Peter Keys | |
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Background information | |
Born | Burlington, Vermont, U.S. | May 30, 1965
Genres | Classical, funk, southern rock |
Instrument | Keyboards |
Peter Keys (born May 30, 1965) is an American keyboardist. He is best known for his work with George Clinton in various P-Funk lineups [1] and as a member of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd [1] since 2009.
Keyes played and recorded with many musicians including Jay Lane (Primus, RatDog), Sam Andrew (Big Brother and the Holding Company), Peter Tork (The Monkees), Marty Friedman (Megadeth), Marty Balin (Jefferson Airplane/Starship) and Bill Spooner (The Tubes).
In 1996 he replaced Bernie Worrell in the original P-Funk lineup. Around this time he shared the stage with everyone from Bootsy Collins to Snoop Dogg and Isaac Hayes. In 2000 he moved to Detroit, Michigan, and started Shock Logic Productions. He joined the 420 Funk Mob in 2002, a band that features George Clinton and other former P-Funk members. From 2004 to 2009, Keys toured and recorded with the indie rock band SeepeopleS and is featured on three SeepeopleS' albums (Corn Syrup Conspiracy, Apocalypse Cow Volumes 1 & 2). In 2009, he moved to Nashville, and was selected to be Billy Powell's replacement in Lynyrd Skynyrd. When not touring with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Keys plays with a variety of other projects, including the Smoky White Devils.
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass), and Bob Burns (drums). The band spent four years touring small venues under various names and with several lineup changes before deciding on "Lynyrd Skynyrd" in 1968. The band released its first album, (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd), in 1973. By then, they had settled on a lineup that included bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboardist Billy Powell, and guitarist Ed King. Burns left and was replaced by Artimus Pyle in 1974. King left in 1975 and was replaced by Steve Gaines in 1976. At the height of their fame in the 1970s, the band popularized the Southern rock genre with songs such as "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird". After releasing five studio albums and one live album, the band's career was abruptly halted on October 20, 1977, when their chartered airplane crashed, killing Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines, and seriously injuring the rest of the band.
Parliament-Funkadelic is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their eclectic style has drawn on psychedelia, outlandish fashion, and surreal humor. They have released albums such as Maggot Brain (1971), Mothership Connection (1975), and One Nation Under a Groove (1978) to critical praise, and scored charting hits with singles such as "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker" (1975) and "Flash Light" (1978). Overall, the collective achieved thirteen top ten hits in the American R&B music charts between 1967 and 1983, including six number one hits. Their work has had an influential effect on subsequent funk, post-punk, hip-hop, and techno artists of the 1980s and 1990s, while their collective mythology has helped pioneer Afrofuturism.
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculates the term "Southern rock" may have been coined in 1972 by Mo Slotin, writing for Atlanta's underground paper, The Great Speckled Bird, in a review of an Allman Brothers Band concert.
38 Special, often stylized as .38 Special or spelled out as Thirty-eight Special, is an American rock band formed by singer-guitarists Donnie Van Zant and Don Barnes in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1974.
Strawberry Alarm Clock is a psychedelic rock band formed in 1967, originating from Glendale, California, a city about ten miles north of downtown Los Angeles. The band is best known for its 1967 hit single "Incense and Peppermints." Their music is categorized as acid rock, psychedelic pop, and sunshine pop,, and they charted five songs, including two Top 40 hits.
"Sweet Home Alabama" is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on the band's second album Second Helping (1974). It was written in response to Neil Young's songs "Southern Man" and "Alabama", which the band felt blamed the entire Southern United States for slavery; Young is name-checked and dissed in the lyrics. It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1974, becoming the band's highest-charting single.
Edward Calhoun King was an American musician. He was a guitarist for the psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock and guitarist and bassist for the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1987 to 1996.
Outlaws is an American Southern rock band from Tampa, Florida. They are best known for their 1975 hit "There Goes Another Love Song" and extended guitar jam "Green Grass and High Tides" from their 1975 debut album, plus their 1980 cover of the Stan Jones classic "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky".
"Free Bird", also spelled "Freebird", is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, written by guitarist Allen Collins and lead singer Ronnie Van Zant. The song was released on their 1973 debut studio album. Released as a single in November 1974, "Free Bird" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on November 23 at No. 87 and became the band's second Top 40 hit in early 1975, peaking at No. 19 on January 25. A live version of the song re-entered the charts in late 1976, eventually peaking at No. 38 in January 1977.
Steven Earl Gaines was an American musician. He is best known as a guitarist and backing vocalist with rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1976 until his death in the October 1977 airplane crash that claimed other band members and crew. His older sister Cassie Gaines, a backup vocalist with the band, also died in the crash.
(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) is the debut studio album by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on August 13, 1973, by MCA Records. Recording took place in Doraville, Georgia at Studio One, following a lengthy period of rehearsals. Prior to the album's conception, many of its songs were already featured in Lynyrd Skynyrd's live repertoire. To promote it, the band released "Gimme Three Steps" and "Free Bird" as singles; these, along with "Simple Man" and "Tuesday's Gone", are among the band's best-known songs.
William Norris Powell was an American musician and the keyboardist of southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 until his death in 2009.
Moondance Jam is an annual rock and classic rock festival held in mid-July in the Leech Lake/Chippewa National Forest Area near Walker, Minnesota. It is recognized as Minnesota's largest rock festival and a major classic rock festival in the United States. The Jam has gone from being a party for a few hundred family and friends back in 1992 to a rock 'n' roll and camping celebration that entertains tens of thousands today mainly because it has maintained a clean, safe and friendly atmosphere along with open festival seating for general admission ticket holders.
Donald "Ean" Evans was an American musician who was the bassist for southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 2001 until his death. He joined the band following the death of Leon Wilkeson.
Rick Medlocke is an American musician, best known as the frontman/guitarist for the Southern rock band Blackfoot and a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd. During his first stint with Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1971 to 1972, he played drums and sang lead on a few songs that would initially be released on 1978's "First and... Last." Medlocke would rejoin Blackfoot in 1972 and later returned to Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1996 as a guitarist with whom he continues to tour and record today.
Robert Lewis Burns Jr. was an American drummer who was in the original lineup of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Thomas Delmer "Artimus" Pyle is an American musician who played drums with the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1974 to 1977 and from 1987 to 1991. He and his bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
Henry Paul is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who was an original recording member of the Southern rock band Outlaws. Paul left to form the Henry Paul Band but then returned to the Outlaws. He also is a founding member of the country band Blackhawk.
God & Guns is the thirteenth studio album by the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on September 29, 2009.