Keith Anderson (born January 12, 1968) is an American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
singer. Before signing to a record deal, Anderson was one of several co-writers on "Beer Run (B Double E Double R-U-N)", a duet by
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...
and
George Jones
George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...
, released in late 2001. Anderson was signed as a recording artist to
Arista Nashville
Arista Nashville was an American record label that served as a wholly owned division of Sony Music, operated under the Sony Music Nashville division. Founded in 1989, the label specialized in country music artists, including Alan Jackson, Brooks ...
in 2004. His debut single "
Pickin' Wildflowers" was released that year, as the lead-off track from his debut album ''
Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll''. Counting "Pickin' Wildflowers", the album produced a total of four hit singles on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
charts, and was certified gold by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
.
In addition to his own material, Anderson co-wrote
Big & Rich
Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a sol ...
's single "
Lost in This Moment", a Number One hit on the country music charts in mid-2007. Anderson switched to the
Columbia label in 2007, and his second album, ''
C'mon!'', was released on August 5, 2008. The second single from the album, "
I Still Miss You", became his first Top 5 country hit.
His latest release is a six-song EP album titled ''I'll Bring the Music''; it was released May 12, 2015.
Early life
While growing up in Miami, Oklahoma, he played sports during
middle and high school, and began his music career by playing in a band at church.
After graduating from high school, he attended
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
,
where he was a member of
Delta Tau Delta fraternity. During his college career, he obtained a degree in engineering.
He also played baseball during his college years, and was approached by the
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
.
After a shoulder injury ended his pursuit of a professional baseball career, Anderson tried bodybuilding and placed second in the Mr. Oklahoma competition.
Career
After graduating, he accepted a position with an engineering firm in
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, Texas. A year and a half later, he resigned to pursue a career in music. He attended clubs at night, began writing songs, and began learning guitar from his brother, Brian.
In Dallas, he auditioned for ''Grapevine Opry'', a show that had produced other country stars in the past. He performed on the show for three years, before performing at the
Texas State Fair and
Six Flags
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It was formed on July 2, 2024, following a merger between longtime rivals Cedar Fair and the former Six Flags ...
.
Due to financial difficulties, he was forced to find additional work, as a
landscaper
Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following:
# organism, Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with ...
and as a
personal trainer
A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, providing m ...
.
He also enrolled in the
physical therapy
Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...
program at
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
.
One month before starting, he decided to put his education on hold, and began producing his first CD. He said, "The month before I started, I thought, 'Wait a minute. This is going to be a whole bunch of commitment. If I'm ever going to do music, I need to go for it 100%. NOW. Physical therapy will always be there, and my engineering degree will always be there.'"
After recording his CD in
Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, he began marketing it to radio stations.
In 2000, he put together a band. His first hit as a songwriter came in 2001, when
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...
and
George Jones
George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...
recorded "Beer Run (B Double E R-U-N)", which Anderson co-wrote with several other writers, including
George Ducas
George Ducas ( – 31 March 1685) was the prince (List of monarchs of Moldavia, voivode) of Moldavia (1665–1666, 1668–1672, 1678–1684) and the List of Wallachian rulers, prince of Wallachia (1674–1678). He also served as the hetman of ...
.
He opened for
Montgomery Gentry in 2002, and performed at many events, where he earned his recording deal with
Arista Nashville
Arista Nashville was an American record label that served as a wholly owned division of Sony Music, operated under the Sony Music Nashville division. Founded in 1989, the label specialized in country music artists, including Alan Jackson, Brooks ...
. Since then, he has written songs for
Gretchen Wilson, as well as
Big & Rich
Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a sol ...
's Number One single "
Lost in This Moment".
2004–2006: ''Three Chord Country and American Rock and Roll''
In 2004, Anderson signed to Arista Nashville.
His debut album, entitled ''
Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll'', produced chart singles in "
Pickin' Wildflowers", "
XXL", and "
Every Time I Hear Your Name". After the latter, the title track was remixed by
Mark Hudson with
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
lead singer
Steven Tyler
Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer and songwriter. Tyler is best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the keyboards, h ...
as a guest vocalist. After it failed to chart, "
Podunk
The terms ''podunk'' and ''Podunk Hollow'' in American English denote or describe an insignificant, out-of-the-way, or even completely fictitious town.Nick Bacon. "Podunk After Pratt: Place and Placelessness in East Hartford, CT." In ''Confront ...
" was released as the album's final single and peaked at number 34.
2007–2009: ''C'mon!''
Anderson released a song called "
Sunday Morning in America" in early 2007 as the lead-off single to a second album for Arista. This song peaked at No. 28, however, and the album was delayed. Later the same year, Anderson switched from Arista Nashville to
Nashville. His first single for the label, "
I Still Miss You", was released in 2008 and became his third Top Ten hit. It was the lead-off single to his second album ''
C'mon!'', released in August 2008, and "Sunday Morning in America" was included on it,
as well as his own rendition of "Lost in This Moment" and a cover of
Foster & Lloyd
Foster & Lloyd was an American country music duo consisting of singer-songwriters Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd. After pairing up in 1986, the duo recorded three albums for RCA Records, charting nine singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts. Th ...
's "
Crazy Over You". The album's third single, "Somebody Needs a Hug", peaked at No. 46. The fourth single, "She Could've Been Mine", peaked at No. 56 in early 2009. Anderson parted ways with Columbia Nashville in October of that year.
2010–present: ''I'll Bring the Music''
Since 2010, Anderson has recorded and released a few tracks, via his fan club on his official website. Those songs include "Wild Girls" and the underground hit "Your Town for Now". In May 2014, Anderson released the single "I'll Bring the Music" which received airplay on
The Highway.
Anderson released a six-song EP album titled ''I'll Bring the Music'' on May 12, 2015, via iTunes and Amazon. He also released a full-length album of the same name available at his website and his shows in 2014.
Personal life
Anderson married Lauren Woodruff in December 2010, after ten years of dating. They welcomed a daughter, Crozle J. Anderson, on October 5, 2011, and a son Jaxon born November 2013. Keith was divorced in 2017.
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Music videos
References
External links
Official website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Keith
1968 births
Living people
People from Miami, Oklahoma
American country singer-songwriters
American male singer-songwriters
Columbia Records artists
Country musicians from Oklahoma
Arista Nashville artists
Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma