Dana Key (December 30, 1953June 6, 2010) was an American

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. This music is typically performed by Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to whi ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, and producer who was co-founder of the

group

DeGarmo and Key DeGarmo & Key was a Christian rock band/duo formed in 1977 by Eddie DeGarmo and Dana Key. The group is notable for having the first Christian rock album nominated for a Grammy award and the first American Christian group to have a video entere ...

with keyboardist

Eddie DeGarmo Eddie DeGarmo (born October 3, 1954) is an American contemporary Christian music recording artist, keyboardist, producer and singer. He became best friends with guitarist/lead vocalist Dana Key in first grade, and co-founded the Christian roc ...

, best friends since the first grade. Key grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, meeting DeGarmo in the 1st grade. The two grew up together in the same neighborhood. Key was a direct descendant of

Francis Scott Key Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and poet from Frederick, Maryland, best known as the author of the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry" which was set to a popular British tune and eventually became t ...

, the author of ''

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...

''. DeGarmo and Key toured the world, headlining and opening with other major Christian rock bands including

Servant A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly ...

Petra Petra (; "Rock"), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu (Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: or , *''Raqēmō''), is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, P ...

, Joe English,

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She began her music career in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the mid-1980s. Grant has been referred to as "Honorific ...

Resurrection Band Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, was a Christian rock band formed in 1972. They were part of the Jesus People USA Christian community in Chicago and most of its members have continued in that community to this day. Known for t ...

Jessy Dixon Jessy Dixon (March 12, 1938 – September 26, 2011) was an American gospel music singer, songwriter, and pianist, with success among audiences across racial lines. He garnered seven Grammy Award nominations during his career. Musicians with wh ...

, Mylon LeFevre and Broken Heart, and dc Talk (who were both an opening act and members of D&K's roadie crew). Key and

produced the first video by contemporary Christian artists to be aired on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. Key released two solo albums as well. In 1989, Key co-authored the book ''Don't Stop the Music'', described in the cover notes as "a defense of contemporary Christian music written by one of its premier performers." Following retirement, Key served as the head of

Ardent Records Ardent Records is an American record label based in Memphis, which was founded by John Fry in 1959. Ardent of the 1960s and 1970s featured pop music acts and was distributed by Stax Records from 1972 until 1975. It is best remembered today for Bi ...

, and hosted a TV show, featuring new, younger, Christian bands. Key had been serving as the pastor of a small church in

Cordova, Tennessee Cordova is a community in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. Cordova lies east of Memphis, north of Germantown, south of Bartlett, and northwest of Collierville at an elevation of . The majority of Cordova has been annexed by the Cit ...

, The Love of Christ Church (tlc). Key died due to a ruptured blood clot on Sunday, June 6, 2010 at age 56, according to CCM Magazine's website.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Key, Dana 1953 births 2010 deaths American rock guitarists American male guitarists American performers of Christian music 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians