Kenny G recently revealed himself to be the reason why Starbucks added Frappuccinos to its menus, possibly to one-up Marilyn Manson's claims that he invented the term "grunge." A recent interview with Bloomberg "proved" Kenny to be more than just a smooth saxophone player but a savvy (coffee) tastemaker as well:
"At the beginning, Starbucks didn't have anything but coffee. And there was another company, Coffee Bean, that had something called 'blended' that was a sweet drink, and people were lined up around the block," he explained in the interview. "And I would always call Howard [Schultz] and say, 'Howard, there's this thing that they do there that's like a milkshake or whatever.' And so I think that part of the reason that they did Frappuccino was people like me giving them that kind of feedback. So I'd like to think that I was partially responsible for that."
We can't assume the story is a total load, as the jazz musician was indeed one of the earliest investors in the fledgling Starbucks. It's entirely possible that he brought the idea of a frozen coffee drink to company founder Schultz. Was he the sole reason for the addition of Frappuccinos? Probably a stretch.
Say what you will about the performer's music (many poo-poo it) but he certainly has a grasp on the business side of things, having sold more than 75 million albums worldwide. He was also an early "investor" in China, where his music has caught on like wildfire. The track "Going Home" from his Kenny G Live album has become the unofficial anthem for Chinese businesses hinting to customers that it's closing time, in a similar fashion to "Closing Time" by Semisonic in the U.S.
The interview with Bloomberg was in part promoting Kenny's new bossa nova-style Brazilian Nights.
