Part of a long line of Texas singer-songwriters whose ranks include Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and buddy, Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen strongly influenced the early practitioners of what has become known as alternative country or Americana music. Keen got his start playing country music on his front porch with Lovett—they used to sing and play in their underwear to astonished church goers across the street from Keen’s house. Lovett recorded one of Keen’s songs, as did Joe Ely, Nanci Griffith, Jill Sobule, Gillian Welch, and Kelly Willis, to name a few. His accessible country-folk/country rock is rooted in the foolproof formula of good songwriting. Like Kris Kristofferson, Keen writes hypnotizing narratives of lost love and emotional rescue, along with feel-good American anthems.

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