Kali

About Kali

Kali Sanna, Songwriter/Musician - writes, arranges and performs his original material with a catalog of nearly 300 songs.
Kali is a Military Veteran that still enjoys the outdoors but prefers a laid back lifestyle in contrast to his experience in the Army
Born in Atlanta, Georgia Kali grew up with two sisters, raised by his mother and lived with his grandparents just minutes from downtown on Gordon Terrence.
Kali began his interest in music the moment he put his hands around a trumpet his mother bought him to participate in the elementary school band. Kali’s grandfather was a gifted musician in his earlier days, playing the piano, clarinet and trumpet and was the key musical figure and personal role model for Kali.
Kali became very popular within the music community and would be performing for graduations, wedding and other local events before the age of 10 years of age.
Kali also was also a well-known local football player, a running back for the highly respected community team, Anderson Park and coach Rambo. There he would befriend Steven Cost that introduced him to the guitar.
At age 13, Kali moved from his grandparents’ home with his mother and two sisters across town to the Hightower area. There he would attend Frederick Douglas High School and meet a teacher that would have a immediate impact in his life, Ms. Summerville.
Just as Kali was getting settled in to his new home, the family moved again, to the Ben Hill area, where he attended Therrell High School. Kali played football and played in the schools’ band. It was there that he would meet the brother of his ex-teacher (Ms. Summerville), Donald Ogeltree. Don eventually became the drum major for the school marching band and was a gifted pianist and trumpet player. Don and Kali became good friends and introduced Kali to the piano.
During Kali’s tenure at Therrell and living in the Ben Hill area, he would go on to meet, Bobby and Leroy Lovelace, Vada Beedles, Rod and Lauren Whitaker just to name a few, that made up the original members of Kali’s first band, The Brown Leather Band.
After playing together for a while and gaining some industry experience, the band went into separate directions. Rod, Lauren and Leroy started the group, “The Maxx”, Bobby went on to a popular local group “Southside Coalition” eventually landing as drummer for Midnight Star.
Therrell High School had so much musical talent that finding new members wouldn’t be hard. Gerald Hicks, Wayne Linsey, Wesley Smith and Chris Henderson would soon represent the newly formed rhythm section.
The new Brown Leather Band had as its local rivals, The Maxx, SOS and Brick just to name a few. Over the years the band won talent shows and battle of the band contests and even a local radio station contest. But that wasn’t enough to keep the members focused and motivated in such a competitive environment. In 1975, the band would be no more, and Kali would join the Army.
Still fascinated with music, Kali maintained his musical skills while making the military a career. Once Kali left the service, he set out to catalog all the songs he had written over the years.
In 2013, Kali got a record deal with Tate Music Group, featuring his debut album “The One” that was released in May of 2014.
Kali resides in Charlotte, North Carolina and to this day maintains close friendships with many of the ex-members. Several have achieved great success in the music industry.
Contact Information:
Email: kalisanna@(expired link)