Bryan was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. However, he grew up in Tennessee in the Nashville area. Early on Bryan found his gift in the form of athletics. He played all sports, but most of his accolades came in the sport of football. As a sophomore in high school he was named to the All Mid-State team. His junior and senior year he was named to the All-State team. He earned a scholarship to the University of Mississippi where he became the starting defensive end from his sophomore year through his senior year. Bryan was awarded the John Howard Vaught award of excellence his senior year. Bryan left the University of Mississippi in 1983 six hours short of his degree. Twenty years later Bryan would enroll in college once again to obtain his degree in Broadcast Journalism. Bryan graduated in the spring of 2003.

Bryan revels from a family of music industry influences. His father, Jerry Kennedy, was a pioneer in country music, while running Mercury Records – Nashville for over 20 years. While at Mercury, Jerry worked with artists such as Roger Miller, Reba McIntyre, Johnny Rodriguez, the Statler Brothers, and Tom T Hall to name a few. In addition, he also was an accomplished musician in his own right, and played on records for such artists as Bob Dylan, Ringo Star, and Roy Orbison. 

Bryan began his musical quest as a song plugger for his father, and later for Ricky Skaggs. Bryan attributes his writing know how to hearing all the great songs he got to hear daily while being a song plugger. He later struck a deal with MCA music publishing company where he would produce the first sides on Country Music Star Terry Clark. He left MCA and went to work on a farm searching for his notch in Nashville. During that period of time EMI music publishing heard Bryan’s material and offered him a writing deal. Bryan wrote for EMI for eight years. 

Bryan’s brother, Gordon, is an accomplished songwriter/performer, with album cuts on some of today’s top-selling records, including Eric Clapton’s “Change the World” which won a Grammy for “Song of the Year” in 1996. 

Shelby, the little brother of the Kennedy clan, has also made a mark as a key A&R man for Lyric Street records. Some of the artists he has directed are Aaron Tippon, Rascal Flatts, and SheDaisy. 

Bryan has written six hits that appear on numerous Garth Brooks records, including three  #1 radio hits, "Good Ride Cowboy",  “Beaches of Cheyenne,” and “American Honky Tonk Bar Association.” In addition, Bryan opened up for Garth Brooks performing in front of thousands of people. Bryan says that all he really did was provide back ground music for those buying T-shirts.

Some of Bryan’s other Garth Brooks cuts include “Cowboy Cadillac” “The Old Stuff”, “Rodeo or Mexico”, and “The Fever”