William Bradford "Bill" Keith (December 20, 1939 – October 23, 2015) was a five-string banjoist who made a significant contribution to the stylistic development of the instrument. In the 1960s he introduced a variation on the popular "

Scruggs style Scruggs style is the most common style of playing the banjo in bluegrass music. It is a fingerpicking method, also known as three-finger style. It is named after Earl Scruggs, whose innovative approach and technical mastery of the instrument hav ...

" of

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

playing (an integral element of

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it la ...

) which would soon become known as melodic style, or "

Keith style The Keith style of playing the 5-string banjo emphasizes the melody of the song. Also known as the "Melodic" or "Chromatic style", it was first developed and popularized independently by Bobby Thompson and Bill Keith in the early 1960s. It is us ...

Professional career

Keith was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, United States. He attended

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educati ...

and graduated in 1961. In 1963 he became a member of

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

's Bluegrass Boys.Trischka, Tony, "Bill Keith", ''Banjo Song Book'', Oak Publications, 1977, Keith's recordings and performances during these nine months with Monroe permanently altered banjo playing, and his style became an important part of the playing styles of many banjoists. After leaving the Bluegrass Boys, he joined the

Jim Kweskin Jim Kweskin (born July 18, 1940, Stamford, Connecticut) is an American folk, jazz, and blues musician, most notable as the founder of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, also known as Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band, with Fritz Richmond, Geoff Muldaur, Bob S ...

Jug Band playing plectrum banjo. He began playing the steel guitar and soon after 1968, worked together with

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. H ...

and Jonathan Edwards. In the 1970s, Keith recorded for

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Ali ...

. Over the years he performed with several other musicians, such as

Clarence White Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 1973) was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrd ...

and

David Grisman David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...

in Muleskinner,

Tony Trischka Anthony Cattell Trischka (born January 16, 1949) is an American five-string banjo player. Sandra Brennan wrote of him in 2021: "One of the most influential modern banjoists, both in several forms of bluegrass music and occasionally in jazz and ...

, Jim Rooney and Jim Collier. Today,

is still regarded as modern or progressive in the context of bluegrass banjo playing. He was inducted into the

International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame Induction to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, called the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor from its creation in 1991 through 2006, is managed by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and the Hall itself is maint ...

at an awards ceremony in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Sout ...

on October 1, 2015, and delivered a heartfelt address on that occasion, just three weeks prior to his death from cancer at his home in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 20 ...

on October 23, 2015, aged 75.

Afterwards

Keith made a mechanical contribution to the banjo, as well. He designed a specialized type of banjo tuning peg that facilitates changing quickly from one open tuning to another, while playing. Earlier famed banjoist

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finge ...

had designed a set of cams which were added to the banjo to perform this task. Keith's invention made the extra hardware unnecessary, replacing two of the tuning machines already on the banjo — a more elegant solution. Scruggs himself became a partner in the venture for a while, and the product was known as "Scruggs-Keith Tuners". Known today simply as Keith Tuners, they remain the state of the art, and Bill Keith continued to manufacture and market them personally as the primary product of his own company, the

Beacon Banjo Company The Beacon Banjo Company of Woodstock, New York was founded in January 1964 by banjo player Bill Keith and his college friend Dan Bump to manufacture and market their new D-tuners, now commonly called ''Keith tuners''. With these tuners, banjo play ...

, until his death. Beacon Banjo tuners continue their proud tradition, now in the hands of his son, Martin.

Discography

Solo and contributions

*1962 Bill Keith & Jim Rooney, ''Bluegrass Livin' on the Mountain'', Prestige Folklore FL 14002 *1976 Bill Keith, ''Something Auld, Something Newgrass, Something Borrowed, Something Bluegrass'' (1976)

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

- CD 0084, 1998 (feat.

Tony Rice David Anthony Rice (June 8, 1951 – December 25, 2020), known professionally as Tony Rice, was an American guitarist and bluegrass musician. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and a ...

) *1978 Bill Keith and Jim Collier, Hexagone 883020 *1981

, Bill Keith,

Bela Fleck Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India *Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India *Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara * Bela, Dang, in Nepal *Bela, Janakpur, ...

, ''Fiddle Tunes for Banjo'',

0124 CD 1999 *1984 Bill Keith, ''Banjoistics''

Select OG US - 148 *1993 Bill Keith, ''Beating Around The Bush'', Green Linnet.

With Bill Monroe

*1963

& his Bluegrass Boys, ''Deca Session, 20 & 27 Mars 1963'' reed. CD 3/4, tracks 1 to 7 in : ''Bluegrass 1963

& his Bluegrass Boys, ''July 1963: Two Days at Newport'', And More Bears AMD / ACDAA 25001(CD 2003) (feat.

Del McCoury Delano Floyd McCoury (born February 1, 1939) is an American bluegrass musician. As leader of the Del McCoury Band, he plays guitar and sings lead vocals along with his two sons, Ronnie McCoury and Rob McCoury, who play mandolin and banjo resp ...

, guitar; Bill Keith, banjo; Billy Baker, fiddle; Ralph Rinzler, Bass, producer) *1963

& his Bluegrass Boys, ''Live at Mechanic Hall'' Acoustic Disc, ACD-59 (CD 2004), (recorded 11 November 1963 by

; feat.

, guitar; Bill Keith, banjo; Joe Stuart, fiddle; Bessie Lee Mauldin, Bass) *1991

, ''Blue Grass – 1959–1969'', Bear Family Records, BCD 15529 (4CD) (feat.

, guitar; Bill Keith, banjo; Kenny Baker, fiddle; Bessie Lee Mauldin, bass; Harry Silverstein, producer)

Bands

*1964 Red Allen, Frank Wakefield and Kentuckians, ''The Bluegrass'', Folkways Records – FA 2408 CD 2004 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings SFW40127 *1965 Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band, ''Jug Band Music'', Vanguard VRS-9163, VSD-79163 *1966 Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band, ''See Reverse Side For Title'', Vanguard VRS-9234, VSD-79234 *1967 Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band, ''Garden of Joy'', Reprise 6266 *1969 Blue Velvet Band, ''Sweet Moments With The Blue Velvet Band '' Warner Bros. - Seven Arts Records WS 1802 (Bill Keith: Pedal Steel Guitar, member of The Blue Velvet Band, with

Richard Greene Richard Marius Joseph Greene (25 August 1918 – 1 June 1985) was a noted English film and television actor. A matinée idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series ' ...

, Jim Rooney, Eric Weissberg). *1972 Mud Acres, ''Music Among Friends'' 1972,

3001 *1973 Muleskinner, ''A Pot pourri of Bluegrass Jam'', Warner Bros. records BS 2787 (feat.

Peter Rowan Peter Rowan (born July 4, 1942) is an American bluegrass musician and composer. Rowan plays guitar and mandolin, yodels and sings. Biography Rowan was born in Wayland, Massachusetts to a musical family. From an early age, he had an interest ...

) *1973 '' Muleskinner Live: Original Television Soundtrack'', released in 1998, Sierra MSI-11059 *1975 Jim Rooney, ''One day at the Time'',

Records, 3008 *1975–1976 Bill Keith & Jim Rooney, in '' Banjo Paris Session'' vol. 1 Pony/Musigrass; Cezame CEZ 1005 & vol 2 Cezame CEZ 1022 *1976 ''The

Record'' (1976) reed. CD 0069, 1986 (feat.

) *1985

''The First Whippoorwill'', Sugar Hill, reed. CD 1990 SHCD 3749 *1995

, ''The Grass is Greener'', Rebel Records 1995 REB CD 1714

As session musician

* 1966 Gloria Belle, ''Today I Can Smile/Baby, You Gotta Be Mine'' single 45 RPM Redwing 16171 (sidemen: Bill Keith (banjo) and Clarence "Tater" Tate (fiddle)) * 1969 The

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

, ''

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

'', Polydor Records (UK), Atco Records (US) * 1973

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...

''True Stories And Other Dreams'' Elektra EKS-75053 (sidemen: Bill Keith: Pedal Steel Guitar, with Eric Weissberg) * 1976

Marcel Dadi Marcel Dadi (; 20 August 1951 – 17 July 1996) was a Tunisian-born Jewish French virtuoso guitarist known for his finger-picking style which faithfully recreated the instrumental styles of American guitarists such as Chet Atkins, Merle Travis an ...

And Friends – ''Country Show'' Guitar World Records – GW 4 (US release) * 1976

– ''Dadi's Pickin' - Lights Up Nashville - Part Two'', Cezame – CEZ 1019 (US release, 1977: ''Nashville Memories'', Guitar World Records – GW 6) * 1977

– ''Travelin' Man'' Guitar World Records – GW 5 (US release) * 1977 Christian Seguret ( fr) With Bluegrass Friends: Bill Keith,

Mike Lilly Mike Lilly is an American comic book artist known for his work on books such as '' Annihilation: Conquest'', ''Quasar'', ''Vampirella'', ''Nightwing'', '' Batman'', ''Detective Comics'', ''Marvel Knights'', ''Punisher'', ''Catwoman'', ''Green Lant ...

, Wendy Miller, Jean Marie Redon ( fr), Jean-Claude Druot, Denis Blanchard – ''Old Fashioned Love'', Cezame – CEZ 1035 (tracks: B3, B4)

References

Bibliography

*Tony Trischka, Pete Wernick, ''Masters of the 5-String Banjo'', Oak Publications, 1988, *Neil V. Rosenberg, Charles K. Wolfep ''The Music of Bill Monroe'', University of Illinois Press, 2007, p. 148-151, discography p. 168 sq. Bill Keith is identified as: "Bradford Keith". *"Bill Keith" in ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music, The Ultimate Guide to the Music'', ed. by The Country Music Foundation and Paul Kinsbury, Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 276.

External links

Bill Keith's websiteBanjo workshop - Grey Fox 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Bill 1939 births Musicians from Boston American country banjoists American bluegrass musicians 2015 deaths Steel guitarists American country guitarists Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Great Speckled Bird (band) members 20th-century American guitarists Muleskinner (band) members