A singer and guitarist whose songwriting drew from folk traditions, Barbara Keith first attracted notice after being spotted performing at Greenwich Village’s Café Wha?. Her initial recording credit arrived in 1968, when her backing vocals and an original composition appeared on Kangaroo’s self-titled debut. Verve Records issued her own first self-titled album in 1969; although reviewers responded warmly, the record failed to register commercially. Reprise released a second self-titled album in 1972 that paired Keith with producer Doug Tibbles. The two later married and, disillusioned with industry pressures, returned the label’s advance so they could concentrate on family life and pursue their creative work free of major-label expectations. Reprise consequently reduced its promotional support, and the album again sold modestly, yet Keith’s compositions began drawing attention from other artists. Barbra Streisand, Lowell George, Tanya Tucker, Delaney & Bonnie, the Dillards, and additional performers recorded material from the set, with “The Bramble and the Rose” and “Detroit or Buffalo” proving especially popular.
In the 1990s Keith resurfaced fronting the Stone Coyotes, a band described as “AC/DC meets Patsy Cline,” alongside her husband and their son John Tibbles. The group cultivated a devoted following that included novelist Elmore Leonard, who referenced the band in his novel Be Cool, the sequel to Get Shorty, and incorporated five of Keith’s songs into the narrative.
