Kenny Vance Receives LIMEHOF Documentary Film Festival Legacy Award

Singer/songwriter and music producer Kenny Vance, co-founder of the band Jay and the Americans, has become the first filmmaker to receive the LIMEHOF Documentary Film Festival Legacy Award for Heart & Soul: A Love Story.

After Superstorm Sandy destroyed his house of 40 years in Belle Harbor, Queens, Vance decided to use what was left of all his personal footage (some of which survived the hurricane) to make and direct the documentary Heart & Soul: A Love Story.

The film, which aims to shine a light on the unsung artists of 1950s rock & roll, was shown on PBS, at the Grammy Museum, and the Smithsonian Institute. Vance is now launching this film on streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime, Fandango and Plex and DVD. 

“The LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival Legacy Award honors Kenny Vance for transforming a lifetime of musical influence into lasting cultural preservation, most powerfully through Heart & Soul: A Love Story, his deeply personal tribute to the doo-wop pioneers who built the foundation of rock and roll,” said Tom Needham, LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival Executive Director. “His work ensures that the voices of this first generation are not only remembered but rightfully celebrated as essential to American music history.”

“It’s the culmination of my life’s work really,” Vance said of the film. “I started with Jay and the Americans, and we made wonderful music like Cara Mia and Come a Little Bit Closer. And then I wound up making my own CD after I left the group, Looking for an Echo, which also became a big cult classic over the years with Kenny Vance and the Planotones. Now I made this movie honoring these musicians who I grew up with that were my heroes to show the world that these young artists really were impactful and meant something not only to me but to the musical history of America.” 

At 82 years old, Vance is the oldest American male debut director of a commercial feature documentary film. In 2008, he was inducted into the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF). 

Vance, born in Flatbush, Brooklyn, has had a 60-year career in music, television, and film. As a producer/singer/songwriter/composer, he crosses musical genres from Rock and Roll to Doo-wop to movie soundtracks (Animal House/The Warriors) and TV music in addition to being the former Musical Director of Saturday Night Live (1980-81). 

Year two of the LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival will take place on September 25th-27th, 2026. Film entries are now being accepted at FilmFreeway.com. For more information, visit here.