Danny O'Keefe
Encyclopedia
Danny O'Keefe is a U.S.
based singer-songwriter
, born in Spokane, Washington
, in 1943. O'Keefe's musical career has spanned four decades from his early days playing in the Minnesota
coffee houses to his present station in the Seattle area. He is still very active both in the recording studio
and on stage.
"Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues
", which was released in September 1972, and reached #9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
chart
, and for "The Road", covered
by Jackson Browne
on Running on Empty
. "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" stayed on the Billboard
chart for 14 weeks and sold a million copies. The gramophone record
's sales culminated in a gold disc
issued by the R.I.A.A.
in June 1973.
O'Keefe's unique lyrical
style and haunting melodies earned him a reputation as an important songwriter
of his genre. With Bob Dylan
he co-wrote the environmental movement anthem
, "Well Well Well".
In concert with his music
and through his organization The Songbird Foundation, O'Keefe has been active in the environmental field, helping to develop public awareness of the effect that indiscriminate coffee-growing techniques have on the songbird population.
O'Keefe's songs have been covered by numerous musician
s, including Jackson Browne ("The Road"), Elvis Presley
, Judy Collins
, Leon Russell
, Willie Nelson
, Waylon Jennings
, Jimmy Buffett
, Alison Krauss
, Ben Harper
, Cab Calloway
, Mark-Almond
, Andy Williams
, and others; in Italy
his song The Road has been covered by Ron (singer)
, with Italian lyrics written by Lucio Dalla
(and titled Una città per cantare).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
based singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, born in Spokane, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
, in 1943. O'Keefe's musical career has spanned four decades from his early days playing in the Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
coffee houses to his present station in the Seattle area. He is still very active both in the recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
and on stage.
Career
O'Keefe is best known for his only hit singleHit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
"Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues
Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues
"Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" is a song written and performed by Danny O'Keefe.It first appeared on O'Keefe's self-titled debut album in 1971...
", which was released in September 1972, and reached #9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
, and for "The Road", covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
on Running on Empty
Running on Empty (album)
Running on Empty is the fifth album by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne. Released in 1977, the album reached #3 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart in 1978 and stayed on the charts for 65 weeks...
. "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" stayed on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
chart for 14 weeks and sold a million copies. The gramophone record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
's sales culminated in a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
issued by the R.I.A.A.
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
in June 1973.
O'Keefe's unique lyrical
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
style and haunting melodies earned him a reputation as an important songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
of his genre. With Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
he co-wrote the environmental movement anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
, "Well Well Well".
In concert with his music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and through his organization The Songbird Foundation, O'Keefe has been active in the environmental field, helping to develop public awareness of the effect that indiscriminate coffee-growing techniques have on the songbird population.
O'Keefe's songs have been covered by numerous musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s, including Jackson Browne ("The Road"), Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Judy Collins
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
, Leon Russell
Leon Russell
Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
, Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
, Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
, Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
, Ben Harper
Ben Harper
Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents...
, Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
, Mark-Almond
Mark-Almond
Mark–Almond were an English band of the late 1960s and early 1970s, who worked in the territory between rock and jazz.In 1970 Jon Mark and Johnny Almond formed Mark-Almond...
, Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
, and others; in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
his song The Road has been covered by Ron (singer)
Ron (singer)
Ron, byname of Rosalino Cellamare is an Italian singer-songwriter and musician.Born in Dorno, province of Pavia, he debuted under his true name at the 1970 edition of the Sanremo Festival, together with Nada...
, with Italian lyrics written by Lucio Dalla
Lucio Dalla
Lucio Dalla is a popular Italian singer-songwriter and musician. He also plays clarinet and keyboards.He is the composer of Caruso , which has been covered by numerous international artists...
(and titled Una città per cantare).
Discography
- 1971 - Danny O'Keefe - Cotillion RecordsCotillion RecordsCotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records and was active from 1968 through 1985. The label was originally formed as an outlet for blues and deep Southern soul; its first single, Otis Clay's version of "She's About A Mover", reached the R&B charts. Cotillion's catalog quickly expanded...
- ProducedRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Ahmet ErtegünAhmet ErtegunAhmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum... - 1972 - O'KeefeO'Keefe (Danny O'Keefe album)O'Keefe is an album by singer-songwriter Danny O'Keefe, released in 1972 . It peaked at #87 on the Billboard Top LPs chart...
- Signpost/Atlantic RecordsAtlantic RecordsAtlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
- Produced by Arif MardinArif MardinArif Mardin was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco, and country...
. Contains the top-ten hitHit singleA hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
"Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" - 1973 - Breezy Stories - Atlantic Records - Produced by Arif Mardin. Contains the singleSingle (music)In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Angel Spread Your Wings" - 1975 - So Long Harry Truman - Atlantic Records - Produced by John Boylan. Contains the single "Quits"
- 1977 - American Roulette - Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
- Produced by John Court and Kenny Vance - 1979 - The O'Keefe File - Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
- Promotional CD containing songs from previous LPs - 1979 - The Global Blues - Warner Bros. Records - Produced by Jay Lewis and Danny O'Keefe
- 1984 - The Day To Day - Coldwater Records - Produced by Mathew McCauley and Tony PelusoTony PelusoTony Peluso was an American guitarist and record producer. He was lead guitarist for pop duo Carpenters from 1972 to 1983....
. Contained the singles "Along for the Ride" and "Someday"; both singles charted in the "20's" in AC charts - 1989 - Redux - Beachwood/Chameleon Records - A re-release of The Day To Day with a new title and two new songs. Contained the singles "Along for the Ride" and "Someday". VH1 played the video of "Along for the Ride"
- 2000 - Runnin' From the Devil - Miramar Records - January 25, 2000
- 2000 - Danny's Best 1970 - 2000 - Raven RecordsRaven RecordsRaven Records is an Australian record label that specializes in retrospectives and reissues or recordings by American, British and Australian artists.Raven Records was established in 1979 by Glenn A. Baker, Kevin Mueller and Peter Shillito....
Australia - 2000 - 2003 - Don't Ask w/Bill Braun - Produced by Bill Braun. All songs written and performed by Danny O'Keefe and Bill Braun
- 2008 - In Time - Bicamerical Songs - Produced by Mick Conley