Kip Carmen

In the early 1970s Kip was signed by Hi Records, a Memphis based record company. He cut two successful singles and later two albums. Many years of road touring followed. During those hectic years he came into contact with some of the finest musicians in the country, including Cornell Dupree and Jimmy Allen Smith from the band Stuff, with whom Kip collaborated on two of his own albums. During the 1960s and 1970s, Kip opened for acts such as Neil Diamond, Maxine Brown, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Tanya Tucker, the James Cotton Blues Band, the Brecker Brothers, Anne Murray, and the Fabulous Platters.

In the 1980s and 1990s Kip found a solid place for himself as a musician, working for some of the top orchestras on Long Island and in New York City, and leading his own very fine orchestra as well. During the 1980's Kip opened for acts such as James Cotton, Big Twist and the Mellow Fellows, and the Stink Band featuring Peter Aykroyd, John Belushi, and Donald “Duck” Dunn. A true high point in Kip's career was when he opened for Albert King in at U.S. Blues in Roslyn, N.Y. in 1984.