Ken Nordine
Play Radio
Listen to Ken Nordine Radio,
featuring artists like William S. Burroughs, Del Close & John Brent, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and more…
232,041 plays (10,790 listeners)
Ken Nordine ( January 1920) is an American voiceover and recording artist.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Ken Nordine is the son of an architect. He attended Lane Technical College Prep High School (Chicago) and the University of Chicago. He has three sons with his wife Beryl whom he married in 1946.
Nordine’s deep, resonant voice has been featured on many commercial advertisements. One critic wrote that “you may not know Ken Nordine by name or face, but you’ll almost certainly recognize his voice.”
He initially attracted attention when he recorded the aural vignettes on Word Jazz on Dot in 1957. Word Jazz, Son of Word Jazz (Dot, 1958) and his other albums in this vein feature Nordine’s narration over a cool jazz background. He began performing and recording such albums at the peak of the beat movement and was associated with the poetry-and-jazz movement. Regarded by some as an original hipster, Nordine’s “writings are more akin to Franz Kafka or Edgar Allan Poe” than to other beats. Many of his word jazz tracks feature critiques of societal norms, while some reveal dark, paranoid undercurrents and bizarre, dream-like scenarios.
Nordine was Linda Blair’s vocal coach for her role in The Exorcist, and Word Jazz inspired Tom Waits’ spooky, spoken word-type pieces, such as “9th and Hennepin” and “Frank’s Wild Years” and “What’s He Building?”
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Ken Nordine is the son of an architect. He attended Lane Technical College Prep High School (Chicago) and the University of Chicago. He has three sons with his wife Beryl whom he married in 1946.
Nordine’s deep, resonant voice has been featured on many commercial advertisements. One critic wrote that “you may not know Ken Nordine by name or face, but you’ll almost certainly recognize his voice.”
He initially attracted attention when he recorded the aural vignettes on Word Jazz on Dot in 1957. Word Jazz, Son of Word Jazz (Dot, 1958) and his other albums in this vein feature Nordine’s narration over a cool jazz background. He began performing and recording such albums at the peak of the beat movement and was associated with the poetry-and-jazz movement. Regarded by some as an original hipster, Nordine’s “writings are more akin to Franz Kafka or Edgar Allan Poe” than to other beats. Many of his word jazz tracks feature critiques of societal norms, while some reveal dark, paranoid undercurrents and bizarre, dream-like scenarios.
Nordine was Linda Blair’s vocal coach for her role in The Exorcist, and Word Jazz inspired Tom Waits’ spooky, spoken word-type pieces, such as “9th and Hennepin” and “Frank’s Wild Years” and “What’s He Building?”
Top Albums
-
Colors
Ken NordineBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
The Best of Word Jazz, Vol. 1
Ken Nordine
Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
Best Of Word Jazz
Ken Nordine Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $8.99
- 7digital $8.99
- iTunes $9.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
Word Jazz: The Complete 1950s Recordings
Ken Nordine Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
Shoutbox
-
LinusPojken "Quite literally - on of the most important artists in my life" Yeah for me too!
-
cat-dentures Ken Nordine, please narrate my dreams.
-
Sgarre1 Quite literally - on of the most important artists in my life
-
hitbyambulance i can't believe he's still alive!
-
branchong amazing poet
-
johndarnielle I highly approve of Ken Nordine
-
smee85 -
pillfeast Aren't ya glad ya came?
Videos
Top Listeners
-
spirounderscore
Top Listener
-
unclepunkroxxx
Top Listener
-
subgeniusbob
Top Listener
-
Esquemeauxpi
Top Listener
More Information
- Links
- Labels
