Biography
Born in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1955, country singer, songwriter, and producer Keith Stegall began studying piano at the age of four. He took up guitar soon afterward and, by twelve, had assembled the country outfit the Pacesetters; during his early adolescence he also mastered drums, developed an interest in R&B, and played in a rock ensemble. At fifteen he joined the folk ensemble the Cheerful Givers on guitar. Following graduation he relocated to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he performed nightly in a local lounge and served as music director for a Methodist congregation. While honing his songwriting craft, he received encouragement from Kris Kristofferson to test the waters in Nashville, a move he made in 1978. Two modest chart entries appeared in 1980, among them his debut single, “The Fool Who Fooled Around.” The 1983 release “I Want to Go Somewhere” climbed into the Top 30, and its successor, “Whatever Turns You On,” reached the Top 20. His self-titled Epic album arrived in 1985 and yielded his lone Top Ten single, “Pretty Lady.” Stegall ultimately found greater traction offstage: Mickey Gilley, Al Jarreau, and Helen Reddy all recorded his material, while his production work on Randy Travis’s Storms of Life established him as a sought-after studio collaborator. He guided Alan Jackson’s career from its outset and also helmed projects for Tracy Byrd, Terri Clark, Sammy Kershaw, Lorrie Morgan, and Mark Wills, among numerous others. Stegall returned to recording with the 1996 album Passages, which contained the minor chart entry “1969.”
Albums