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Keith (Beetle) Bailey
singer - songwriter - musician - artist - friend 1955 - 2008
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I consider it to be a great privilege to have known Beetle Bailey. He and I spent a few years around 1980 writing songs and playing music together as an acoustic duo and with other musicians in various electric bands including Driftwood and White Buffalo. I owe more to Keith than to any other person for inspiring my own comparatively feeble ability to play guitar and write music -- indeed for my entire music career -- not to mention introducing me to a girl down the street who I am now happily married to for over 20 years. Keith's music was always heard best with just him playing his acoustic guitar. His voice was well suited for intimate, living-room gatherings. Its gentle quality was often lost in his having to scream over electric amplified music. Those who never sat in a half-circle at Keith's feet while he played acoustic guitar never really experienced the fullness of Keith's gift. An incredibly talented songwriter, his early compositions were in the style of Cat Stevens, James Taylor and Neil Young, with down-homey, old fashioned themes and a sense of hope for humanity even in the midst of his despair at the state of the world. Many of his songs were composed in a sort of child-like wonder that people could not just get over themselves and get along. His recent music was in a more whimsical vein, with a lighter point of view and more of a sense of humor. He recently recorded a CD entitled 'On Solid Ground' with a band he called North Buffalo. Beetle Bailey constantly rode on the edge of greatness and was very much under-acknowledged by the music-consuming public. Keith lived in Freeport, Pennsylvania. He died of a heart attack at home on March 28, 2008 at the age of 54. Beloved by his many friends, he and his music will be sadly missed. -- Max Summerville
Driftwood Tribute Page
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