Paul David Kennamer (5,840 views)

[RINGO]

Paul David Kennamer Jr. (c. February 1967 - present)
Member Of: The Vocal Union (1995 - 1999), Valor (2000 - 2008)
Vocal Range: C1 - E4

SPOILER: Click to show

{Vocal Summary}One of the many gospel singers to spend time with the Acappella Company in the 1990s, Paul David Kennamer gained notoriety in the mid-late 2000s when he and fellow Acappella alumnus John Laws formed Valor, a group that placed heavy emphasis on Kennamer's bass vocals and subsequently gained a cult following on YouTube. Kennamer's singing styles relies heavily on a combination of artificially darkened tone and chest-fry mix, which allows him to sing extremely low while also retaining some semblance of strength. When singing solo, he utilizes melismas heavily, often dancing around the main melody line (and almost disregarding said melody in live performances). What higher notes there are of his are usually delivered in a climactic, semi-forced manner, suggesting a lack of comfort in that area of his voice. One of southern gospel's finest bass singers in recent memory, Kennamer has been retired from the music business for a while now, but the internet ensures that his legacy will remain for years to come.

Written by RINGO.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Album Ranges}Vocal Union:
We've Got to Sing (1996): F♯1 - D4

Valor:
Valor (2001): E♭1 - C4
What It Took (2006): C1 - E4

Significant High Notes:

E4 ("Jesus He Will Fix It")
D4 ("Can He, Could He, Would He")
C♯4 ("When He Calls My Name")
C4 ("Can He, Could He, Would He", "He Looked Beyond My Fault", "Home at Last", "My Hope Is Built", "Star Spangled Banner", "Then Came the Morning")
B3 ("Jesus He Will Fix It", "Old Ship of Zion", "To the Cross", "When He Calls My Name")
B♭3 ("Lay It Down", "Satisfied", "Star Spangled Banner")
A3 ("Can He, Could He, Would He", "He Looked Beyond My Fault", "He Took the Chains", "Home at Last", "Humble Thyself" live Maranatha Christ Revient, "My Hope Is Built", "My Hope Is Built - Reprise", "Rumor Mill")
G♯3 ("I Sing the Mighty Power of God", "Jesus He Will Fix It", "There Never Was a Pulpit Like the Cross", "What It Took")
G3 ("Humble Thyself" live Maranatha Christ Revient, "I Sing the Mighty Power of God", "Lay It Down", "Rumor Mill", "Satisfied", "Then Came the Morning", "There Never Was a Pulpit Like the Cross", "Water Came Walkin'")
F♯3 ("Beulah Land", "Ezekiel Saw De Wheel", "Sing With Our Hearts")

Significant Low Notes:

E♭2 ("Don't Scatter Roses", "He Will Lead His Children Home", "Jesus He Will Fix It", "Lay It Down", "Over the Moon", "Satisfied", "Temporary Home")
D2 ("Can He, Could He, Would He", "He Took the Chains", "He Was There All the Time", "Home at Last", "Humble Thyself" live Maranatha Christ Revient, "Rumor Mill", "Standing on the Solid Rock", "There Never Was a Pulpit Like the Cross", "Walk on the Water", "Water Came Walkin'", "A Wonderful Time Up There")
C♯2 ("Beulah Land", "Brother", "Ezekiel Saw De Wheel", "When He Calls My Name")
C2 ("Beulah Land", "Can He, Could He, Would He", "Don't Scatter Roses", "He Looked Beyond My Fault", "He Was There All the Time", "Home at Last", "How Great Thou Art", "I Still Do", "Standing on the Solid Rock", "Then Came the Morning", "To the Cross", "What It Took")
B1 ("Ezekiel Saw De Wheel", "He Will Lead His Children Home", "Old Ship of Zion")
B♭1 ("He Took the Chains", "Lead Me to the Rock - Reprise", "Satisfied", "Temporary Home", "When He Calls My Name")
A1 ("Beulah Land", "Brother", "Can He, Could He, Would He", "He Took the Chains", "Humble Thyself" live Maranatha Christ Revient, "Lead Me to the Rock", "My Hope Is Built - Reprise", "Standing on the Solid Rock", "Star Spangled Banner", "Then Came the Morning", "Walk on the Water", "What It Took", "When He Calls My Name")
G♯1 ("It's Almost Over", "It's Almost Over" inspirational version, "Jesus He Will Fix It", "Lay It Down", "Lead Me to the Rock - Reprise", "Over the Moon", "Then Came the Morning")
G1 ("Brother", "He Was There All the Time", "How Great Thou Art", "I Still Do", "It's Almost Over", "It's Almost Over" inspirational version, "Lead Me to the Rock", "My Hope Is Built", "Rumor Mill", "Star Spangled Banner", "To the Cross", "Walk on the Water", "Water Came Walkin'")
F♯1 ("Beulah Land", "Ezekiel Saw De Wheel", "What It Took")
F1 ("Star Spangled Banner")
E1 ("Old Ship of Zion")
E♭1 ("It's Almost Over", "Jesus He Will Fix It", "Lay It Down", "Lead Me to the Rock", "Over the Moon")
D1 ("Lead Me to the Rock", "My Hope Is Built", "Water Came Walkin'")
C♯1 ("Jesus He Will Fix It")
C1 ("How Great Thou Art")

SPOILER: Click to show

{Questionable Notes}B♭0 ("Lead Me to the Rock" ^[4])
G♯0 ("It's Almost Over" inspirational version ^[4])
C0 ("How Great Thou Art" ^[1])
.......................................................
[1] marks yelps and short trills in high range or anacrusis and short dips in low range.
[2] marks notes of questionable identity that cannot be confirmed to be the singer in question.
[3] marks non-melodic notes that don't have a significant enough pitch to warrant inclusion.
[4] marks notes that possess uncertain pitch or have been pitch-shifted.
[5] marks notes that do not fit the previous criteria but are not of a substantial enough quality to warrant counting towards the singer's range.

.......................................................
Blue marks falsetto or whistle notes.
Underlines mark notes that are obscured in the song mix.
Italics mark non-melodic notes.
Boldface marks notes that are considered to be particularly notable examples of this person's vocal capabilities.

[Platypus]

I think there's a B0 in "Jesus He Will Fix It"

Here it is pitched up an octave

[iknownothing]

Sounds like C#1 to me
edit: actually yeah I hear the B on 'alright' (I think)

[md2002002]

Is it possible to get a link for the live version of "humble thyself" with the Maranatha christ reveient? Thanks

[RINGO]

A bunch of unreleased Valor tracks were uploaded on YouTube recently. I'll get around to notewatching them at some point so that this thread can remain 100% complete, but this song is worth posting because it contains the best high singing I've heard from Kennamer. Lots of D4s and E4s here coupled with some tasty melismatic passages.

[miketracy87]

There are a number of new unreleased songs that have been uploaded by YouTube that come with some new impressive low notes. Check out "I Am God" and "Old Man River".

[Steingrim]

The C1 at the end of "How great thou art" is kind of crazy. I pitched the last few seconds up two octaves and slowed it down a lot. The final note descends to a G0 then wobbles its way up to the final C1 before plunging to a split second C0 at the end. He does have more tone at and just below C1 than most bass singers have.

He does have a C0 in some vocal range video, and even though the tone down there is poor and probably beyond what the human ear can appreciate anyway, it makes sense that he would be able to dive bomb an octave, even from a C1.