Robert Henry 'Bobby' Keys is an American saxophone player, and has performed with other musicians as a member of several horn sections of the 1970s. He appears on albums by The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Who, Harry Nilsson, Delaney Bramlett, George Harrison, Eric Cl...
December 2, 2014, Franklin, Tennessee, United States
Place Of Birth
Slaton
Profession
Session musician, Saxophone player
Nationality
United States of America
Spouse
Holly Keys (m. ?–2014)
Children
Amber Keys, Jesse Keys, Huck Keys, Imagine, Working Class Hero, Mother
Siblings
Debbie Kanishiro, Daryl Keys, Gary Keys, Imagine, Working Class Hero, Mother
Nicknames
Robert Henry Keys , Bobby Keyes , Keys, Bobby , Robert Henry 'Bobby' Keys , The Band
Star Sign
Sagittarius
#
Quote
1
I kind of weaseled my way into the perimeter of the garage. [Buddy Holly] was the first guy I heard play electric guitar and it impressed the hell out of me.
2
[King Curtis] approached his [sax] solos differently than your jazz cats - most of 'em were pretty snooty jazzberries who thought rock & roll was just a waste of time. But King Curtis, he played sax the way a guitar plays, like James Burton would play a lead on a song. It was how he played and how he attacked the notes and his phrasing that was different than the normal.
3
...the image, according to 1964 US Rock and roll standards, was mohair suit and tie, and nicey-nicey ol' boy next door. And all of a sudden here comes this truckload of English jackflies singing a Buddy Holly song! Damn! I couldn't really hear all that well, amplifiers and PAs being what they were, but man I felt it...it reminded me so much of the energy I heard from Buddy and I heard from Elvis. There was something in there that was the real deal. [on hearing the Rolling Stones for the first time at the 1964 San Antonio Fair]
#
Fact
1
He started out playing with Buddy Holly and The Crickets, and went on to become a top session and touring musician. He toured with the Rolling Stones for 45 years.
2
His musical idol was bandleader/saxophonist King Curtis.
3
Doesn't sight-read music, and actually panicked when asked to do a recording session for John Lennon and expected Lennon to pass out horn charts. As it turned out, Lennon merely passed copies of his lyrics (with chords written in) around to the session players; he couldn't sight-read music either.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Son of Dracula
1974
Musician: The Count Downes (as Bobby Keyes)
Composer
Title
Year
Status
Character
FightZone Presents
2011
TV Series 1 episode
Editor
Title
Year
Status
Character
FightZone Presents
2011
TV Series 1 episode
Producer
Title
Year
Status
Character
FightZone Presents
2011
TV Series producer - 1 episode
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Son of Dracula
1974
"Down", "At My Front Door", "Daybreak"
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Every Night's a Saturday Night
2016
Documentary post-production
Himself
The Rolling Stones: Sweet Summer Sun - Hyde Park Live
2013
Documentary
Rolling Stones: One More Shot
2012
TV Movie
Herself
The Ringmaster General
2012
Video documentary
Himself
The Rolling Stones: LIVE!
2012
Short
Himself (as Bobby Keyes)
Shine a Light
2008
Documentary
Himself - The Rolling Stones: saxophone
Salt of the Earth
2007
Video documentary
Himself - Saxophone
Rolling Stones: Forty Licks World Tour Live at Madison Square Garden
2003
TV Special
Himself - Saxophone
Let It Bleed - 40 Jahre Rolling Stones
2002
TV Movie documentary
Himself
The Rolling Stones: Bridges to Babylon Tour '97-98
1997
TV Movie documentary
Himself (Saxophone)
Rolling Stones: Voodoo Lounge
1995
TV Movie documentary
Himself (Saxophone)
Weird Nightmare
1993
Documentary
Himself
Keith Richards and the X-pensive Winos Live at the Hollywood Palladium - December 15, 1988
1991
Video
Himself
At the Max
1991
Documentary
Himself (Saxophone)
Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll
1987
Documentary
Himself
Let's Spend the Night Together
1982
Documentary
Himself
Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones
1973
Documentary
Himself (Saxophone, Percussion)
Cocksucker Blues
1972
Documentary
Himself (as Bobby Keyes)
Did Somebody Drop His Mouse?
1972
Documentary short
Himself
Mad Dogs & Englishmen
1971
Documentary
Himself (as The Band)
Delaney & Bonnie & Friends
1970
TV Movie
Himself - Musician (as Delaney & Bonnie & Friends)
Known for movies
Shine a Light (2008) as Himself - The Rolling Stones: saxophone
The Rolling Stones: Bridges to Babylon Tour '97-98 (1997) as Himself (Saxophone)
Rolling Stones: Forty Licks World Tour Live at Madison Square Garden (2003) as Himself - Saxophone
$10 Million
