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Scott " Top Ten" Kempner (February 6, 1954 – November 29, 2023) was an American rock musician who was the of The Dictators. He was also a founding member of The Del-Lords and later a member of The Brandos.
Kempner released a solo in 1992 called Tenement Angels. He released his second solo album, Saving Grace, in July 2008 on 00:02:59 Records.
In the early 1990s, Dion DiMucci joined Kempner and Frank Funaro of the Del-Lords and Mike Mesaros of the Smithereens in a short-lived band called Little Kings. A live album was later released, but not widely circulated or promoted.
Kempner contributed "Apache Tears" to the 2007 compilation album Song of America.
In summer 2008, Variety said about Kempner: "If the world were a just and fair place, Scott Kempner would be stopped regularly by musicians and music fans thanking him for the effect the records he made with the Del-Lords and the Dictators had on their lives. Kempner's music is impossible to not like: He's the rare master at making three-chord rock 'n' roll - inspired by the 1950s and '60s - sound fresh and vital, simultaneously urban and twangy, heartfelt, political and personal."
A Del-Lords reunion album and tour were done in 2013, and Kempner sang and played guitar on the Carla Olson album Have Harmony Will Travel, performing Little Steven's "All I Needed Was You".
Personal life and death
Kempner was married to Sharon Ludtke. He retired from his musical career in 2021, after being diagnosed with dementia, and died at a nursing home in Connecticut on November 29, 2023, at the age of 69.
External links
Categories: Official Website, 1954 Births, 2023 Deaths, Musicians From The Bronx, The Del-lords Members, Songwriters From New York, Rhythm Guitarists, Guitarists From New York, 20th-century American Guitarists, 21st-century American Guitarists, The Dictators Members, The Brandos Members, American Male Guitarists, American Rock Guitarists, Deaths From Dementia In Connecticut
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