Keith's Medley Biography

A Kentucky native, Keith was surrounded by music from an early age. At five years old he was accompanying his fiddle-playing granddad on the guitar. As he got older, his aunts and uncles introduced him to jazz and classical music. Keith found TV/movie musicals and classic 60s rock all by himself. This broad exposure influenced his musical tastes and compositions.

Shortly after graduating high school Keith moved to Nashville and experienced the trials of a struggling musician. He did a stint playing clubs and college campuses with a funk/jazz/R&B band in the late 70s and switched to country music in the 80s touring with the Younger Brothers and shared concert dates with up-and-comers like George Strait, Johnny Paycheck, Ed Bruce, Rita Coolidge, Neil Young and many more from that era.

When Keith got off the road in the late 80s he focused on another passion, building and repairing guitars. His father had taught him how to handle wood and use hand tools without losing his fingers. He eventually went to work for one of the largest guitar companies in the country building custom guitars, and for a few years also ran his own company—Medley Guitars.

Keith’s greatest creative accomplishment to date was to build a 27-string guitar in his home shop from a design he drew in the late 70’s and with it performs his own compositions.

Keith Medley "Ancestors" - 27 string guitar

"Hall Of The Mountain King" Keith Medley and his 27-string Medley Guitar