Keith Stegall is one of those Nashville cats who had a very, very long ramp-up to their career. Born in Wichita Falls, Texas, Keith Stegall was the son of Bob Stegall, a successful regional musician who cut some solo stuff in the 1950s and worked for several years as Johnny Horton's steel player. In the early 1970s Keith moved with his dad to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he was active in the local music scene, notably running his own independent studio for a few years. In the late 'Seventies he met Kris Kristofferson and moved to Nashville in 1978 at Kristofferson's urging. Stegall slowly built a reputation as a songwriter and musician: his first big success as a songwriter came in 1980 when the rock-pop band Dr. Hook recorded "Sexy Eyes," a song that Stegall co-wrote with Holly Dunn's brother Chris Waters. Also that year he released his first singles, on Capitol Records. Stegall remained pretty much a Back Forty recording artist until 1985, when a track from his first Nashville album broke through into the Top Ten. He was unable to top that success, however, and only released one other album, moving instead to a pivotal role as one of Nashville's go-to record producers. If you delve into the Top Forty scene in the 1980s, '90s and '00s, you see Stegall's name everywhere, often on some the brightest sounding albums of the era, most notably his stunning work with neo-trad honkytonker Alan Jackson. Stegall also tried his hand as a label owner, running a few different imprints. Here's a quick look at some of his work...
Discography - Early Albums
The Cheerful Givers "Let's Get Together!" (Studio Seven, 1971-?) (LP)
(Produced by David Stone)
A large assembly of teenaged performers from Shreveport, Louisiana, The Cheerful Givers was a Christian folk/pop ensemble drawn from the youth group of the city's First Methodist Church. Keith Stegall was a member of the group in the early 1970s and is identified on this album's liner notes as a high school sophomore, placing this album's release date roughly around 1970-71. He was living in the Shreveport area and attending school at Bossier High School, in one of the city's inner suburbs. Stegall was one of the group's featured instrumentalists, playing guitar alongside a large vocal ensemble. He also had solo billing on two songs, covers of "Four Strong Winds" and "Get Back." I'm not sure how many of these church records he played on, though he also recorded a solo album, Written Composed Performed, with the participation of some of the Cheerful Givers, notably vocalist Diane Bell, who also sang on the Givers album below.
The Cheerful Givers "In Concert" (Sevens International Records, 1972-?) (LP)
(Produced by David Stone)
Here Keith Stegall again sings and plays guitar, and is now identified as a junior at Bossier High School. In addition, this marks the start of his career as a songwriter, with him contributing a few tunes to the set, including his own religious numbers, "Where Do You Go" and "The Man." This also includes a cover of the groovy, hippie-era ode to beads-ands-sandals brotherhood, "One Tin Soldier," which was a hit in 1969-70, and again in 1971 when a version by the band Coven was featured in the Billy Jack soundtrack.
Keith Stegall "Written Composed Performed" (Service Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Keith Stegall)
This appears to be Keith Stegall's first solo album, a self-produced outing of all-original gospel material, with Stegall singing and playing guitar, backed by Shreveport locals Max Crace (drums), John Kelly (keyboards), Steve Martin (bass), as well as his fellow Cheerful Giver, Diane Bell, providing harmony vocals. The Cheerful Giver's church advisor David Stone contributes liner notes, referring to Keith Stegall as the leader of the group, as well as founder of a subgroup called the First Methodist Trucking Company. (The Trucking Company seems to have been a separate concert group, although as far as I can tell they didn't make any recordings.) I'm not sure what year this came out, but it was from the period when Stegall was running his own local recording studio and before he met Kris Kristofferson and was invited to move to Nashville. Given his continued involvement with the church youth group, I'd guess it was sometime between 1973-75, or thereabouts.
Some Early Singles
Keith Stegall (Capitol Records, 1980) (# 4835) (7")
A: "The Fool Who Fooled Around" (c: Keith Stegall & Elroy Kahanek)
B: "Keep On Playing That Country Music" (c: Keith Stegall)
(Produced by Charlie Monk)
His early Nashville singles were pretty strictly Back Forty affairs, with "Anything That Hurts You," for example, pegging out at #55 despite getting released a couple of different times with different backing songs. "Fool Who Fooled Around" seems to have been his first single, and his first chart entry, coming in a #58 on Billboard. What's worth noting, however, is how Keith Stegall got his own producer's credits so early in his career, and how many of these singles include songs he composed himself or co-wrote with others. Also, he got to work with a couple of Nashville best and most distinctive producers, Tony Brown and Billy Sherrill, where I bet he learned a lot. I personally wouldn't mind a career retrospective that included some of these early works.
Keith Stegall (Capitol Records, 1980) (# 4874) (7")
A: "Goodbyes Don't Come Easy" (c: Keith Stegall)
B: "Anything That Hurts You (Hurts Me)" (c: J. Lee & C. Morris)
(Produced by Charlie Monk & Keith Stegall)
Another orphan single from his early years in Nashville... Capitol pushed "Anything" a couple of times that year, though it peaked at #55 in Billboard.
Keith Stegall (RCA Victor, 1980) (#4967) (7")
A: "Anything That Hurts You (Hurts Me)" (c: J. Lee & C. Morris)
B: "She's Nobody's Baby But Mine" (c: )
(Produced by Charlie Monk & Keith Stegall)
Keith Stegall (Capitol Records, 1980) (#A-5034) (7")
A: "Keep On Playing That Country Music" (c: Keith Stegall)
B: "Won't You Be My Baby" (c: Keith Stegall & S. Harris)
(Produced by Tony Brown)
Keith Stegall (EMI America, 1982) (#B-8107) (7")
A: "In Love With Loving You" (c: Keith Stegall & Charlie Monk)
B: "Hurry On Home" (c: Keith Stegall & Chris Waters)
(Produced by Keith Stegall & Billy Sherrill)
Worth noting: co-composer Chris Waters was actually Christopher Waters Dunn, brother of future Top Forty star Holly Dunn. Chris Waters also cut a couple of singles of his own, circa 1980-81, and co-wrote the Dr. Hook hit, "Sexy Eyes," which helped get both himself and Keith Stegall on the radar.
And Finally, His "First" Albums
Keith Stegall "Keith Stegall" (Epic Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Kyle Lehning)
This was Stegall's "first" album, at least in the eyes of Nashville and the Billboard charts. It's funny that Keith Stegall chose to focus on producing rather than performance, since this debut LP is pretty darn good, at least given the Nashville style of the time. It's a solid though generic set of smooth, poppy country, totally accessible to fans of artists such as Marty Stuart, Keith Whitley or Lionel Cartwright -- not completely electrifying but a fine example of the music of its day. This album represents the peak of Stegall's time in the spotlight, boasting three Top 20 hits, including "Pretty Lady," which topped out at #10 and was his highest-charting career single. But in Nashville, that's not really enough to keep you going, and I guess you can't fault Stegall for shifting gears. You also can't argue with success: as a producer and songwriter he became one of the best-known figures in the country scene of the 1990s, particularly deserving recognition for his work with superstar Alan Jackson. But this early album, with Stegall as a fresh-faced new artist, is certainly worth checking out. It would be nice if they reissued it someday, especially if they'd include some of his earlier singles.
Keith Stegall "Passages" (Mercury Records, 1996)
(Produced by Keith Stegall, John Kelton & Carson Chamberlain)
After a brief run of mid-level hits in the early '80s, songwriter Keith Stegall settled into a comfortable mode as a top studio producer, working with numerous artists, many with a rootsy bent to their work. This solo album opens with a great uptempo number, "Roll The Dice," then settles into a series of slower, sappier ballads, with skillful yet strained accompaniment. When the next honkytonkish song comes up, "Every Time It Rains," it seems clear that Stegall's real strength lies as a full-throated hard county singer -- he's got a great voice for the material, but he kinda loses me on the slower stuff. Still, since he wrote most of these songs himself and produced the album, it's kind of hard to blame its shortcomings on "them" -- Stegall's a Nashville man, and shares Music City's shortcomings, even on his own albums. Sure do like them two songs, though!
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