Barbara Allen Keith (born 1946) is an American folk-rock singer-songwriter who recorded two solo albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She re-emerged in the 1990s with her family band, The Stone Coyotes, who have released 12 albums and continue to perform.

Early life and career

Born in

Deerfield, Massachusetts Deerfield is a New England town, town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Settled near the Connecticut River in the 17th century during the colonial era, the population was 5,090 as of the 2020 census. ...

, she performed at the

Cafe Wha? Cafe Wha? is a music club at the corner of MacDougal Street and Minetta Lane in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The club is important in the history of rock and folk music, having presented numerous musicians and ...

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

before making her first recordings in 1968 as a singer with the band Kangaroo. The other band members were multi-instrumentalist

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...

, guitarist Teddy Speleos, and drummer/vocalist N. D. Smart (previously of the Remains). Jason Ankeny, Biography of Kangaroo
''Allmusic.com''. Retrieved April 2, 2019 They released a self-titled album on

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

, on which Keith wrote two songs, "Daydream Stallion" and "The Only Thing I Had". The band split up in early 1969. Hall moved on to form the band Orleans before becoming a politician; Smart later formed

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

with

Leslie West Leslie West (born Leslie Abel Weinstein; October 22, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Mountain. Life and career Early years: 1 ...

; and Speleos formed the band

Holy Moses Holy Moses is a German thrash metal band active from 1980 to 1994 and again since 2000. They are well noted for being fronted by Sabina Classen, who is the only constant member of Holy Moses, and for being one of the first German thrash metal ...

with singer-songwriter Billy Batson.

Solo career

Keith recorded her debut self-titled solo album at A & R Studios in New York in October 1969. Produced by

Peter Asher Peter Asher, (born 22 June 1944) is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the pop music vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a manager and r ...

, it was released on the Verve Forecast label, but was a commercial failure. Biography by David Jeffries
''Allmusic.com''. Retrieved April 13, 2019 Reviewer

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

described the album as "slightly above-average late-'60s singer/songwriter music, with a strong country-rock flavor", and compared her singing style to that of

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

. Her second album, also self-titled, was recorded with leading

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s including

Lowell George Lowell Thomas George (April 13, 1945 – June 29, 1979) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, who was the primary guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and founder/leader for the rock band Little Feat. Earl ...

Spooner Oldham Dewey Lindon "Spooner" Oldham (born June 14, 1943) is an American songwriter and session musician. An organist, he recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, at FAME Studios as part of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section on such hit R&B songs as Percy ...

Pete Kleinow Peter E. "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow (August 20, 1934 – January 6, 2007) was an American country-rock musician. He is best known as a member of the band The Flying Burrito Brothers and as a session musician playing pedal steel guitar for such ar ...

Lee Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so fre ...

and others, and was released by

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

in 1972. The producer was Larry Marks, whose songwriting partner Doug Tibbles married Keith in 1973. The album contained a cover of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's "

All Along the Watchtower "All Along the Watchtower" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his eighth studio album, ''John Wesley Harding'' (1967). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. The song's lyrics, which in its original vers ...

" – released as a single – along with self-penned songs including "Free the People", also issued as a single and later recorded by

Delaney and Bonnie Delaney & Bonnie were an American duo of singer-songwriters Delaney Bramlett and Bonnie Bramlett. In 1969 and 1970, they fronted a rock/soul ensemble, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, whose members at different times included Duane Allman, Gregg Al ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

, and others; "The Bramble and the Rose",

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

; Biography, The Stone Coyotes
''Stonecoyotes.com''. Retrieved April 13, 2019 and "Detroit or Buffalo", recorded by

Melanie Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark". "The Stone Coyotes Interview"
''Stars and Celebs'', November 29, 2000. Retrieved April 13, 2019 As a result, Warner/Reprise failed to promote the record and it was quickly withdrawn. Keith and Tibbles continued to write and perform together, while withdrawing from the music scene into family life in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Their song "A Stone's Throw Away" from her second solo album was recorded by

The Dillards The Dillards are an American bluegrass and country rock band from Salem, Missouri. The band is best known for introducing bluegrass music into the popular mainstream with their appearance as "The Darlings" on ''The Andy Griffith Show''. Band ...

in 1975, and by

Valerie Carter Valerie Gail Zakian Carter (February 5, 1953 – March 4, 2017) was an American singer. Biography Carter began her career singing in coffeehouses as a teenager, and eventually became one-third of the country-folk band Howdy Moon. Though they de ...

in 1977. "Pride of Franklin County" was recorded by

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

in 1976.

The Stone Coyotes

In the 1990s, Barbara Keith and Doug Tibbles formed The Stone Coyotes, with Tibbles' son (Keith's stepson) John Tibbles, and began playing occasional gigs and recording. Keith plays electric guitar and sings, Doug Tibbles plays drums, and John plays bass. "Ken Maiuri’s Tuned In: Barbara Keith and her Stone Coyotes and more musical action this week in the Valley"
''Daily Hampshire Gazette'', October 30, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2019 When playing at the

Troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

in Los Angeles, they were seen by writer

Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thri ...

, who used them as the model for the band in his 1999 novel ''Be Cool''. The band has continued to perform and record.

Discography

Albums

''Kangaroo''

The band

Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

released one self-titled album on

in 1968. #"Such a Long Long Time" (Hall) (2:15) #"You're Trying to Be a Woman" (Hall) (2:19) #"Daydream Stallion" (Keith) (3:56) #"Make Some Room in Your Life" (Hall) (2:42) #"Frog Giggin" (Smart) (4:23) #"You Can't Do This to Me" (Hall) (3:47) #"If You Got Some Love in Mind" (Hall) (2:42) #"I Never Tell me Twice" (Hall) (2:25) #"Tweed's Chicken Inn" (Smart) (3:03) #"Happy Man" (Speleos) (3:07) #"The Only Thing I Had" (Keith) (4:05) #"Maybe Tomorrow" (Hall) (2:15)

''Barbara Keith''

1969,

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, ...

; produced by

. All tracks written by Keith except where stated. #"Ferris Wheel" #"Walk a Little Closer" (Gutcheon) #"To See the Morning Gone" #"Stranger Song" #"Midnight Vow" #"My Easy Days" #"Ones who Really Care" #"Lullaby" #"As if you Were my Own" #"Tie Me Down" #"Blue Eyed Boy" #"Big Black Deep"

''Barbara Keith''

1973,

All tracks written by Keith except where stated. #"

" (Bob Dylan) (3:23) #"Rolling Water" (3:09) #"The Bramble and the Rose" (2:49) #"Burn the Midnight Oil No More" (3:03) #"Free the People" (3:49) #"Detroit or Buffalo" (4:29) #"The Road I Took to You" (3:17) #"Shining All Along" (3:04) #"Rainy Nights Are All the Same" (3:21) #"A Stone's Throw Away" (Keith, Tibbles) (4:43)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Barbara 1947 births Living people American women singer-songwriters Verve Forecast Records artists Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts 21st-century American women