 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
Kyle Vincent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | Pop,soft rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, piano, guitar, saxophone |
| Labels | |
| Website | www |
Kyle Vincent is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and entertainer, labeled as the "crown prince of soft pop,"[1] byGoldmine.
Barry Manilow has called him, "One of the best singer-songwriters to come along since the heyday of Tin Pan Alley". In 2014 Vincent won "Best Male Vocalist" at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards.
He was born and raised inBerkeley, California.
Kyle Vincent began his music career at the age of eight, playing alto saxophone in Berkeley school jazz bands. At age 11 he appeared on stage withDonald Byrd, taking turns improvising with the trumpeter. He took jazz and bebop lessons for several years with saxophonistHal Stein. Vincent studied voice with master vocal coach and opera singer Claudine Spindt for several years, and took bass lessons from guitaristJoe Satriani. After moving to Los Angeles, Vincent studied with renowned vocal coachSeth Riggs.
Upon moving to L.A., Vincent worked for two years as personal assistant and driver forKim Fowley. Vincent performed on several of Fowley's recording projects, and was also a session vocalist on several other artists’ albums.
Vincent was the lead singer in the seminal teen power pop band, Candy, which recorded one album, ‘’Whatever Happened To Fun...’’ on the Mercury/Polygram label, and included futureGuns N' Roses guitaristGilby Clarke. The album was produced by Jimmy Ienner (Raspberries, Bay City Rollers, Eric Carmen), and featured Wally Bryson of the Raspberries as "musical director". The video for the title track was in rotation on MTV, and the band toured extensively, including being the opening act on Rick Springfield's and Corey Hart's U.S. tours, and is cited by many groups as an influence.
While recording demos as a solo artist in an L.A. studio, Vincent began co-writing a song entitled "Nature Girl", witheden ahbez, writer of the classic "Nature Boy," popularized byNat King Cole. Vincent had met Ahbez in an L.A. stereo store where Vincent had been working, and Ahbez told Vincent that he reminded him of his deceased son, about whom he had written "Nature Boy". Ahbez died before the two could finish the song.
Signed to MCA as a solo artist, he recorded the album,Trust, and toured as the opening act forBarry Manilow on his "Greatest Hits and Then Some" tour.Trust was produced by Vincent, Clif Magness (Avril Lavigne,Kelly Clarkson), andSteve Levine (Culture Club,Beach Boys), and featured co-writes with Magness andSteve Kipner.Gerry Beckley from the group America played keyboards, guitar, and sang vocals on the album.
For his next album, Vincent signed with Disney'sHollywood Records releasingKyle Vincent, which spawned the U.S.Billboard/Radio & Records Adult Top 20 single, "Wake Me Up (When The World's Worth Waking Up For)", co-written by vocalist/guitaristParthenon Huxley. The song spent eleven weeks on theBillboardBubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, peaking at number one, went Top 10 in many cities, and was featured in theGarry Marshall directed motion picture,The Other Sister, as well asThe Howling: Reborn.Robert Lamm from the band Chicago, and Gerry Beckley sang background vocals on the album and also on his follow-up 1999 releaseWow & Flutter, for whichHenry Diltz shot the album cover. In 2009, Vincent released the CD, "Where You Are", giving the first copy off the presses to Barry Manilow backstage at Manilow's concert in Manchester, NH. In 2020, Vincent signed with Universal Music Group to distribute the album,Whatever It Takes.
His songs have appeared on various television shows including MTV's :The Hills,Road Rules,The Real World,Daria, ABC'sAll My Children, andSave the Planet: A CBS/Hard Rock Cafe Special.
Vincent's song "Sierra" was adopted by theSierra Club andJohn Denver'sWindstar Foundation. It was included on theDear Earth double CD released on Earth Day, 2007.
Also in 2007, Vincent was chosen to be the lead singer of the reformedBay City Rollers, featuring ex-Roller Ian Mitchell. The band toured the U.S. and had a month-long engagement at the Riviera in Las Vegas. Vincent left the group in November 2008. He has also done several concerts singing lead forBo Donaldson and the Heywoods, and was the lead vocalist on their 2015 compilation,Absolutely the Best of the 70s.
His song, "Forget You Girl" won "Best Pop Song of the Year" at the 2014 Dallas Songwriters Association Awards.
In 2024 he released his latest album,Sunshine Soul, featuring the song, "Jimmy & Rosalynn" which celebrates the 77-year relationship ofJimmy Carter andRosalynn Carter.
Vincent is credited as being a pioneer of the "Living Room Show" concept, in which artists perform concerts in people's homes. Of his house concerts, Vincent has said, "They're kind of like musical Tupperware parties.”
Vincent is the grandson of renowned California painter Louise Noack Gray, about whom he wrote the song "One Last Ride On The Merry-Go-Round", featured on hisDon't You Know album.
Vincent was a participant in the CaliforniaAIDSRide 2, bicycling 540 miles in seven days from San Francisco to Los Angeles, raising money for AIDS care facilities. Vincent took part in theIn Harmony With The Homeless project, in which professional songwriters collaborated with individuals living in shelters on L.A.'s skid row.
In 2007, Vincent was one of a select group of people personally trained by former Vice PresidentAl Gore inNashville, Tennessee, sponsored byThe Alliance for Climate Protection andThe Climate Project, and is an officially sanctioned presenter of Gore's climate crisis presentation, as seen inAn Inconvenient Truth. Vincent's version includes the impact diet has on the environment.
In 2010, Vincent was a featured performer at a Hiroshima Peace Concert celebrating teachers in Hiroshima, Japan, in commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the bombing.
In 2023, Vincent was one of 42 musical artists to come together as 'Artists for Maui' to contribute songs for the digital album "Embers of Aloha: A Maui Wildfire Benefit Project". All proceeds from the donation/sale of the album provide relief for victims of the 2023 Lahaina and West Maui wildfires.
Vincent is an advocate for a plant-based diet, citing concerns for the environment, world hunger, personal health, and animal welfare.[2] To this end, he was an official celebrity endorser of the California Healthy School Lunch Resolution (ACR-16), which asked schools to offer a plant-based lunch option on the daily menu. The resolution overwhelmingly passed the California Assembly and Senate in 2003.
| Year | Title | U.S. Billboard Hot 100[3] | U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under | U.S. Billboard AC | U.S. Billboard HOT AC (Adult Top 40) | U.S. Radio & Records AC | U.S. Cashbox AC | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | ""Wake Me Up (When The World's Worth Waking Up For"" | 101 | 1 | 20 | 26 | 18 | 19 | Kyle Vincent |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Male Vocal | Kyle Vincent | Won |
Some of the artists Vincent has appeared or recorded with include:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
