Dedicated to my idol and inspiration for over four decades and good friend for the last ten years of his life


 
[Click image to see article]

  Excerpt from Keith Biography by Bob Carlin, Banjo Newsletter

  Callous Thumb: Remembering Bill Keith, Banjo Newsletter

Autographed copy gathered by Tom Morgan
   
Click to see large version

Charts Created & Signed by Bill Keith, courtesy Phil Zimmerman
   
Click to see large version

Bill's Hand-Written Speech Inducting Lilly Brothers Into
IBMA Hall of Fame 2002, courtesy Wayne Rice
   
Click to see large version & story


     
              IBMA Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech Oct 1, 2015

 
July 17, 2015
  My videos
    My audio tracks

 

  My Complete Bill Keith Video Collection


 
Bill's Keith Tuner legacy carried on by his son
Martin
Audio Recordings by me and my contributor friends

     My audio tracks from the 2015 Grey Fox Keith Style Banjo Summit

   Seminal Album - introduced me and thousands to Bill's style - Thanks to Jim Rooney

    Remembering Brad, Del McCoury & David Grisman, 2016

    Bill Keith Medley: Salt Creek, Devil's Dream, Shenandoah Breakdown, Del McCoury & David Grisman, 2016

    Jim Rooney's Podcasts with Bill Keith

    Recordings with Bill Keith by Hans Holzherr, 1970s

    Home recordings of Bill Keith by Ron Cody, 2000-2010

    Banjo Workshop, Grey Fox - Keith, Shelor, Trischka & Washburn, 2005

    Bill Keith & Jim Rooney - Gerdes Folk City, 1965

    Culpeper Jam 1973 (Byron Berline, Vassar Clements, Alan Munde, Sam Bush, Bill, David Grisman, etc.)

    Bill Keith Band, Towne Crier Cafe, Beekman, NY 1981

    Bill Monroe & the Bluegrass Boys & Guests, Camp Springs, 1969

    The Story of Bluegrass, Part 1, Camp Springs, 1969

    Bill Keith Recordings from Takehiko Saiki

    Bill Keith & Jim Rooney, Tom Rush's Balladeers Show, WHRB, Cambridge, MA, 1962

    Bill Keith, Jim Rooney, Fritz Richmond, Chilmark Concert, Martha's Vineyard, MA, Sept 2, 1962

    Bill Keith and Bobby Thompson - The Porch Tape


Videos

    IN MEMORIUM OF TEX LOGAN AND BILL KEITH
              November 9th 1980. Naples ITALY.
              An evening of bluegrass and progressive country music in town.
              3000 people in fire...!
              by Dino Luglio

    The Legacy of Bill Keith Workshop - Banjo Camp North 2016
              Led by Ron Cody, and also including the Camp's faculty members Alan Munde,
              Tony Trischka, Marc Horowitz, and Ken Perlman, all on banjo, and
              Lincoln Meyers on guitar

    Keith Style Banjo Workshop, Grey Fox, July 2016
                Banjoists Ira Gitlin, Marc Horowitz, and Ron Cody, accompanied by
                Eric Lee (fiddle), Lincoln Meyers (guitar), and Bill Keith's son Martin (bass)
               Part 1
               Part 2

    Keith Style Banjo Summit, Grey Fox, July 2015
                with Ryan Cavanaugh, co-Hosts Béla Fleck & Tony Trischka, Marc Horowitz, Mike Kropp,
                Mike Munford, Noam Pickelny, and Eric Weissberg

    Tribute medley by Marc Horowitz, Cantab Lounge, Cambridge, MA 2015 (Video by Lauck Benson)
                Marc played Black Mtn Rag for Bill at Grey Fox July 2015 (see link above).
    Tribute to Mike Kropp by Gabe Hirshfeld, Cantab Lounge, Cambridge, MA 2015 (Video by Lauck Benson)
                Mike played for Bill at Grey Fox July 2015 (see link above), and passed away Nov. 2015.
    Tribute by Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen and the Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association 2015

             Larry Marschall plays Bill Keith tunes, Christchurch Folk Music Club, New Zealand 2014
                      Devil's Dream/Sailor's Hornpipe (Larry speaks about Bill)
                      Caravan
                      Salt Creek

    Salt Creek tribute to Bill Keith, Midwest Banjo Camp, 2015

    Bill Keith Banjo Workshop, Grey Fox 2013

    Saturday Night Bluegrass Band with Fran Hollander, 2011

    Bill Keith Banjo Workshop, Grey Fox 2003

    "Caravan", Grass Valley ca. 1980s

    River Ranch, Florida, 1997
                 2 PM Set
                 7 PM Set


Photos

    Grey Fox website: 2015 Keith Style Banjo Summit

    My images: Grey Fox 2015 Keith Style Banjo Summit - from my video footage

    My photos: Before the Keith Style Banjo Summit

    Bill's Participation with the Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association

    The New Blue Velvet Band, Denmark 1990 by Thierry Schoysman

    More Photos


More Memories

  Thoughts & Photos by Chris Leske  

  Jim Rooney's Tribute: BILL KEITH - BANJO MASTER

      Banjo Hangout Posts by Bill Keith 2005 (Thanks to John Harris in the UK)

      Banjo Hangout Topic

     Bill Keith Interview by the Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association 2008

     Bill Keith Remembered Part 1 - Bluegrass Today

     Bill Keith Remembered Part 2 - Bluegrass Today

      Banjo Greats Gather at Grey Fox for Keith-Style Banjo Summit July 17 [2015] - Cybergrass

      Bill Keith & Larry Sparks to be Inducted to IBMA Hall of Fame [2015] - Cybergrass


One example of Bill's friendship - a blessing for me

In the spring of 2012, my Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association was presenting a series
of classes on the "Evolution of Bluegrass" for the Marist College Center for Lifetime Study.
I was video recording the series. Bill was the presenter and performer in
week 4. He even brought along Jim Rooney.     The Class Video
Just a couple weeks prior, I had rotator cuff surgery and couldn't drive. The class was also
on the day of Tex Logan's 85th birthday celebration in New Jersey. Knowing I couldn't drive,
Bill offered to give me a ride. There I was, chauffered to NJ in the same car as "Keith & Rooney"!
I got to record 4 hours of historic video.     Tex Logan's 85th Birthday


For many years at the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, I would always visit with Bill,
several times, backstage and in his teepee.

  Grey Fox 2012

Photo by Tyler Campbell

 

  New Kentucky Colonels Revival, Kingston, NY, August 14, 2014

My only selfie

 


Updated March 2, 2022