Coventry music store to celebrate past country star's songs

May 14—COVENTRY — Fans of country music might not be aware that Coventry once was home to its very own country music star. A local music store, though, is looking to change that.

Singer-songwriter Hank Keene, who also played in a larger group called Hank Keene and the Connecticut Hillbillies, lived in South Coventry during the 1930s and 40s.

Ruth O'Neil and Jim Hammitt, the owners of the Song-A-Day Music Center in Coventry, are working to have local bands re-record some of Keene's hits to bring them to a new generation.

"It's not just part of local Coventry music history, but it's really part of Connecticut's music history, as well as the overall history of roots music in our country," O'Neil said recently, adding that Keene's group was an "old-time country band."

O'Neil said that Keene and his group used to play shows across the state, setting up tents wherever they played. They also used to play live on the radio on stations such as WTIC, she added.

"They were very vaudeville," Hammitt said of the shows, adding that they were also slapstick in nature.

In order to complete the recording project, the Song-A-Day Music Center was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from the town, one of several grants taken from federal pandemic relief funds that the town has given to local arts and cultural organizations.

"They're all good projects, but this one is something that could be amazingly special for the whole state of Connecticut," Town Manager John Elsesser said last week.

O'Neil said that she has had the idea to have bands re-record Keene's music for almost 15 years after a former town historian told her about the musician, but had been unable to get funding for the project until now.

"I want to foster some awareness of what this person did," O'Neil said, adding, "We'll see how far the money goes."

The current plan is to have local Connecticut musicians professionally record covers of about half a dozen of Keene's songs over the summer and fall, O'Neil said, adding that they would likely be posted on YouTube for the public to enjoy.

O'Neil also said that she would like to eventually schedule a live performance to showcase the songs.

"I think the goal is to give a new take on some of the songs that are his hits," O'Neil said, adding that artists are invited to put their own artistic spin on them as long as they are "as authentic as possible."

In addition to receiving funding from the town, O'Neil also had to get permission from Keene's remaining family to undertake the project. Luckily, Keene's grandchildren had no objections, as long as the project is nonprofit and O'Neil and Hammitt do not advertise it under their names.

"The goal is not to make money; the goal is to get this out there," O'Neil said, adding that the recording project would be perfect for bands that "want to have a little bit of fun and novelty."

Some of that fun and novelty lies in the titles of the songs Keene wrote, many of which were tongue-in-cheek, O'Neil said.

Some of these songs include "When Our Hillbilly Band Gets On the Air" and "Love Flew Out The Window When My Mother-in-Law Flew In."

However, Keene also sang more serious, gospel-type songs with religious meanings, O'Neil said.

"It's a little part of Connecticut's heritage," O'Neil added.

O'Neil and Hammitt are musicians themselves and have owned the Song-A-Day Music Center for 20 years. The store, in addition to selling musical instruments and gear, also provides instrument lessons and currently serves over 70 students, O'Neil said.

"We teach everything," she added.

Ben covers Coventry and Tolland for the Journal Inquirer.