Professor and Jazz Researcher Bill Kenney has died.

William (Bill) Howland Kenney III, died on July 26th, he was 80 years old. He was a professor at Kent State from 1966 on, teaching American Studies and History. After retiring in 1995 he continued to teach a course in Jazz History at the school

As a jazz researcher he published many important books including Jazz on the River, Recorded Music in American Life: The Phonograph and Popular Memory 1890-1945; Chicago Jazz: A Cultural History 1904-1930, and The Music of James Scott. He was also the author of Laughter in the Wilderness: Early American Humor to 1783. He was a fine and dedicated clarinetist, practicing for an hour and a half a day and playing with groups in both Ohio and France and appearing on several albums.