Randy Gilkey (born September 16, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and recording engineer from

Oak Hill, West Virginia Oak Hill is a city in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States and is the primary city within the Oak Hill, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area. The micropolitan area is also included in the Beckley-Oak Hill, WV Combined Statistical Area. The ...

. Gilkey lost his eyesight shortly after birth when too much oxygen was pumped into an incubator, where both of his retinas became detached. Gilkey began playing piano aged two. He tours, records and performs with his band "The Boatmen".

Musical career

Gilkey's instrumentation can be found on albums by artists such as

The Drifters The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...

and

Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs were an American doo-wop/ R&B vocal group in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Originally the (Royal) Charms, the band changed its name to the Gladiolas in 1957 and the Excellos in 1958, before finally settling on ...

. Randy has played on stage with artists such as

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

and David Holt and has appeared on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

Mountain Stage ''Mountain Stage'' is a two-hour music radio show, first aired in 1983, produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting and distributed worldwide by National Public Radio (NPR). Hosted by Larry Groce from the show's inception until 2021 and current ...

several times. In July 2011, "The Boatmen" released their self-titled debut album at

FloydFest FloydFest is a Music and arts festival held annually near Floyd, Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains History The event began in 2002, and spans five days each year with on-site camping and multiple stages featuring rock, bluegrass, reggae, f ...

. In November 2017, Gilkey announced that he would audition for

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...

to help him reach a national audience. He is a nominee for the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Gilkey resides in his hometown of Oak Hill, West Virginia, and continues to regularly play events in Beckley and the surrounding areas.

References

External links

*
The Boatmen website

Randy Gilkey Music
on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilkey, Randy 1976 births Living people American male singer-songwriters People from Oak Hill, West Virginia Musicians from West Virginia 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from West Virginia