Bill Keith (musician)

William Bradford Bill Keith was a fivestring banjoist who made a significant contribution to the stylistic development of the instrument. In the 1960s he introduced a variation on the popular Scruggs style of banjo playing which would soon become known as melodic style, or Keith style.

Keith was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended Amherst College and graduated in 1961. In 1963 he became a member of Bill Monroes Bluegrass Boys. Keiths recordings and performances during these nine months with Monroe permanently altered banjo playing, and his style became an important part of the playing styles of many banjoists. After leaving the Bluegrass Boys, he joined Jim Kweskin Jug Band playing plectrum banjo. He began playing the steel guitar and soon after 1968, found himself working together with Ian and Sylvia and Jonathan Edwards. In the 1970s Keith recorded for Rounder Records. Over the years he performed with several other musicians, such as Clarence White and David Grisman in Muleskinner, Tony Trischka, Jim Rooney and Jim Collier. Today, Keith style is still regarded as modern or progressive in the context of bluegrass banjo playing. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame at an awards ceremony in Raleigh, NC on October 1, 2015 and deliv

Source: Wikipedia