Clarksville, TN – Members of the Tennessee General Assembly have honored Clarksville songwriter Bobby Keel for his “many contributions to country music and the craft of songwriting.”
The Joint House Resolution was sponsored by Representative Curtis Johnson, R-Clarksville, and unanimously approved by the House and Senate in March.
“It’s certainly an honor to be formally recognized for your talents by the Legislature of your home state,” Keel said. “When my good friend Curtis Johnson presented me with the resolution, well, let’s just say it was a great day for an Ol Troubadour.”
The resolution notes that the Tennessee General Assembly often recognizes Tennesseans who are wholly devoted to their craft and enrich the lives of their fellow citizens through their art.
“One such individual is Bobby Keel of Clarksville, a songwriter of the highest caliber who has devoted his career to penning hits for artists who are household names and has performed for rapt audiences around the world,” it reads.
The resolution says Keel, a native of Dover, was born to be a songwriter, playing piano when he was 3, picking up melodies at 5, and beginning his songwriting career in earnest at 17. It tells the story of how Keel traveled to Nashville’s Music Row in 1972 with a few songs, a sack of crappie and a frozen mallard duck. His efforts to impress publishers was fruitful, and he signed a publishing deal with Moss-Rose Music.
Keel went on to earn 14 Gold and 12 Platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America for songs recorded by the likes of Hank Williams Jr., David Allan Coe, Confederate Railroad, Travis Tritt, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Freddie Powers, Albert King, The Carter Family, Johnny Rodriguez, Moe Bandy and Joe Stampley, Tammy Wynette, McGuffy Lane, and Tom Jones.
Some of Keels most popular songs include “Whiskey on Ice,” “Time Off for Bad Behavior,” “Daddy’s Honky Tonk,” “Bein’ Gone,” “Where’s the Love We Made,” “If You Got It,” and “Yankee Don’t Go Home.”
As a performer, Keel has released a number of albums, including “Asphalt Ribbon” in 1982, and he has toured with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hank Williams Jr., Confederate Railroad, and others, playing for crowds of up to 150,000 people.
In 1996 in Clarksville, Keel and two friends, Kenny Baggett and the late Wayne Brown, founded the enduring Americana band, The Ballistic Pintos, which continues to perform and entertain in venues across the land.
Keel and the Pintos are quick to give back to the community through performances that have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charitable causes over the years, and he is also an outspoken advocate of Music Health Alliance and Music Cares.
“Of course, it is fitting that the members of the General Assembly paused to honor Tennessee’s own Bobby Keel, and I was proud to sponsor this resolution,” Rep. Johnson said. “Down deep, Bobby is a storyteller, with a quick wit and a big heart. He’s a songwriter and musician who has brought much pride to his home state, and to Dover and Clarksville.”
