Biography
Born May 26, 1971, in Austin, Texas, country singer Keith Gattis first picked up music at age sixteen by assembling a local trio that performed regularly around his hometown. He later helped assemble a separate group that captured a statewide Future Farmers of America talent contest, earning the ensemble a slot before more than twenty thousand attendees at the organization’s national convention. While attending college he grew increasingly focused on songwriting and guitar technique, and after earning his degree he relocated to Nashville. There he took a position at a music store and began performing at every available venue. By 1991 he had joined Sammy Kershaw’s management team and landed a recording contract with RCA. The self-titled debut album appeared in April 1996; its traditional country approach won praise from critics and purists yet found little traction with mainstream audiences. That release remained his sole major-label effort, though he later issued Big City Blues on the independent Smith Entertainment label in 2006, an album that incorporated a stronger contemporary pop sensibility. Following its promotional run he continued to perform occasionally while building a steady behind-the-scenes career, supplying songs to Randy Travis, George Strait, Willie Nelson, and Kenny Chesney, contributing session work alongside Dwight Yoakam, Bruce Robison, and Jon Pardi, and producing projects for Randy Houser, Wade Bowen, and Cory Morrow. Keith Gattis died at age fifty-two on April 23, 2023, after a tractor accident.
Albums