Dana Key (December 30, 1953June 6, 2010) was an American

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, and producer who was co-founder of the

group

DeGarmo and Key DeGarmo & Key was a Christian rock band/duo formed in 1977 by Eddie DeGarmo and Dana Key. The group is notable for having the first Christian rock album nominated for a Grammy award and the first American Christian group to have a video entered ...

with keyboardist

Eddie DeGarmo Eddie DeGarmo (born October 3, 1954) is an American contemporary Christian music recording artist, keyboardist, producer and singer. He became best friends with guitarist/lead vocalist Dana Key in first grade, and co-founded the Christian rock ...

, best friends since the first grade. Key grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, meeting DeGarmo in the 1st grade. The two grew up together in the same neighborhood. Key was a direct descendant of

Francis Scott Key Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland, who wrote the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner". Key observed the British bombardment ...

, the author of ''

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

''. DeGarmo and Key toured the world, headlining and opening with other major Christian rock bands including

Servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...

, Joe English,

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...

Resurrection Band Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, was a Christian rock band formed in 1972. They were part of the Jesus People USA Christian community in Chicago and most of its members have continued in that community to this day. Known for t ...

Jessy Dixon Jessy Dixon (March 12, 1938 – September 26, 2011) was an American gospel music singer, songwriter, and pianist, with success among audiences across racial lines. He garnered seven Grammy award nominations during his career. Musicians with wh ...

, Mylon LeFevre and Broken Heart, and

dc Talk DC Talk (stylized as dc Talk) is a Christian hip hop, Christian rap and Christian rock, rock trio. The group was formed at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1987 by tobyMac, Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max, Kevin Max Smith ...

(who were both an opening act and members of D&K's

roadie The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This catc ...

crew). Key and

produced the first video by contemporary Christian artists to be aired on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. Key released two solo albums as well. In 1989, Key co-authored the book ''Don't Stop the Music'', described in the cover notes as "a defence of contemporary Christian music written by one of its premier performers." Following retirement, Key served as the head of

Ardent Records Ardent Records is an American record label based in Memphis, which was founded by John Fry in 1959. Ardent of the 1960s and 1970s featured pop music acts and was distributed by Stax Records from 1972 until 1975. It is best remembered today for Bi ...

, and hosted a TV show, featuring new, younger, Christian bands. Key had been serving as the pastor of a small church in

Cordova, Tennessee Cordova is a community in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. Cordova lies east of Memphis, north of Germantown, south of Bartlett, and northwest of Collierville at an elevation of 361 feet (110 meters). The majority of Cordova has been an ...

, The Love of Christ Church (tlc). Key died due to a ruptured blood clot on Sunday, June 6, 2010 at age 56, according to CCM Magazine's website.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Key, Dana 1953 births 2010 deaths American rock guitarists American male guitarists American performers of Christian music 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians