old-time banjo player, Gray
National Heritage Fellowship (1996)
Though never a professional, Will Keys (1923-2005) led a life dedicated to old-time instrumental music, and he gained wide acclaim for his precise and understated two-finger banjo style. Raised in musically rich Upper East Tennessee, Keys was drawn to good melodies and perfected his unusual technique to deliver them effectively. He was a featured participant in the Tennessee program at the 1986 Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife and in 1993 performed nationwide in the Masters of the Banjo tour organized by the National Council for the Traditional Arts.
Media
- Oldtime Banjo from Blackley Creek, Spring Fed SFR-CGP-005 (DVD reissue, 2010).
- Masters of Traditional Arts, Documentary Arts (CD-Rom, 2002)
- A Banjo Original, County CD-2720 (CD, 1997)
- Masters of the Banjo, Arhoolie ARH-421-CD (CD, 1994)
- Evergreen, Cloudlands CLC006 (cassette, 1992)
- Sweet Marie, Bee Balm 301 (cassette)
More Information
- “Final Notes, Will Keys,” Old Time Herald.
- Govenar, Alan, Masters of Traditional Arts: A Biographical Dictionary (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2001), pp. 339-40, 721.
