Reverend John P. Kee says he’s never told this story to anybody else. When he was ten years old, he says, he went to the movies. At the time, he’d grown up in the deep country in North Carolina, but in this big new movie theater, Kee saw the film, The Sound of Music. It changed his life. The orchestration, piano, oboes, and all the other instruments “captivated” him. At that moment, he says, he knew whatever he was experiencing in that theater would be part of the rest of his life. And, as time would prove, his instincts were right.
Cinematic Inspiration
Today, the multi-Grammy-nominated, Charlotte-based artist and churchman continues to tour the country. He also writes songs and uses his hard-earned fame to impact a community, he says, he once took advantage of.
“I remember leaving that theater [after watching The Sound of Music] mad because the movie was over,” Kee says. “Something about that moment grabbed me, and it grabbed me for years. I would often go back to that mindset, the place where I was then, and the creativity would kick in.”
“I remember leaving that theater mad because the movie was over. Something about that moment grabbed me, and it grabbed me for years."
Drawn to the Sound
Kee, who was the 15th out of 16 children in his household, says he was first exposed to music in a serious way when he was about five years old. A large piano arrived at the house, all the way from New York City, for his older siblings to play. Kee found himself drawn to it, both curious about the sound and hopeful playing it would be a way to impress his father.
He learned a few chords and things began to snowball. A few years later, Kee took lessons. Then in 9th grade, he enrolled in the North Carolina School of the Arts. He graduated high school early at 14-years-old and moved to California to play music with his older brothers. He studied jazz with some of the greats, including songwriter, Phyllis Hyman. He worked with Rudy Gay Sr. (father of the NBA basketball star). Eventually, he moved back east to Charlotte.
“I got a job as a vocal leader at the Miss Black Universe pageant,” Kee says. “I would work with the girls before they’d go on stage. But that job died, and I started doing literally nothing.”
Tough Times and New Hope
Looking back, Kee’s early years included some trouble with the law, experiences of which he’s not proud. As a young man, a close friend was tragically gunned down in the street. That night, Kee says, he “surrendered” his life to a higher power and began to get himself back on track. Today, he owns much of the land on which he used to break the law.
“I felt like I poisoned a lot of people in that season of my life,” Kee says. “Now, we have outreach programs like you would not believe.”
Success and Forgiveness
As a songwriter, the words often come easy for Kee. To date, the 59-year-old boasts seven Grammy nominations. In addition, a number of his songs have earned many millions of streams on platforms like YouTube and Spotify. As a performer, Kee is bold and evocative. There is forgiveness and redemption in his lungs which pour out of him in waves. It’s like an honest-to-goodness sonic baptism.
“It comes from my upbringing. I’m inspired by everything, from a tree to our current situation."
Every Day a Gift
“It comes from my upbringing,” says Kee. “I’m inspired by everything, from a tree to our current situation. I wrote a song called, ‘Let Me Breathe,’ after the George Floyd murder. In the next day or two after, the song came lyric after lyric. I can close my eyes and pretend to walk out on stage and sing a song I’ve never sung before. It’s a gift and something I still love doing.”
Kee says he uses this gift to bring joy to fans but also to bring people closer to his mission of helping people. Kee is also a longtime fan of Roland products, citing the 2480 Digital Recorder as an example. The singer recalls traveling to Florida after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. There he met a musician who lost all his equipment in the storm. But Kee, as is his style, gifted the man his gear. Later, someone at Roland found out about the gesture and gifted Kee the equipment once again.
“I’m Roland forever,” he says.
Hitting the Road with Joy
Today, as Kee ramps up for another tour, there is a great deal on his plate. The founder and pastor at New Life Fellowship Church in Charlotte, Kee is ready to hit the road. He’ll be taking his inspiring, emotional songs to stages and audiences in need of a little uplift.
Simultaneously, Kee is working on a new documentary and finishing projects he was able to work on heavily during the pandemic. Ultimately, all this is possible thanks to his deep relationship to song.
“Music,” Kee says, “heals.”
