Arthur Jenkins (musician) facts for kids

Arthur Eugene Jenkins, Jr. (born December 7, 1936 – died January 28, 2009) was an amazing American musician. He played keyboards, wrote music, arranged songs, and played percussion. Arthur Jenkins worked with many famous artists like John Lennon, Harry Belafonte, Bob Marley, and Chaka Khan.

Early Life and Musical Journey

Arthur Jenkins was born in The Bronx, New York. He started playing the piano when he was just 5 years old! He loved music so much that he went to Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio to study it.

After college, Arthur came back to New York. He began his professional music career playing at a club called Blue Moracco. He played there for two years, first with singer Irene Reid and then with a new singer named Nancy Wilson.

Working with Johnny Nash

Next, Arthur Jenkins worked with singer Johnny Nash for nine years. He was Johnny's musical director and played alongside him. During this time, Johnny Nash had a huge hit song in 1972 called "I Can See Clearly Now".

While working with Johnny Nash, Arthur also traveled to Jamaica. There, he got to work on recording projects with legendary reggae artists Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.

A Sought-After Studio Musician

Arthur Jenkins became very popular as a studio musician. This means he was often asked to play on recordings for many different artists. He became the arranger for Harry Belafonte, helping to put the music together for his songs. Arthur also recorded and toured with Harry Belafonte. He worked in the same way for Patti Austin and Lena Horne, who also performed on Belafonte's tours.

Arthur then joined Antisia Publishing, a music company. He became great friends and musical partners with Ralph MacDonald. Together, they helped create many hit songs. These included "The Hustle" with Van McCoy, "Where Is the Love" with Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway, and "Just The Two of Us" with Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers.

Playing with John Lennon

Arthur Jenkins got the chance to work with John Lennon because of May Pang. She helped organize many albums for John Lennon and Yoko Ono. May Pang first hired Arthur for Yoko Ono's Feeling The Space album. John Lennon was about to record his own album, Mind Games, and he asked May to keep Arthur for that session too.

Arthur Jenkins played on all of John Lennon's later albums. These included Walls and Bridges, Double Fantasy, and Milk and Honey, which was released after John Lennon passed away. For his work on Walls and Bridges, Arthur even received a special gold record award! John Lennon would often joke that Arthur was responsible for "all the bells and whistles" on his records, meaning all the cool extra sounds.

Other Projects and His Own Music

Besides working with famous musicians, Arthur Jenkins also played for Broadway theatre shows. He also created distinctive sounds for popular commercials, like those for McDonald's and Chemical Bank.

Arthur Jenkins also released two of his own music CDs. They were called Alone With Arthur and Alone With Arthur Again.

Arthur Jenkins passed away unexpectedly in his Manhattan apartment at the age of 73.

Discography

Arthur Jenkins started his recording career in 1965. He played on over a hundred albums! He worked with many jazz, pop, and R&B artists.

• For a more complete list of his recordings, you can check out this website: https://www.discogs.com/fr/artist/295134-Arthur-Jenkins?page=1