Background
Kenneth Campbell was born in 1922, in the town of Portuguese Arthur, Ontario (now Thunder Bay).
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Kenneth Campbell
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His career began in the early 1940s, as he performed in dance music bands located in Toronto, New York City, and Florida. One of his first major jobs was to arrange the music for the radio programming of the Pickens Sisters during the 1940s. He relocated to Ottawa in 1949, where he received the bulk of his success.
During World World War II, Campbell was a clarinetist and arranger in the Princess Patricia"s Canadian Light Infantry Band.
Before he took over his own bands, Campbell played with musicians such as Ellis McLintock and Bert Niosi in Toronto, and Max Horner in Gatineau. In addition to composing and arranging, his main instruments were the baritone saxophone and bass clarinet.
Following this, Campbell joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, which tasked him with using his musical skill to compose and arrange for the air force"s musical band. Campbell composed and arranged music for institutions including the National Arts Centre, the Canadian Red Cross, the Stratford Festival, the Ottawa Press Club, the Central Band of the Royal Canadian Air Force, the North America Air Defense band, the National Film Board (NFB), the Canadian Broadcasting Company, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and several short and feature films.
These included the Canadian Broadcasting Company documentary Canada at War.
Artists Campbell arranged for included Paul Anka, Tony Bennett, and Rich Little, whose first album Stars on Broadway featured Campbell as the composer. Campbell remained Rich Little"s conductor through the late 1960s. Campbell also led his own band, the Kenneth Campbell Orchestra, a 16-piece dance band.
He performed at venues including Canada"s Parliament Hill, where he led the music for Canada Day (including the 1967 Centennial) celebrations, as well as international venues like Carnegie Hall.
Canadian Broadcasting Company television shows for which Campbell composed included Two"s Company, and NFB films he scored included Blades and Brass (1966) and Flight in White (1968). He spent some time in the United Kingdom during the 1970s, before returning the Canada.
Campbell died in Ottawa on May 19, 1982.
