Bill Keith, Banjo Master

William Bradford “Bill” Keith (December 20, 1939 – October 23, 2015) was a five-string banjoist who contributed significantly to the stylistic development of the instrument and, through his influence, to the emergence of progressive bluegrass. In the 1960s, he added to the “Scruggs style”, founder of bluegrass banjo, a technique that would soon become known as the “melodic style” or “Keith style”. After playing in the 1963 “Blue grass Boys” with the “father of bluegrass” Bill Monroe, he influenced major progressive bluegrass banjoists such as Alan Munde, Tony Trischka and Béla Fleck. He also played with flat-picking guitar masters such as Clarence White and Tony Rice, and mandolin masters such as David Grisman. Like the latter, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2015.

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