After leaving the Bluegrass Boys, Bill Keith joined the Jim Kweskin Jug Band for four years (1964-1968), where he played rhythm on a plectrum banjo.

Bill Keith participated in the recording of 3 albums : Jug Band Music in 1965, See Reverse Side For Title in 1966 and Garden Of Joy in 1967.

Fiddler Richard Greene, who was a member of Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys from February 1966 to March 1967, then joined The Jim Kweskin Jug Band and took part in the recording of Garden Of Joy .

During this period, Bill Keith also took part in jam sessions at festivals, where he also performed with his colleague Jim Rooney. We have live recordings made at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964 and 1965.

At the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, Bill did a jam session with ”The Kentucky Colonels”. Their live album: “Long Journey Home” (Vanguard-77004) contains 4 tracks with Bill, including the first known version of “Nola” and “Auld Lang Syne” (with the Keith’s D-tuners).

At the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, Bill played with the Kweskin Jug Band on Saturday, July 24. On another stage, he played with Jim Rooney an instrumental version of Little Sadie, recorded on the album: Folk Music At Newport – Part 1, (Vanguard-770072).

To follow : Discography of Bill Keith 1965-1972: Out of Bluegrass? (2/2)