Robert Earl Keen

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Robert Earl Keen
Robert Earl Keen at the Redneck Country Club, June 30, 2018 MG 1357 (41334326940) (cropped).jpg
Keen in 2018
Background information
Born (1956-01-11) January 11, 1956 (age 68)
Origin Houston, Texas, U.S.
Genres Americana, country, alternative country
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, mandolin
Years active1984–2024
Labels Dualtone, Arista, Sugar Hill, KOCH, Lost Highway, Rosetta
Website robertearlkeen.com

Robert Earl Keen (born January 11, 1956) [1] is a Texas country singer-songwriter and entertainer. Debuting with 1984's No Kinda Dancer, the Houston native has recorded 20 full-length albums for independent and major record labels. His songs been covered by artists including George Strait, Joe Ely, Lyle Lovett, The Highwaymen and Nanci Griffith. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Keen has toured in the U.S. and abroad.

Contents

Early life and education

Keen was born and grew up in Houston, Texas, United States. [7] As a teenager, he was an avid reader who excelled in writing and literature classes. Keen was a fan of the British rock band Cream, and was influenced by country music by artists Willie Nelson, Norman Blake, Jesse Winchester, Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Withers, Gary Stewart, and Jimmie Rodgers. [8]

After graduation from Sharpstown High School, Keen started playing guitar himself shortly thereafter, learning to play classic country covers out of a songbook the summer before starting college at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. [7] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1978 and began writing songs and playing bluegrass and folk music with friends, including his childhood friend (and future longtime fiddle player in his band) Bryan Duckworth. During his college years Keen lived with future musician Lyle Lovett. [7]

Career

Keen performing in 2007 Robert Earl Keen (2).jpg
Keen performing in 2007

In 1978, Keen graduated from Texas A&M and moved to Austin, Texas. [7] He performed in nightclubs and live music venues in Austin, including Cactus Cafe, Emma Joe's, Alamo Lounge and Liberty Lunch, Anderson Fair in Houston, and Gruene Hall in New Braunfels. [9] [10] [11] In 1983, Keen won the New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Texas. [12] [13] That same year, he began making his self-produced first album, No Kinda Dancer . [7]

Following the release of this album in 1985, Keen moved to Nashville with his future wife, Kathleen Gray. He signed a publishing deal, a new independent label deal, and signed with a national booking agent. [14] While in Nashville, Keen and Gray worked at Hatch Show Print shop. [15]

Keen returned to Texas in 1987 and released his second album, The Live Album , in 1988, followed by his third album, West Textures in 1989. [16] West Textures featured the first recording of Keen's signature song, "The Road Goes on Forever." [7] Fellow Texan Joe Ely recorded the song on his 1993 album Love and Danger, along with another Keen song, "Whenever Kindness Fails". [17] Keen's own version of "Whenever Kindness Fails" appeared on his fourth album, 1993's A Bigger Piece of Sky. In 1994, he released Gringo Honeymoon followed by No. 2 Live Dinner in 1996. [17]

Keen has continued to write and record music, while also maintaining a prodigious tour schedule. [18] His 1997 album, Picnic , marked the beginning of his on-again, off-again relationship with major labels (both that album and 1998's Walking Distance were issued on Arista Records, and 2001's Gravitational Forces , 2009's The Rose Hotel and 2011's Ready for Confetti were released on Lost Highway Records). Keen's other albums include 2003's Farm Fresh Onions (Audium/Koch Records) and 2005's What I Really Mean and 2006's Live at the Ryman (both on E1 Music). The producers with whom he has worked on those albums have included John Keane, Gurf Morlix, Gary Velletri, and Lloyd Maines. In 2022, his concert tour was listed as one of the most successful in the world. [18]

His band includes:

In August of 2011, Keen was contacted by a member of U.S. Navy about a fan of his, Petty Officer First Class Jason Workman of Seal team 6, who had been killed on August 6, 2011, with 29 other Brave Americans in Wardak Province, Tanji Valley, Afghanistan. Keen went to the memorial service for POFC. Workman and played his signature song I’m coming home. Keen covered all of his own expenses for travel and only wanted to show a token of his gratitude to a fan who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. [ citation needed ]

In January 2022, Keen announced that he would stop touring and performing publicly after September 2022. [19] His final tour was named the "I'm Coming Home Farewell Tour" and the final leg was played September 1, 3 and 4 at Floore's Country Store in Helotes, Texas. Approximately 3,000 people attended the last show on September 4 for nearly two-and-a-half hours. [20] Despite the claims of playing his final shows and farewell tour, Keen proceeded to do several shows in 2023 and lists a 2024 tour on his website [21] with a dozen stops. Instagram posts on Keen's account containing photos from his "I'm Coming Home Farewell Tour" were later edited to remove reference to the "farewell" part of the tour. [22]

Discography

Studio albums

TitleLabelAlbum detailsPeak chart positions
Year US Country
[23]
US
[24]
US
Heat

[25]
US
Indie

[26]
US
Folk

[27]
US
Grass

[28]
1984 No Kinda Dancer Sugar Hill Records CD, Cassette, LP record
1989 West Textures Sugar Hill Records CD, Cassette
1993 A Bigger Piece of Sky Sugar Hill Records CD, Cassette
1994 Gringo Honeymoon Sugar Hill Records CD, Cassette
1997 Picnic Arista Records CD, Cassette1604
1998 Walking Distance Arista Records CD, Cassette1493
2001 Gravitational Forces Lost Highway Records CD101111
2003 Farm Fresh Onions Audium/Koch Records CD24172911
2005 What I Really Mean E1 Music CD, Streaming, Download2112215
2009 The Rose Hotel Lost Highway Records CD, Streaming, Download178310
2011Ready for Confetti Lost Highway Records CD, Streaming, Download21663
2015Happy Prisoner:
The Bluegrass Sessions
Dualtone Records CD, Streaming, Download10109651

Live albums

TitleAlbum detailsPeak positions
US Country
[23]
The Live Album
  • Release date: November 15, 1988
  • Label: Sugar Hill Records
  • Formats: CD, cassette
No. 2 Live Dinner
  • Release date: March 19, 1996
  • Label: Sugar Hill Records
  • Formats: CD, cassette
The Party Never Ends
  • Release date: October 14, 2003
  • Label: Sugar Hill Records
  • Formats: CD
68
Live from Austin TX
  • Release date: November 2, 2004
  • Label: New West Records
  • Formats: CD, music download
Live at the Ryman
  • Release date: July 11, 2006
  • Label: E1 Music
  • Formats: CD, music download
Marfa After Dark
Live Dinner Reunion [29]
  • Release date: November 18, 2016
  • Label: Dualtone Music
  • Formats: CD, Music download
29
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Compilation albums

TitleAlbum details
Best
  • Release date: November 7, 2006
  • Label: E1 Music
  • Formats: CD, music download

Singles

YearSingleAlbum
1984"No Kinda Dancer"No Kinda Dancer
"The Armadillo Jackal"
1997"Over the Waterfall"Picnic
"Levelland"
"Undone"
1998"Down That Dusty Trail"Walking Distance
1999"That Buckin' Song"
2001"Hello New Orleans"Gravitational Forces
"Not A Drop of Rain"
2002"High Plains Jamboree"
2003"Furnace"Farm Fresh Onions
"All I Have Is Today"
2005"What I Really Mean"What I Really Mean
"The Great Hank"
2009"The Rose Hotel"The Rose Hotel
2010"The Man Behind the Drums"
2011"I Gotta Go"Ready for Confetti

Music videos

YearVideoDirector
1997"Over the Waterfall"Steven T. Miller/R. Brad Murano
2004"Merry Christmas from the Family"David McClister
2005"What I Really Mean"
2015"Hot Corn, Cold Corn" [30] Curtis Millard
"Footprints in the Snow" [31] Matt Bizer

Notable Covers

YearPerformerSingleReference
1987 Nanci Griffith "Sing one for Sister" [6]
2009 Reckless Kelly "Think It Over One Time" [32]
2009 Max Stalling, Dale Clark"No Kinda Dancer" [32]
2009 Wade Bowen "Lynville Train" [32]
2009 Brandon Jenkins "What I Really Mean" [32]
2009 Randy Rogers "I'll Be Here for You" [32]
2009 Roger Creager "I Would Change My Life" [32]
2001 Cory Morrow "I'll Go Downtown" [33]
2009 Jason Boland "Mariano" [32]
2009 Cody Canada "Shades of Gray" [32]
1995 The Highwaymen "The Road Goes on Forever" [5]
2009 Chris Knight "Undone" [32]
2009 Todd Snider "Corpus Christi Bay" [34]
2001 Lyle Lovett "This Old Porch" [2]
1998 Lyle Lovett "Rollin' By" [35]
1998 George Strait "Maria" [3]
1992 Joe Ely "Whenever Kindness Fails"

"The Road Goes on Forever"

[4]
2006 Cross Canadian Ragweed "Lonely Feelin'" [36]
2000 Dixie Chicks "Merry Christmas from the Family" [37]
2015 Shawn Colvin "Not a Drop of Rain" [38]

Honors

YearHonorReference
1983Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Competition [13]
2015BMI Troubadour Award
2016Inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame [39]
2018Texas A&M University Distinguished Alumni Award
2019Inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame [40]

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