Will Keys was a nationally-known oldtime banjo player, who earned many awards and made several recordings. Technically, he was not a "Junior", but his name was always on official documents as "Will A. Keys, Jr."
He was the eleventh child of twelve born to Will Aaron Keys and the former Amy Elizabeth Taylor in the Blackley Creek community of Washington County, Tennessee. He graduated from Sulphur Springs High School and served in the Marine Corps during World War II. After working at Tennessee Eastman Company for 42 years, he retired and began his music career. A two-fingered-style banjo player since his childhood, Will began performing in 1974 with the Homefolks at the Carter Fold in Hiltons, VA. The band featured Will, Tom Bledsoe, the late Beachard Smith and the late Paul Davis. Later, Will would become a nationally-know oldtime banjoist, with performances at the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, TN, the Maryland Banjo Academy in Buckeystown, MD, the Tennessee Banjo Institute in Lebanon, TN, two Smithsonian Folklife Festivals, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC among his many appearances. He was a member of the select "Masters of the Banjo" tours organized by the National Council for the Traditional Arts in 1994. Will also received the National Heritage Fellowship in 1996, and recorded several tapes and CDs, plus one video with his band, Evergreen, consisting of Barbara Kuhns (fiddle) and Doug Smith (guitar) of Medway, OH.
Will passed away on November 4, 2005, after a three-month battle with a malignant brain tumor.
He was the eleventh child of twelve born to Will Aaron Keys and the former Amy Elizabeth Taylor in the Blackley Creek community of Washington County, Tennessee. He graduated from Sulphur Springs High School and served in the Marine Corps during World War II. After working at Tennessee Eastman Company for 42 years, he retired and began his music career. A two-fingered-style banjo player since his childhood, Will began performing in 1974 with the Homefolks at the Carter Fold in Hiltons, VA. The band featured Will, Tom Bledsoe, the late Beachard Smith and the late Paul Davis. Later, Will would become a nationally-know oldtime banjoist, with performances at the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, TN, the Maryland Banjo Academy in Buckeystown, MD, the Tennessee Banjo Institute in Lebanon, TN, two Smithsonian Folklife Festivals, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC among his many appearances. He was a member of the select "Masters of the Banjo" tours organized by the National Council for the Traditional Arts in 1994. Will also received the National Heritage Fellowship in 1996, and recorded several tapes and CDs, plus one video with his band, Evergreen, consisting of Barbara Kuhns (fiddle) and Doug Smith (guitar) of Medway, OH.
Will passed away on November 4, 2005, after a three-month battle with a malignant brain tumor.
Will Keys was a nationally-known oldtime banjo player, who earned many awards and made several recordings. Technically, he was not a "Junior", but his name was always on official documents as "Will A. Keys, Jr."
He was the eleventh child of twelve born to Will Aaron Keys and the former Amy Elizabeth Taylor in the Blackley Creek community of Washington County, Tennessee. He graduated from Sulphur Springs High School and served in the Marine Corps during World War II. After working at Tennessee Eastman Company for 42 years, he retired and began his music career. A two-fingered-style banjo player since his childhood, Will began performing in 1974 with the Homefolks at the Carter Fold in Hiltons, VA. The band featured Will, Tom Bledsoe, the late Beachard Smith and the late Paul Davis. Later, Will would become a nationally-know oldtime banjoist, with performances at the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, TN, the Maryland Banjo Academy in Buckeystown, MD, the Tennessee Banjo Institute in Lebanon, TN, two Smithsonian Folklife Festivals, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC among his many appearances. He was a member of the select "Masters of the Banjo" tours organized by the National Council for the Traditional Arts in 1994. Will also received the National Heritage Fellowship in 1996, and recorded several tapes and CDs, plus one video with his band, Evergreen, consisting of Barbara Kuhns (fiddle) and Doug Smith (guitar) of Medway, OH.
Will passed away on November 4, 2005, after a three-month battle with a malignant brain tumor.
He was the eleventh child of twelve born to Will Aaron Keys and the former Amy Elizabeth Taylor in the Blackley Creek community of Washington County, Tennessee. He graduated from Sulphur Springs High School and served in the Marine Corps during World War II. After working at Tennessee Eastman Company for 42 years, he retired and began his music career. A two-fingered-style banjo player since his childhood, Will began performing in 1974 with the Homefolks at the Carter Fold in Hiltons, VA. The band featured Will, Tom Bledsoe, the late Beachard Smith and the late Paul Davis. Later, Will would become a nationally-know oldtime banjoist, with performances at the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, TN, the Maryland Banjo Academy in Buckeystown, MD, the Tennessee Banjo Institute in Lebanon, TN, two Smithsonian Folklife Festivals, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC among his many appearances. He was a member of the select "Masters of the Banjo" tours organized by the National Council for the Traditional Arts in 1994. Will also received the National Heritage Fellowship in 1996, and recorded several tapes and CDs, plus one video with his band, Evergreen, consisting of Barbara Kuhns (fiddle) and Doug Smith (guitar) of Medway, OH.
Will passed away on November 4, 2005, after a three-month battle with a malignant brain tumor.
Gravesite Details
More information on Will is available at his website... www.willkeys.com
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