he decided to leave the political arena and return to the music that he loved. Kenny now performs in and around the Lubbock area and with the release of his debut CD, “Kenny Maines”, he looks forward to getting back on the road and performing for anyone who enjoys great West Texas music.

1. Hand Clappin’
Kenny Maines/Solid Chrome Music/BMI

*If Ed McMahan knocked on my door tomorrow and gave me a check for ten million dollars, I swear it wouldn’t change me at all. I would continue to do the same thing I am doing now. I would just have a lot more fun doing it! I can want for money, love and stuff. But, one thing I truly need is to play my music, look out into the crowd and notice someone is listening.*

Give me some hand clappin’
Gimme a little finger snappin’
Give me one more reason to play this old guitar
Give me a Hallelujah
Gimme a little how do you do ya
And I’ll give you just one more shooting star

I need a lot more money
I need a sweeter honey
I need love and a brand new Cadillac
Give me an El dorado
Give me a new tomorrow
And I’ll give you a ride around in the back

I need a long vacation
I need a radio station
I need love and a new pair o’ dancin’ shoes
Give me a hand to hold on to
Give me the night to please you
And I’ll give you a night full o’ rhythm and blues

2. Crazy About You
Kenny Maines/Solid Chrome Music/BMI

*Sometimes, we need to close the door and create our own private world with the one we love.*

Baby put your arms around me
Hold me close and let me in
Honey say you’re glad you found me
And you’re ready to begin

Lay my head upon your pillow
Run your fingers through my hair
Tell me something that I don’t know
Tell me I’m your millionaire

Honey you might think I’m crazy
For all the crazy things I do
I don’t stay here cause I’m lazy
I’m just crazy about you

When those people talk about me
I don’t listen anymore
The can talk but they still can’t see
Past the closing of the door

We can talk about the weather
You can tell me anything
You can stay with me forever
You can hear me when I sing………When I sing

3. Another Man's Words
Andy Wilkinson/Cain't Quit Music/BMI

*I can best describe this song with the words of my good friend and songwriting hero, Andy Wilkinson, who said “Simple words cover the most ground and for that reason are the most powerful and the most complex”. Thanks for the gift, Andy.*

Honey, you want me to tell you I love you
And talk of forever like a poet would do
But a common man speaks in a common man’s language
And this is the only thing that I know is true

You all I wanted and just what I needed
A damn sight more than I’ll ever deserve
Come hell or high water forever is shorter
Than a lifetime of talkin’ another man’s words

I’ll tell you true lovin’ won’t suffer discussion
The talk on the TV or the pop magazines
The common man he is the media’s victim
Cliché consumer of the pulp writer’s dreams

Come, let me hold ya, the children are sleeping
And I can’t say anything more that I feel
We’re common people but we ain’t ordinary
And this is the only thing that I know is real

4. Tennessee Stud
Jimmy Driftwood/Warden Music, Inc./BMI

*There is nothing more touching than hearing a tale of a love affair between a man and his horse.*

Long about eighteen and twenty-five
I left Tennessee very much alive
I never would of made it through the Arkansas mud
If I hadn’t been ridin’ on the Tennessee stud

I had a little trouble with my sweetheart’s pa
One of her brothers was a bad outlaw
I sent a letter to my uncle Spud
And I ran away on the Tennessee stud

The Tennessee stud he was long and lean
The color of the sun and his eyes were green
He had the nerve and he had the blood
And there never was a hoss like the Tennessee stud

I drifted on down to no man’s land
Across the river called the Rio Grande
I raced my horse with a Spaniard’s foal
Til I got me a skin full of silver and gold

But me and a gambler we couldn’t agree
We got in a fight over Tennessee
We drew our guns he fell with a thud
And I got away on the Tennessee stud

I made my way across Arkansas
Where I whipped her brother and I whipped her pa
Then I found that girl with the golden hair
And she was ridin’ on a Tennessee mare

Pretty little baby on the cabin floor
Little hoss colt playing ‘round the door
I love that girl with the golden hair
And the Tennessee stud loves the Tennessee mare

5. So Easy
Jerry Brownlow/Solid Chrome Music/BMI

*Just one of the many great songs written by my good friend and fellow “Maines Brother”, Jerry Brownlow. My heart melts when I sing this one.*

It’s not like me to stay around on place to long
I’m a rounder and that’s all I’ve ever known
Never gave time to anyone
Turn around and I was gone
Freedom was my crown, the road my throne

You were like a warm southerly wind
I was like a Norther
I was cold as ice inside, you were like a fever
And believe me, I never knew
I could be easy, Oh so easy

With the devil on my back, his arms around my soul
What I needed was an angel to take control
I’ve always been a dreamer, but now I know
Dreams only matter, when there’s someone to hold

6. Heartland
Kenny Maines/Solid Chrome Music/BMI

*As cliché as it may sound, “Home is where the heart is”. Whether it be real or imaginary, we long to go back there.*

When the world keeps spinnin’ around and you just got to slow down
When peace of mind ain’t the kind of mind that you have found
When life is treatin’ you a little bit rough
You’re giving too much and ain’t gettin’ enough
And you’re tired of push and shove, Take it to the Heartland

When the phone keeps ringin’ and you can’t stop thinkin’ ‘bout the deadlines
You’re pushin’ and shovin’ but you ain’t getting’ nothin’ on the dotted line
You’re standin’ at the bus stop all alone
Time to start thinkin’ ‘bout going back home
Back to flesh and bone, Take it to the Heartland

Take it to the Heartland, Everybody knows your name
Take it to the Heartland, Everybody’s glad you came
The people you love and the love that you need
Lyin’ in the shade of a cottonwood tree
Take a little break from reality to the Heartland

There’s a dirt road leadin’ to the ones you love in the Heartland
And when you’re countin’ the stars in the sky above you will understand
Once you find that feelin’ you can’t lose
Leave the world to the ten o’clock news
Pack up all o’ your blues, Take it to the Heartland

7. Ain’t Got You
Bruce Springsteen/Bruce Springsteen/ASCAP

*I picked up the phone one afternoon and heard the voice of my good friend, Joe Piland, stuck in traffic on I 35 between Austin and San Antonio. Joe said “Kenny, I just heard a Springsteen song you need to learn”. Well Joe, what do you think?*

I got fortunes of heaven in diamonds and gold
I got all the riches baby that the bank could hold
I got houses cross the country honey end to end
And everybody buddy wants to be my friend
I got all the riches baby any man ever knew
But the only thing I ain’t got baby, I…………ain’t got you

I got a house full of Rembrandt and priceless art
And all the little girls they wanna tear me apart
When I walk down the street people stop and stare
Well you think I might be thrilled but baby, I don’t care
Cause I got more good luck honey than old King Farouk
But the only thing I ain’t got baby, I……….ain’t got you

I got a big diamond watch sittin’ on my wrist
I try to tempt you baby but you just resist
I made a deal with the devil babe I can’t deny
Til I get you in my arms I won’t be satisfied

Got a pound o’ caviar sittin’ home on ice
I drive a fancy foreign car that rides like paradise
Got a hundred pretty women knockin’ down my door
And folks wanna kiss me I ain’t never seen before
Been around the world and all across the seven seas
Been paid a king’s ransom for doing what comes naturally
But I’m still the biggest fool honey this world ever knew
Cause the only thing I ain’t got baby, I…………..ain’t got you

8. I’d Rather Be Dancing
Kenny Maines/Richard A. Bowden/Solid Chrome Music/BMI

*I actually picked up this line from the “Quotable Quotes” section of Reader’s Digest. Richard and I took it from there.*

Life is for living, Taking and giving
We dance to the music whatever the tune
Through good times and bad times
Sweet lines and bad rhymes
The band keeps on playin’
I’d rather be dancing with you

So many faces in so places
That “dance with me” look in their eyes
They sit there waiting, There for the taking
And the band keeps on playin’
I’d rather be dancing with you

You taught me how to dance to the music
Whatever the rhythm or rhyme
The music keeps changing and the band keeps on playin’
But it always sounds sweeter, as long as I’m dancing with you

9. Muddy Road
Kenny Maines/Solid Chrome Music/BMI

*Living on a dirt road is one life’s greatest experiences. If you live on one long enough, you’ll see the best and the worst it has to offer. And, you’ll most likely forget everything in-between.*

Tryin’ hard to stay out of the ditch
Is like scratchin’ your back when it don’t really itch
Your load’s too light and your wheels won’t roll
Your life’s too fast and your mind’s too slow

Livin’ on a muddy road, tryin’ to do what you’ve been told
Livin’ on a muddy road, tryin’ to do what you’ve been told

You swerve to the Right to avoid the Left
You can’t save time and still save yourself
But time has a way of slippin’ on by
You learn how to laugh when you learn how to cry

You know a muddy road will lead you to the grave
Slippin’ and a slidin’ on the money that you made
You’ll never take it with you so you better use it up
Winner or a loser, you will never get enough

10. If I Could Find the Words
Kenny Maines/Solid Chrome Music/BMI

*I tried to take a lesson from Andy on this one and keep it simple. I’m still searching for the right words. Maybe the “searching” is the better part of the journey.*

Seasons come and seasons go,
Something old, something new
It was written long ago,
My heart belongs to you
I’ve been searching for a way
For the perfect things to say

If I could find the words to tell you I think about you
And I can’t help myself
If I could find the words to show you I hunger for you
Til there is nothing left
I could make you understand that my heart is in your hands
If I could find the words

I will search until I find
All the perfect words in time
Until then my love will grow,
Mind and body, heart and soul
I get lost in space and time
When I feel your lips on mine

I can see your love when I look at you
Help me find the words to say I love you too

11. In the Same Business
Kenny Maines/Solid Chrome Music/BMI

*This was just another song until Doug Smith, John Sprott, Richard Bowden and brother Donnie got hold of it. I also enlisted everyone who played on the CD as “The Choir”. In the words of a Petersburg piano player, “There it is”.*

I called my doctor said “I’m feelin’ some pain
Can you help me find a little relief?”
The doctor said “Maybe you’re goin’ insane
Or maybe you just wanna believe”
He said “I can pick you up or I can let you down.
I can give you a buzz and make your head spin around
Or you can keep your feet on the ground
It don’t matter to me”

Cause we’re in the same business
We’re in the same business
We’re in the same business
We’re in the same business
We’re in the same business………you and me

I met up with a lady in red
And said “Honey, what are you doin’ here?
Don’t you feel bad about sellin’ your soul?
And baby could I buy you a beer?”
She said “Love is blind and talk is cheap
I close my eyes when I go to sleep
And I don’t have to count no sheep
It don’t matter to me”

I walked into a tent revival
And what did I see?
A man stood up and he was preachin’ a mouthful
And he was preachin’ at me
And he said, “The word is truth and the truth is light
I can make the lame walk. I can give the blind sight.
And I don’t care if it takes all night
It don’t matter to me"

12. Baby’s Lullaby
Raymond “Son” Maines/Solid Chrome Music/BMI

*This is a special way for me to honor the music of the first generation of “Maines Brothers”. Uncle Son’s commanding voice was an inspiration to me from my earliest memories. We found a video tape of Uncle Son introducing this song at a family reunion in 1997. I pray this “Family Tradition” lives on.*

Go to sleep my little baby
Sweet baby, my little baby
Go to sleep my little baby
Sweet baby, olo o dee

You just lay there a playin’ in your cradle all day long
So go to sleep my darlin’, before that sandman comes along

There’s an angel up in heaven who is watching day and night
So go to sleep my darlin’ and everything will be alright

Of my darlin’ how I love you, you’re Daddy’s little man
So go to sleep my darlin’ and be off to dreamy land