 Soon after his arrival, he was asked to work as a talent scout for Mercury's country subsidiary, Smash Records, and to begin producing and also playing in recording sessions.Kennedy and Tommy Tomlinson, a Louisiana Hayride star from Minden, Louisiana, developed four instrumental albums for Mercury Records in 1960.The albums entitled "Tom & Jerry", cover all genres of music, also included Hank Garland, Boots Randolph, Bob Moore, and Harold Bradley.