Bill Keith
Bill Keith (born December 20, 1939 in Boston , Massachusetts , † October 23, 2015 in Woodstock , New York ) was an American bluegrass musician who introduced several important innovations in the way of playing and building the banjo .
Life
Beginnings
Bill Keith, who grew up in Boston, took piano lessons for several years as a child. Influenced by country radio broadcasts, however, he felt more and more drawn to country music . The five-string banjo was particularly fascinating. Since there was a lack of competent banjo teachers in the north-east of the USA, he mainly learned from Pete Seeger's textbook "How to Play the Five-String Banjo". By replaying recordings by the leading musicians, above all Earl Scruggs , he continuously developed his style.
When trying to translate violin melodies onto his banjo, he improved the Scruggs style that had prevailed until then. The technique known as Keith style made it possible for the first time to play chromatic tone sequences on the banjo. Thanks to his classical basic training and his autodidactic book studies, he was able to record the tablatures of his songs in a notebook.
Career
In 1962, after a concert, Keith had the opportunity to speak to his great idol Earl Scruggs personally and present him with his tablature. Scruggs, who could not read tabs or music, had him audition and was so impressed that he invited him to work on his planned textbook. Keith moved to Nashville and checked into Scrugg's country house. After an appearance in the Grand Ole Opry , Bill Monroe became aware of the talent and took him on in his backing band, the Bluegrass Boys .
Earl Scruggs wrote a few pieces in which he deliberately retuned strings . To make it quick and accurate, he built two levers on the headstock of his banjo. However, he had to drill holes in them, he himself found this solution "rather unsightly". Bill Keith then developed tuning machines in which the lower and upper notes are determined with the help of small screws. These mechanics were installed instead of the existing ones. His company, Beacon Banjo Company, still sells these Keith Tuners to this day.
Keith stayed with Bill Monroe for only a few months. In 1964 he joined the Jim Kweskins Jug Band and four years later the Blue Velvet Band . He also worked as a studio musician. He switched to the folk scene, where he worked with musicians like Ian & Sylvia and Judy Collins . In 1973 Bill Monroe veterans Peter Rowan , Richard Greene and David Grisman founded the Muleskinner Band and produced the groundbreaking album A Potpourri Of Bluegrass Jam for a progressive bluegrass .
From the mid-1970s Keith began to record solo albums. At the end of the 1980s the Blue Velvet Band got together again. Keith then worked as a studio musician, performed at folk or bluegrass festivals and gave banjo courses. He was inducted into the Blugrass Hall of Fame on October 1, 2015. He died on October 23, 2015.
Discography
Albums
- 1964: Bluegrass Instrumentals with Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys
- 1969: Sweet Moments With The Blue Velvet Band
- 1973: Muleskinner: A Potpourri Of Bluegrass Jam (as Muleskinner)
- 1976: Something Auld, Something Newgrass, Something Borrowed, Something Bluegrass
- 1981: Fiddle Tunes for the Banjo
- 1984: Banjoistics
- 1991: Beating around the Bush
Individual evidence
- ↑ Earl Scruggs: Earl Scruggs and the 5-string Banjo, New York 1968, p. 22
- ↑ http://bluegrasstoday.com/bill-keith-passes/
- ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Bill-Monroe-His-Blue-Grass-Boys-Bluegrass-Instrumentals/release/4302024
Web links
- http://www.allmusic.com/artist/bill-keith-mn0000069805 Entry at Allmusic
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Keith, Bill |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American bluegrass musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 20, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Boston , Massachusetts |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 23, 2015 |
| Place of death | Woodstock , New York |