Biography
A Radio Hall of Fame inductee whose reserved and reflective nature is offset by a keen wit, rural insight and affection for classic folk and jazz forms, Garrison Keillor serves as the weekly host of A Prairie Home Companion. The program reaches listeners across more than 400 National Public Radio outlets. His volumes Lake Wobegon Days, Wobegon Boy, Happy to Be Here and We Are Still Married have kept him on the American best-seller charts with regularity. The spoken-word edition of Lake Wobegon Days earned a Grammy in 1985.
Keillor first encountered radio while studying journalism at the University of Minnesota, completing that degree in 1966. From 1969 onward he contributed pieces to The New Yorker. During 1974 research on the Grand Ole Opry he developed the concept for a live broadcast devoted to traditional music. Although A Prairie Home Companion originated on Minnesota Public Radio, it rapidly attained nationwide attention. Over its initial thirteen seasons the series collected a George Foster Peabody award, an Edward R. Murrow award and an American Academy of Arts & Letters medal. Keillor’s understated narration anchored each episode, yet the program regularly featured Greg Brown, Jean Redpath, Bill Staines, Beausoleil, Robin & Linda Williams, Butch Thompson, Prudence Johnson and Michael Cooney. Several years of Disney cable telecasts earned the show two Ace awards.
In 1987 Keillor declared the conclusion of A Prairie Home Companion. After relocating to New York he introduced The American Radio Company in 1989. The new series ran four seasons before listeners pressed for a revival of the earlier format. In 1993 Keillor agreed, returning to the World Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota, to resume A Prairie Home Companion.
While continuing as host of that program he also presents the daily poetry series The Writer’s Almanac and contributes regularly to The New York Times and The Atlantic. A deep-voiced singer, Keillor has performed numerous numbers on A Prairie Home Companion; in 1992 he joined the Hopeful Gospel Quartet to record an album of spirituals and hymns.
Keillor first encountered radio while studying journalism at the University of Minnesota, completing that degree in 1966. From 1969 onward he contributed pieces to The New Yorker. During 1974 research on the Grand Ole Opry he developed the concept for a live broadcast devoted to traditional music. Although A Prairie Home Companion originated on Minnesota Public Radio, it rapidly attained nationwide attention. Over its initial thirteen seasons the series collected a George Foster Peabody award, an Edward R. Murrow award and an American Academy of Arts & Letters medal. Keillor’s understated narration anchored each episode, yet the program regularly featured Greg Brown, Jean Redpath, Bill Staines, Beausoleil, Robin & Linda Williams, Butch Thompson, Prudence Johnson and Michael Cooney. Several years of Disney cable telecasts earned the show two Ace awards.
In 1987 Keillor declared the conclusion of A Prairie Home Companion. After relocating to New York he introduced The American Radio Company in 1989. The new series ran four seasons before listeners pressed for a revival of the earlier format. In 1993 Keillor agreed, returning to the World Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota, to resume A Prairie Home Companion.
While continuing as host of that program he also presents the daily poetry series The Writer’s Almanac and contributes regularly to The New York Times and The Atlantic. A deep-voiced singer, Keillor has performed numerous numbers on A Prairie Home Companion; in 1992 he joined the Hopeful Gospel Quartet to record an album of spirituals and hymns.
Albums
