Keith Anderson

Keith Anderson
Keith Anderson in concert.
Background information
Born	January 12, 1968 (1968-01-12) (age 41)
Origin	Miami, Oklahoma
Genres	Country
Occupations	Singer-Songwriter
Instruments	Vocals Rhythm guitar Piano
Years active	2001-present
Labels	Arista Nashville Columbia Nashville
Associated acts	Big & Rich Garth Brooks George Jones
Website	Keith Anderson Homepage

Keith Anderson (born January 12, 1968 in Miami, Oklahoma) is an American country music artist. Before signing to a record deal, Anderson was one of several co-writers on "Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)", a duet by Garth Brooks and George Jones, released in late 2001. Anderson was signed as a recording artist to Arista Nashville in 2005. His debut single "Pickin' Wildflowers" was released that year, as the lead-off track from his debut album Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll. Counting "Pickin' Wildflowers", the album produced a total of four hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and was certified gold by the RIAA.

In addition to his own material, Anderson co-wrote Big & Rich's single "Lost in This Moment", a Number One hit on the country music charts in mid-2007. Anderson switched to the Columbia label in 2007, and his second album, C'mon!, was released on August 5, 2008. The second single from the album, "I Still Miss You", became his first Top 5 country hit.

Early life

While growing up in Miami, Oklahoma, he played sports during middle and high school, and began his music career by playing in a band at church.^[1] After graduating from high school, he attended Oklahoma State University,^[1] where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. During his college career, he obtained a degree in engineering.^[2] He also played baseball during his college years, and was approached by the Kansas City Royals.^[1] After a shoulder injury ended his pursuit of a professional baseball career, Anderson tried bodybuilding and placed second in the Mr. Oklahoma competition.^[1]

Musical career

This section requires expansion with: More info on albums.

After graduating, he accepted a position with an engineering firm in Dallas, Texas. A year and a half later, he resigned to pursue a career in music. He attended clubs at night, began writing songs, and began learning guitar from his brother, Brian.

In Dallas, he auditioned for Grapevine Opry, a show that had produced other country stars in the past. He performed on the show for three years, before performing at the Texas State Fair and Six Flags.

Due to financial difficulties, he was forced to find additional work, as a landscaper and as a personal trainer.^[2] He also enrolled in the physical therapy program at University of Texas.^[2] One month before starting, he decided to put his education on hold, and began producing his first CD, he said "The month before I started, I thought, 'Wait a minute. This is going to be a whole bunch of commitment. If I'm ever going to do music, I need to go for it 100%. NOW. Physical therapy will always be there, and my engineering degree will always be there.'"^[2]

After recording his CD in Nashville, he began marketing it to radio stations.^[2] In 2000, he put together a band. His first hit as a songwriter came in 2001, when Garth Brooks and George Jones recorded "Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)", which Anderson co-wrote with several other writers, including George Ducas.^[3][4] He opened for Montgomery Gentry in 2002, and performed at many events, where he earned his recording deal with Arista Nashville. Since then, he has written songs for Gretchen Wilson, as well as Big & Rich's Number One single "Lost in This Moment".^[4] He is also a mentor to Della Rose (group)

Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll

In 2005, Anderson signed to Arista Nashville.^[3] His debut album, Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll, produced four chart singles in "Pickin' Wildflowers", "XXL", "Every Time I Hear Your Name", and "Podunk". Also, the album was certified gold in the U.S. Initially, the album's title track was slated to be released as the fourth single (following "Every Time I Hear Your Name"). The song was even remixed for radio, with Steven Tyler of Aerosmith singing backup vocals on the radio edit. However, the radio edit of "Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll" was withdrawn before it could chart, and replaced with "Podunk".

C'mon!

Anderson released a song called "Sunday Morning in America" in early 2007 as the lead-off single to a second album for Arista. This song peaked at #28, however, and the album was delayed. Later the same year, Anderson switched from Arista Nashville to Columbia Records Nashville.^[5] His first single for the label, "I Still Miss You", was released in 2008 and has become his third Top Ten hit. It is the lead-off single to his second album C'mon!, released in August 2008, and "Sunday Morning in America" was included on it,^[3] as well as his own rendition of "Lost in This Moment" and a cover of Foster & Lloyd's "Crazy over You". The album's third single "Somebody Needs A Hug" peaked at #46. The fourth single, "She Could've Been Mine", only peaked at #56 in early 2009. Anderson then parted ways with Columbia Nashville in October of that year.^[6]

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

• Keith Anderson Official Website