James Barry Keefer (born May 17, 1949), better known by his stage name Keith, is an American vocalist. His best known song was "
98.6" which reached No. 7 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1966. He legally changed his name to Bazza Keefer in 1988, in memory of his mother.
Early life
James Barry Keefer was born on May 17, 1949 in
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, United States.
Career
Early days
Keefer earned his first
recording contract
A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
.
When Jerry Ross moved across to
Mercury Records he took Keefer with him, and the singer soon appeared in the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
, with his 1966 solo single, "Ain't Gonna Lie".
Chart success
He is best remembered for his
hit "
98.6"; the
recording was issued on the
Mercury Records label, and reached No. 24 in the
UK Singles Chart in 1967.
It was considerably better received in his homeland – the single reached No. 7, and remained for 14 weeks in the bestsellers in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
It sold over one million copies worldwide, earning a
gold disc.
The
track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
was written by
Tony Powers (
lyrics) and George Fischoff (
music),
arranged by Joe Renzetti, and was produced by Jerry Ross.
Its title relates to the
normal human body temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
His debut album, ''98.6/Ain't Gonna Lie'', was also issued on the Mercury label.
Later days
His 1968 second Mercury LP, ''Out of Crank'', failed to sell well.Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
's 1974 touring band. "I think they brought me in to commercialize Frank," Keefer said.music industry
The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...
until 1986, when an attempted comeback under his real name proved unsuccessful.Redondo Beach
Redondo Beach (Spanish for ''round'') is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent Beach Cities, b ...
, California, and produced albums for several local musicians. These included the singer-songwriter Chuck Hill, and Keith's drummer Shawn Smith, who were both from Denver, Colorado.
In the 1990s, the singer moved into the television industry, although he continues to play live dates.
Discography
Singles
Keith and the Admirations
Keith
Albums
See also
* List of performers on Top of the Pops
* List of one-word stage names
References
External links
Official Keith website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith
1949 births
Living people
American male singers
Mercury Records artists
Musicians from Philadelphia
RCA Records artists
Singers from Pennsylvania