The Keane Brothers was an American
pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describ ...
duo from 1976–82, composed of pre-teens, Tom Keane on piano and John Keane on drums. The duo released four albums and briefly hosted a television variety show on
CBS. The brothers subsequently went on to solo careers as songwriters and music producers.
History
Tom and John Keane of
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...
, were the sons of Bob Keane, the founder of
Del-Fi Records
Del-Fi Records was an American record label based in Hollywood, California and owned by Bob Keane. The label's first single released was "Caravan" by Henri Rose released in 1958, but the label was most famous for signing Ritchie Valens. Valens' fi ...
. After the elder Keane closed his record label, he promoted the boys as a
bubblegum pop
Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States ...
band.
The Keane Brothers’ first single, “Sherry” (#84), was released in 1976, followed closely by a self-titled debut album in 1977. During the summer of 1977, John who was 12 years and Tom who was 13 years, reportedly became the youngest people ever to host a prime-time variety television program. ''The Keane Brothers Show'' aired on
CBS for four weeks in 1977 as a summer replacement for ''
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as being ...
''.
Between the years of 1977 and 1982, the brothers released four albums. Their second album, ''Taking Off'', was released in 1978 with a disco sound and produced by songwriter
Lamont Dozier
Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US ''Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK.
Career
Doz ...
. In 1981, the group added Mark Moulin on guitars and Mike Millwood on bass and shortened its name to Keane. The third album was titled ''Keane''.
In 1982, the group released the album ''Today, Tomorrow And Tonight'' with Moulin and future
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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member
Jason Scheff on bass. The brothers disbanded the duo, and instead pursued solo careers.
The band is not to be confused with the 2000s
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...
band
of the same name.
John M. Keane
John Keane (born April 26, 1965) composes music for television, including ''
The Sentinel'', ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and ''
The Amazing Race
''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...
''. For the ''CSI'' series, Keane was nominated for the 2007 Emmy as well as 12
BMI and
ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
awards.
He became a session drummer in Los Angeles, recording music with various musicians including
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Michael Bolton
Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998.
,
David Foster
David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...
and
Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...
. He released two solo albums: ''Any Other World'' in 1996 and ''Straight Away'' in 1999.
In 2010, John released a solo album on Laycut Records titled ''Everything Changed''.
Tom Keane
Tom Keane (born March 13, 1964) has collaborated as writer and musician with many producers and artists, including
Burt Bacharach
Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gr ...
,
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...
,
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman.
LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul".
She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...
, and
Al Jarreau
Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...
. He received a Grammy nomination for
Chaka Khan's hit “
Through the Fire”, which he co-wrote with David Foster and
Cynthia Weil
Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann.
Life and career
Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris We ...
(of “
You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” fame) and a Golden Globe nomination for the soundtrack to the
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...
film, ''
The Secret of My Success''.
The song “
Will You Still Love Me?”, recorded by
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, who had recently added Tom’s former Keane bandmate,
Jason Scheff, to the lineup, was co-written by Tom, David Foster and Richard Baskin. Scheff performed lead vocals on the track, which became a big hit.
Tom Keane issued a pair of solo albums in the early 2000s. In 2000, he released ''I Love a Gershwin Tune'', which features covers of several classic works by
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
. A second album featuring his own versions of songs he had written, ''Smoove and Juicy Covers'' followed in 2001. Tracks on this latter album include Keane's own take on his compositions “Will You Still Love Me?” as well as “Through the Fire”.
In 2007, he opened a production company called DMG-Del-Fi Music Group. 2011 saw the release of ''
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil'' a Weinstein Company animated feature release, the sequel to the 2005 release, ''
Hoodwinked!''. Tom wrote and produced the two pop songs in the film sung by
Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Lesley Panettiere (; born August 21, 1989) is an American actress, model, and singer. She is best known for her lead roles as Claire Bennet on the NBC superhero series ''Heroes'' and Juliette Barnes in the ABC/ CMT musical drama series ' ...
of ''
Heroes'' fame.
Tom's son, Mack Keane has become a recording artist in his own right.
Mack Keane: Biography & History
@ AllMusic.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
Discography
;Albums
* ''The Keane Brothers'' (1977)
* ''Taking Off'' (1979)
* ''Keane'' (1981)
* ''Today, Tomorrow & Tonight'' (1982)
Soundtracks
;Film
* '' Zapped!'' (1982)
* '' Two of a Kind'' (1983)
* '' Kidd Video'' (1984)
* '' St. Elmo’s Fire'' (1985)
* '' White Nights'' (1985)
* ''The Secret of My Succe$s
''The Secret of My Success'' (sometimes stylized as ''The Secret of My Succe$s'') is a 1987 American comedy film produced and directed by Herbert Ross and starring Michael J. Fox and Helen Slater. The screenplay was written by A.J. Carothers, ...
'' (1987)
* '' Win Win'' (2011)
* '' Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil'' (2011)
* '' Spotlight'' (2015)
;Anime
* '' One Pound Gospel'' (1988) (Theme Song Arrangements)
* '' After War Gundam X'' (1996) (music and arrangements for ending theme songs)
* ''Chōja Reideen'' (1996) (main composer with Kiyoshi Murakami)
* '' The Dog of Flanders'' (1997) (composer for ending theme "When I Cry")
* ''Silent Möbius
is a twelve-volume manga series created by manga artist Kia Asamiya. Both anime versions have been licensed by Bandai Entertainment. It is heavily influenced by the film ''Blade Runner'' and is centered on the lives of a dedicated group o ...
'' (1998) (composer for second ending theme song)
References
External links
*
*
* DEAD LINK (7/19/22)
TV Commercials for The Keane Brothers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keane Brothers
American pop music groups
American musical duos
Sibling musical duos