Robert Earl Keen

Robert Earl Keen (born January 11, 1956) is an American country singer and songwriter from Houston, Texas.

Early life and education Keen was born and grew up in Houston, Texas. As a teenager, he was an avid reader who excelled in writing and literature classes. Keen was a fan of the British rock band Cream, and was influenced by country music from artists Willie Nelson, Norman Blake, Jesse Winchester, Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Withers, Gary Stewart, and Jimmie Rodgers.

After graduation from Sharpstown High School, Keen started playing guitar himself shortly thereafter, learning to play classic country covers out of a songbook the summer before starting college at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. In 1983, Keen won the New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Texas. That same year, he began making his self-produced first album, No Kinda Dancer. While in Nashville, Keen and Gray worked at Hatch Show Print shop.

Keen returned to Texas in 1987 and released his second album, The Live Album, in 1988, followed by his third album, West Textures in 1989. Keen's own version of "Whenever Kindness Fails" appeared on his fourth album, 1993's A Bigger Piece of Sky. In 1994, he released Gringo Honeymoon followed by No. 2 Live Dinner in 1996. His 1997 album, Picnic, marked the beginning of his on-again, off-again relationship with major labels (both that album and 1998's Walking Distance were issued on Arista Records, and 2001's Gravitational Forces, 2009's The Rose Hotel, and 2011's Ready for Confetti were released on Lost Highway Records). Keen's other albums include 2003's Farm Fresh Onions (Audium/Koch Records) and 2005's What I Really Mean and 2006's Live at the Ryman (both on E1 Music). The producers with whom he has worked on those albums have included John Keane, Gurf Morlix, Gary Velletri, and Lloyd Maines. In 2022, his concert tour was listed as one of the most successful in the world.

In January 2022, Keen announced that he would stop touring and performing publicly after September 2022. His final tour was named the "I'm Coming Home Farewell Tour" and the final leg was played September 1, 3, and 4 at Floore's Country Store in Helotes, Texas. Approximately 3,000 people attended the last show on September 4 for nearly two-and-a-half hours. Despite the claims of playing his final shows and farewell tour, Keen proceeded to do several shows in 2023 and listed a 2024 tour on his website with a dozen stops. Instagram posts on Keen's account containing photos from his "I'm Coming Home Farewell Tour" were later edited to remove reference to the "farewell" part of the tour.

Discography Studio albums TitleLabel Album details Peak chart positionsYear US Country US USHeat USIndie USFolk USGrass 1984 No Kinda DancerSugar Hill Records CD, Cassette, LP record — — — — —1989 West TexturesSugar Hill Records CD, Cassette — — — — — —1993 A Bigger Piece of SkySugar Hill Records CD, Cassette — — — — — —1994 Gringo HoneymoonSugar Hill Records CD, Cassette — — — — — —1997 PicnicArista Records CD, Cassette — 160 4 — — —1998 Walking DistanceArista Records CD, Cassette — 149 3 — — —2001 Gravitational ForcesLost Highway Records CD 10 111 1 — — —2003 Farm Fresh OnionsAudium/Koch Records CD 24 172 9 11 — —2005 What I Really MeanE1 Music CD, Streaming, Download 21 122 1 5 — —2009 The Rose HotelLost Highway Records CD, Streaming, Download 17 83 — — 10 —2011 Ready for ConfettiLost Highway Records CD, Streaming, Download 21 66 — — 3 —2015 Happy Prisoner:The Bluegrass SessionsDualtone Records CD, Streaming, Download 10 109 — 6 5 1

Live albums Title Album details Peak positions US Country Release date: November 18, 2016 Label: Dualtone Music Formats: CD, Music download 29 "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Compilation albums Title Album details Best Release date: November 7, 2006 Label: E1 Music Formats: CD, music download

Singles Year Single Album 1984 "No Kinda Dancer" No Kinda Dancer "The Armadillo Jackal" 1997 "Over the Waterfall" Picnic "Levelland" "Undone" 1998 "Down That Dusty Trail" Walking Distance 1999 "That Buckin' Song" 2001 "Hello New Orleans" Gravitational Forces "Not A Drop of Rain" 2002 "High Plains Jamboree" 2003 "Furnace" Farm Fresh Onions "All I Have Is Today" 2005 "What I Really Mean" What I Really Mean "The Great Hank" 2009 "The Rose Hotel" The Rose Hotel 2010 "The Man Behind the Drums" 2011 "I Gotta Go" Ready for Confetti

Music videos Year Video Director 1997 "Over the Waterfall" Steven T. Miller/R. Brad Murano 2004 "Merry Christmas from the Family" David McClister 2005 "What I Really Mean" 2015 "Hot Corn Cold Corn" Curtis Millard "Footprints in the Snow" Matt Bizer

Other appearances Year Song Album 2018 "Do Wacka Do" King of the Road: A Tribute to Roger Miller

Notable covers

Honors