Losing Kenny Rankin

Filipinos listen to the music of a lot of Kennys. There are Loggins, Rodgers, Chesney, G, etc. etc. The one they are most affectionate about though is that of Kenny Rankin’s. This is most evident in the way his songs have remained staples in the playlists of local music lovers from the time he broke into the big time with Mind Dusters in the late ‘60s.

Rankin could rock. He was a talented guitarist who played with Bob Dylan. He was also an exceptionally feeling vocalist and impressed The Beatles with his version of their Blackbird. Although he made his first hits as a pop singer, he gravitated towards jazz in his later years and recorded many standards.

Hereabouts, nobody cared if he was doing rock or jazz. It Rankin’s sweet tenor and intimate style with its elegant phrasing were what captured the hearts of the public. His songs played background music to many romances during these past three decades. I am sure these will continue to do the same for many years to come. Hiding Inside Myself, Like A Seed, Here in My Heart, Because of You, Cotton Candy Sandman and Haven’t We Met, Peaceful were among his big hits.

The one that sentimental souls around here love best among his recordings though is What Matters Most. Nonoy Zuniga and Aiza Seguerra have very good covers of this song. Kenny’s version is one of the cuts in his album After The Roses. This was a major seller in the international market. I do recall a time when almost everybody I knew was listening to this LP. They had only LPs during that time. It was also one of a few that he recorded with an orchestra. Rankin likes things pared down and mostly goes acoustic or even a capella. It also includes With A Little Help From My Friends, To A Wild Rose, Down The Backstairs Of My Life, One More Goodbye One More Hello and others.

Kenny did not write What Matters Most. It is actually a composition by Dave Grusin and is the main theme for the tearjerker flick The Champ, that starred Jon Voight, Ricky Schroeder and Fay Dunaway. Grusin also did the music for films like Tootsie, Heaven Can Wait, On Golden Pond, The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Firm and others. The lyrics of What Matter Most was written by the famous team of Alan and Marilyn Bergman. They also did It Might Be You with Grusin, which I must say, is another big favorite among Pinoys.

If I remember right the song paraphrases a popular line from In Memoriam, by the English 19th century poet Alfred Lord Tennyson. It is better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all. That means What Matters Most is also one of the few songs that finds something to be cheerful about in a broken relationship or the loss of a loved one.

Read the lyrics and I guarantee that you will once more feel those bittersweet pinpricks in your heart: It’s not how long we held each other’s hand/ what matters is how well we loved each other/ it’s not how far we travelled on our way/ but what we found to say/ it’s not the spring you’ve seen/ but all the shades of green

It’s not how long I held you in my arms/ what matters is how sweet the years together/ it’s not how many summertimes/ we have to give to fall/ the early morning smile/ we tearfully recall/ what matters most is that we loved at all.

The sentiments expressed by What Matters Most must be the ultimate in sadness but somehow it also eases the pain and makes life right again.

Like his songs, reaction to Kenny Rankin’s death was quiet, resigned and subdued, but certainly with a lot of regret. The pop star died from complications related to lung cancer last Sunday, June 7 at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 69 and had been busy preparing to record a new album of his original works. He will always be remembered.