Les Kerr: Author and Journalist

Click on the Paste Magazine cover at left to read Les’ review of the book “How Nashville Became Music City USA”.

    

          Many know Les Kerr as a musician and songwriter. However, he also has a professional background in journalism.  With a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Mississippi at Oxford, Les was a broadcast news director and chamber of commerce communications manager before launching his musical career.  He is still very active in journalism, contributing articles and photographs regularly to magazines, newspapers and books.
          Occasionally, he combines music and journalism and has performed songs he has written at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, TN.  Les has performed at book stores, including Borders Books and Music in Memphis and New Orleans and Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville.
          Les continues to write articles and songs, while occasionally combining his interest in the two fields with literary references in his music.  He wrote The All-American Truck Stop Cookbook with Jim Clark and Ken Beck.  This fun mix of recipes and stories offers a slice of Americana as tasty as a piece of truck stop apple pie.  Read all about it by clicking here.
          His latest work is Tennessee, in collaboration with photographer George Humphries, where Les wrote about his experiences in the Volunteer State.  He also interviewed lifelong Tennesseans about their lives there.  Learn more about it by clicking here.

          Read Les' article about Gallagher Guitars published January 10, 2004 in The Tennessean by clicking here.

MORE BOOKS:

          In May, 2000, Kali Oka Press of Mobile, Alabama published Moments with Eugene, a volume of essays about poet, playwright, author and bon vivant Eugene Walter.  Eugene, originally from Mobile, was toasted by literary society in Paris and New York before returning to Mobile where he was welcomed with open arms.  During the 1980s, when Les was news director of two Mobile radio stations, he became acquainted with Eugene.  His essay, Eugene Walter - Everywhere, is included with pieces from such notable writers as Pat Conroy (The Prince of Tides), Charles McNair (Land O'Goshen), and Carolyn Haines (Them Bones).

          To kick off the book's release in a fashion which Eugene Walter surely must have appreciated, a ceremony was held at Eugene's grave side at Mobile's Church Street Cemetery, complete with an open bar and homemade potato salad contest.  Les offered a few songs in Eugene's honor.

          In 1986, Windsor Publications produced Mobile: Sunbelt Center of  Opportunity.  Drawing on his knowledge of the Port City and his journalistic skills, Les Kerr wrote two chapters for the book — "Made in Mobile" & "City in Motion" — and provided information included in other parts of the publication.

The All-American Truck Stop Cookbook	Tennessee	Les writes about his Mardi Gras shows in The Bluebird Café Scrapbook, 2002	Moments with Eugene: A Collection of Memories, 2000	Mobile: Sunbelt Center of Opportunity, 1986

STORIES & PHOTOS:

          Throughout his career, Les' articles, photos and even a few poems have been published in daily newspapers, magazines, newsletters and other publications.  Among his credits are the newspapers Mobile Press Register, Azalea City News And Review, The Tennessean and Nashville Business Journal.  Magazines, such as Tennessee Trucking News, LifeTimes, Voice, Tennessee Cattle Business and Coping have published Les' articles and photos.

          Music Journals, including the Music City Blues Society's Bluesletter and ROCK, the journal of the Rock & Roll Society of Scandinavia, have also featured Les' photos and stories.

Paste	The View, Tell the World, Special Edition	Voice, The Tennessee Walking Horse	Tennessee Trucking News
Alabama Sun	Tennessee Cattle Business	Vanderbilt Lawyer	Tennessee Restauranteur
Rock, the Fanzine for the Rock 'N' Roll Society of Scandinavia		Rock, the Fanzine for the Rock 'N' Roll Society of Scandinavia
The Tennessean's FYI			Music City Bluesletter

MORE of LES' WRITING
The View - Tell the World - Special Edition published by the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce Les Kerr, Assistant Editor	Voice - The Tennessee Walking Horse January 2000 "Bud Dunn: A True Horseman"
Nashville Business Journal July 21-25, 1997 Tennessee Trucking Industry "Technology testing designed to save lives, prevent accidents"	Mobile - Sunbelt Center of Opportunity Produced in Cooperation with the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce - 1986 "Made in Mobile" "City in Motion"
Alabama Sun December 1980/January 1981 - Vol. 1 Number 6 "An exclusive interview with Governor Fob James"	Tennessee Cattle Business June 1996 Governors Conference "Focusing on the Future" - story & photos
Tennessee Trucking News January/February 1999 "Transportation & Training Ensure Quality" "Tennessee Leads the Way in  Training System for New Drivers" "Trucking in Tennessee - The Century's Second Half" "Trucking & Regulators - Steering Towards Safety"	ROCK Fanzine for Rock 'N' Roll Society of Scandinavia #3 - 1987 - "Steve Earle" NR1 - 1989 - "Highwaymen take a bypass" NR3 - 1989 - "Cash honored at star-studded dinner" NR1 - 1990 - "Rockin' in the music shop"
Mobile Register June 16, 1989 Beth Nielsen Chapman "Mobile Songwriter now notable"	Music City Blues Society Bluesletter June 1998 - Vol. 7 No. 6 "Blues well represented in New Orleans during JazzFest"
Tennessee Restaurateur Convention/Fall 1995 "Tennessee Restaurant Association Self-Insured Workers' Compensation Trust Growing In Popularity"