The Steel Guitar Forum
Bar Chatter Archive
Bill Keith
UBBFriend: Email This Page to Someone!
profile | register | preferences | faq | search
Steel Guitar Strings Strings & instruction for lap steel, Hawaiian & pedal steel guitars http://SteelGuitarShopper.com |
Ray Price Shuffles Classic country shuffle styles for Band-in-a-Box, by BIAB guru Jim Baron. http://steelguitarmusic.com |
This Forum is CLOSED. |
|
|
The Steel Guitar Forum
Bar Chatter Archive
Bill Keith
profile | register | preferences | faq | search
|
This topic was originally posted in this forum: Wanted To Buy |
| Author | Topic: Bill Keith |
|
MUSICO Member Posts: 328 |
posted 03 January 2001 04:14 PM
I noticed in a banjo instruction book that Bill Keith, banjo legend and innovator, had moved on to Pedal Steel....much to the disgust of some banjo fans. żIs he well known in the PSG community or not? Jeremy Williams |
|
Bob Mainwaring Member Posts: 918 |
posted 03 January 2001 04:26 PM
Hi there , As far as I know he went back to Banjo. Bob Mainwaring Z.Bs. and other weird things. ------------------ |
|
Jason Odd Member Posts: 2665 |
posted 03 January 2001 08:18 PM
Bill Keith played with a variety of bluegrass acts in his early days, and is most remembered by a lot of fans for his excellent work with Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys in 1963. By the mid 1960s he had gathered quite a reputation and was playing banjo as a featured act at the Newport Folk Festival in 1967, yet in 1968 he joined country rock group Great Speckled Bird, which was led by folkies Ian & Sylvia Tyson. By the mid 1970s Keith was right back into the bluegrass scene, working on some progressive bluegrass experiments (solo LP), as well as spending a lot of time in France with Gypsy/Jazz influenced European pickers. |
|
Dan Farrell Member Posts: 91 |
posted 03 January 2001 09:53 PM
Bill Keith was certainly very active and well known in both banjo and steel guitar circles back in the 70s. He is listed as the co-author, along with Winnie Winston, of the classic instructional book, Pedal Steel Guitar (It is Bill you hear on the record that comes with the book). That book was published first in 1975. In 1979, I went to a banjo clinic in the Los Angeles area that featured Bill Keith. At that time I also bought some Scruggs-Keith tuners for my banjo. I would like to know what Bill Keith is doing these days. He sure has helped me out with both instruments. [This message was edited by Dan Farrell on 03 January 2001 at 09:54 PM.] |
|
Bob Mainwaring Member Posts: 918 |
posted 03 January 2001 11:17 PM
Last time I saw him was playing with Pete Rowan and a couple of other players (fiddle and bass) can`t remember their names now, in a country club in the north of England in the mid to late eighties. At that time Pete cut quite the picture with a pink suit he wore on stage with wide brimed hat, while ole` Bill wore his jeans. That night still stands out as one of the best nights the club ever had. The club is now called "The Hobos` Retreat Country Music Club" - is a stones throw from Manchester and has quite the website. It is still run by an old buddy of mine and his wife that we crossed over from venue to venue back in the sixties. If anyone ever wants a chance to have a great different night in northern England be sure to look them up as show time is each Thursday. BobMainwaring.Z.Bs.and other weird things. ------------------ |
|
Herb Steiner Member Posts: 6119 |
posted 04 January 2001 01:10 AM
I talked to Bill about 5 years ago, after not having spoken to him for almost 15 years. He no longer plays steel, told me he sold his guitar to Eric Weissberg. He lives in Woodstock NY, and was going over to France fairly regularly since his wife is a French native. He is involved in both musical and non-musical projects, none involving the steel apparently. ------------------ |
|
Gary Lee Gimble Member Posts: 932 |
posted 04 January 2001 02:57 AM
A close friend of mine told me Bill Keith never really felt comfortable on steel. Gary Lee |
|
Dave Ristrim Member Posts: 584 |
posted 04 January 2001 03:29 AM
Bill has been running the Beacon Banjo Company. They/He make the Scruggs/Keith banjo tuners. I called the company up and Bill answered the phone. A very pleasent man, and he fixed up two pair of tuners I had to boot. Dave Ristrim |
|
Jason Odd Member Posts: 2665 |
posted 04 January 2001 07:48 AM
Bob Mainwaring, it's Peter Rowan who also played with Bill Keith in the Muleskinner band with David Grissman, Richard Greene and Clarence White. The album they cut in 1973 is out on Cd through Sierra, Keith plays banjo, but Clarence White plays some killer stringbender on their version of 'Muleskinner Blues.' ------------------ |
|
Chas Holman Member Posts: 188 |
posted 04 January 2001 08:29 AM
There's a great picture of Bill on page 39 of Winnie's book (circa mid '70's). I'm curious if the guitar in the shot is the one he sold to Weissberg . . . . and if so, wonder if Eric left the Zig-Zag man decal on the front... Sorry to hear he no longer dabbles in the double neck - I always considered him a very solid player. -Chas |
|
Peter Dollard Member Posts: 705 |
posted 04 January 2001 12:34 PM
Bill Keith, as much as any other banjo player, changed the course of Bluegrass. He was able to render identical fiddle tune passages on the banjo;Devils Dream, Turkey In The Straw, N.O.L.A. etc. When he played the Opry with Bill Monroe the staff band would listen from the side of the stage. Monroe bragged that it "Took a Yankee to show those Southern boys how to play like that". Yes,I know who Bobby Thompson and Carroll Best are but it was Keith who was playing in front of large audiences and inspiring Tony Trichka and Bela Fleck. If you listened to Keith play live I think the banjo jokes would abate considerably on the Forum.Bill informed me yesterday that he has taken up steel again and is playing a single neck Sho-Bud. Pete. |
|
Bob Mainwaring Member Posts: 918 |
posted 04 January 2001 02:06 PM
Good news Peter, I, like a lot of others here love Banjo, and hope Bill would get back into picking steel again. Maybe we`ll be able to see him here on the forum someday - I`ll keep my fingers crossed. Bob Mainwaring. Z.Bs. and other weird things. ------------------ |
|
Fred Truitt Member Posts: 184 |
posted 04 January 2001 03:41 PM
Bill...Heck yes!! Kenny Baker talked Bill Monroe into listening to Bill's melodic style and Mr. Bill hired him. Bill did change the style of banjo picking for traditional bluegrass. I never knew he played steel, bit it fits. He was a chromatic player on 5 strings. Stands to reason he would play on 10. Can anyone recommend some recordings he did on PSG? I still have his banjo instruction book, but could never quite give up Earl's style. Hope Bill shows up soon. Regards......Fred |
|
Jerry Hayes Member Posts: 3306 |
posted 04 January 2001 04:05 PM
I used his 12 string set up as in the Winston/Keith book for a couple of years before I went to the universal and it worked pretty good especially the rock stuff on the low strings. He used the regular 10 string tuning with an E in position 11 and a B in position 12. I believe he lowered the 12th string B to A with pedal 2. I've got a cassette recording I copied of an 8 track which is a Steve Goodman album. It features a lot of Bill Keith's playing on it. It seems he was more known away from the country circles and played on a lot of recordings with a light rock flavor or folk rock as some might call it. Sort of the same kind of career Red Rhodes had. ------------------ |
|
Joel Glassman Member Posts: 340 |
posted 05 January 2001 01:10 PM
I camped next to him a year and a half ago at a festival. A real coincidence, because I'd been listening to his steel playing on the Blue Velvet Band recording that morning. The BVB is a nice mix of bluegrass and country from about 1970 with most vocals by Jim Rooney (a great singer-now mostly a producer)The record was just released on CD -maybe in Europe. His great 'Nobody Knows About My Cares and Nobody Cares About My Nose Rag" is on there. I asked Bill about his steel playing. He told me he hasn't played for a long time, mostly because banjo is his main form of expression, there are so many great steel players, and he was worried about posture bending over the steel. He is a genuinely nice person, and shared a lot of music theory and playing ideas with people all weekend. --Joel |
All times are Pacific (US) | This is an ARCHIVED topic. You may not reply to it! |
Note: Messages not explicitly copyrighted are in the Public Domain.
Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.46
Our mailing address is:
The Steel Guitar Forum
148 South Cloverdale Blvd.
Cloverdale, CA 95425 USA
Support the Forum