Worked With:
- Genres: Rock
- Instrument: Producer, Piano, Arranger
Biography
Although composer Jack Keller authored a series of teen idol pop hits, he is best known for writing some of the most memorable and enduring theme songs of television's golden era, most notably the theme for Bewitched. The son of a musician, Keller was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1937. Upon joining the staff of Don Kirschner's famed Brill Building publishing company Aldon Music, he paired with lyricist Howard Greenfield, and together they authored a pair of 1960 number one hits for Connie Francis: "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own." Keller and Greenfield also collaborated on Jimmy Clanton's "Venus in Blue Jeans," the Chordettes' "Just Between You and Me," and Bobby Vee's "Run to Him."After the television production company Screen Gems acquired Aldon, Keller relocated to Hollywood in 1966, and together with Greenfield wrote the themes to series including Bewitched, Hazel, and Gidget. When Kirschner and Screen Gems launched their Beatles-inspired musical sitcom, The Monkees, Keller was enlisted as a producer, co-writing the show's theme song as well as several other songs recorded for the series and its accompanying LPs. As the professional songwriter became an increasing anomaly in the pop music world, Keller relocated to Nashville in 1984 to try his hand at country -- Ernest Tubb, Eddy Arnold, Reba McEntire, and Crystal Gayle later performed his songs. After a brief battle with leukemia, he died in Nashville on April 1, 2005. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
