Keister, Shane

He is a pianist, synthesiser player, producer, arranger and composer born in Huntington, West Virginia who grew up in Portsmouth, Ohio.

He started to play the piano when he was three years old and once he was in junior high school he also learned jazz and percussion. Once he was in high school, where he was a younger co-student of Kathleen Battle, he played accompaniment for the school choir and also played in clubs with various local rock bands. After taking his further studies at Marshall University and then North Texas State University he settled himself in Nashville in 1972 and started a career as a studio pianist and synthesiser player which led to him being featured on numerous albums and touring with Elvis Presley in 1976.

Quickly gaining recognition he has now worked with countless artists who include Alabama, Anastacia, Chet Atkins, Anita Baker, Mop Bandy, Bobby Bare, George Benson, Debby Boone, Chris Botti, Bonnie Bramlett, Jimmy Buffett, Kim Carnes, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Roseanne Cash, Buzz Cason, Marshall Chapman, Guy Clark, Vassar Clements, Joe Cocker, Judy Collins, Rita Coolidge, Steve Cropper, Mac Davis, Skeeter Davis, Celin Dion, Donovan, Sheena Easton, Billy Eckstein, The Emotions, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Roberta Flack, Dan Fogelberg, Janie Fricke, James Galway, Crystal Gayle, Lou Gramm, Amy Grant, Dobie Gray, Emmylou Harris, Alex Harvey, Jim Horn, Billy Joel, Elton John, George Jones, Tom Jones, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dave Loggins, Ian Matthews, Paul McCartney, Ronnie Milsap, Melba Moore, Willie Nelson, Michael Nesmith, Olivia Newton John, The Oak Ridge Boys, Dolly Parton, Johnny Paycheck, Eddie Rabbit, Jerry Reed, Charlie Rich, Lou Rawls, Lionel Richie, Marty Robbins, Kenny Rogers, Earl Scruggs, Dan Seals, Carly Simon, Percy Sledge, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, BJ Thomas, Tanya Tucker, Conway Twitty, Andy Williams, Hank Williams Jr. among literally hundreds of others.

Concentrating on the compositional and production side of his career in the 1980s he produced and wrote the scores for the movies Ernest Goes to Camp and Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam, currently has compositions that number over 1,000 in TV show music libaries and has had many of his songs recorded.

In 1989 he was asked to work for Atlantic Records by its co-founder Ahmet Ertegun he joined them as an arranger/producer in New York.

When 2000 came he left to go back to concentrating on his own career and has now returned to working as a studio musician as well as carrying on with arranging and producing.

Over the course of his career he has featured on albums such as Songbird by Emmylou Harris, Roll On by Alabama, A White Sport Coat & A Pink Crustacean by Jimmy Buffett, My Father’s Eyes by Amy Grant, Legacy: 1961-2002 by Glen Campbell, Wayward Wind by James Galway, That’s That by Michael Johnson, Apprentice (In a Musical Workshop) by Dave Loggins, Don’t Stop Believing by Olivia Newton John, Buzz by Buzz Cason, Visions by Don Williams, When the Night Comes by Lou Rawls, Civilised Man by Joe Cocker, Stay Tuned by Chet Atkins, Heroes and Friends by Randy Travis, Roberta by Roberta Flack, Artist of the Century by Elvis Presley, These Are Special Times by Celine Dion, Freak of Nature by Anastacia, Encore by Lionel Richie and many others that are too numerous to mention.

Sources:

Keister, Shane

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