Bennett Keith Schaeufele (March 6, 1937 – July 26, 2010), better known by his stage name Ben Keith, was an American musician and record producer. Known primarily for his work as a
pedal steel guitarist with
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...
, Keith was a fixture of the
Nashville country music community in the 1950s and 1960s before working with numerous successful rock,
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...
and pop artists as both a producer and versatile,
multi-instrumentalist sideman for over four decades. Neil Young affectionately referred to him as "Long Grain" (a joking word play reference to a variety of
Uncle Ben's Rice and to Ben's height). Keith was inducted into the
Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum
The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum (MHOF) in Nashville honors all musicians regardless of genre or instrument. The MHOF timeline starts with the beginning of recorded music and inductees are nominated by current members of the American Feder ...
in 2014.
Biography
Born in
Fort Riley, Kansas
Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Gea ...
, Keith later relocated to
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the ...
before working as a
session musician in
Nashville. Keith's first big recording in Nashville was playing on
Patsy Cline
Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...
's 1961 hit "
I Fall to Pieces".
Keith first worked with Neil Young in 1971 on Young's ''
Harvest'' album. They were introduced by
Elliot Mazer
Elliot Mazer (September 5, 1941February 7, 2021) was an American audio engineer and record producer. He was best known for his work with Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, The Band, and Janis Joplin. In addition, he worked on film and telev ...
, the album's producer, who was looking for a session player in Nashville on short notice.
They collaborated for nearly 40 years, during which time Keith played with Young on over a dozen albums and on numerous tours. Young co-produced Keith's 1994 album ''Seven Gates'', while Keith played the role of Grandpa Green in Young's movie ''Greendale'', a film accompaniment to Young's
2003 album of the same name.
In addition to his work with Young, Keith worked with
Terry Reid
Terrance James Reid (born 13 November 1949) is an English rock vocalist and guitarist. He has performed with high-profile musicians, as a supporting act, session musician, and sideman.
Biography
Reid was born in Paxton Park Maternity Home, L ...
,
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...
,
Lonnie Mack
Lonnie McIntosh (July 18, 1941 – April 21, 2016), known as Lonnie Mack, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was an influential trailblazer of blues rock music and rock guitar soloing.
Mack emerged in 1963 with his breakthroug ...
,
The Band,
Blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...
,
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...
,
Graham Nash
Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...
,
Paul Butterfield
Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his n ...
,
J. J. Cale
John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and sound engineer. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Mark Knop ...
,
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
,
Warren Zevon
Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician.
Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", " Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Th ...
,
Ian and Sylvia
Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson, née Fricker. They began performing together in 1959 (full-time in 1961), married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975.
...
,
Emmylou Harris,
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...
,
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music.
Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...
,
Tompall Glaser
Thomas Paul "Tompall" Glaser (September 3, 1933 – August 12, 2013) was an American outlaw country music artist.
Biography
Glaser was born in Spalding, Nebraska, the son of Alice Harriet Marie (née Davis) and Louis Nicholas Glaser. He was ...
,
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career.
Murray was the fir ...
and
Ringo Starr. He served as the producer of
Jewel's debut album ''
Pieces of You
''Pieces of You'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Jewel, released on February 28, 1995, by Atlantic Records. It was produced by Ben Keith, who has also produced works for artists such as Neil Young and Patsy Cline. Featuri ...
'', and also worked as a solo artist.
He toured with
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...
on their 2006
Freedom of Speech Tour.
Keith died of a heart attack on July 26, 2010 while staying at Young's Broken Arrow Ranch in Northern California.
Discography
*''To a Wild Rose'' (En Point, 1984)
*''Seven Gates: A Christmas Album by Ben Keith and Friends'' (1994)
References
External links
In Memory of Ben Keith: 1937 – 2010Music Web Express 3000 interview with Ben Keith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Ben
1937 births
2010 deaths
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
Record producers from Kansas
Record producers from Tennessee
Pedal steel guitarists
People from Fort Riley, Kansas
People from Nashville, Tennessee
Musicians from Bowling Green, Kentucky
Crazy Horse (band) members
American session musicians
Country musicians from Kentucky
Singers from Kentucky
Songwriters from Kentucky
Rock musicians from Kentucky
Guitarists from Kentucky
Great Speckled Bird (band) members
20th-century American guitarists
The Stray Gators members