How many singer/songwriters can say that Elvis Presley recorde… Read Full Bio ↴Biography
How many singer/songwriters can say that Elvis Presley recorded one of their songs and has a co-write with Bob Dylan?
In 1972, the legendary Ahmet Ertegun signed Danny O'Keefe to Atlantic Records, then teamed him with the incomparable producer Arif Mardin, resulting in his top-five Billboard hit "Goodtime Charlie's Got the Blues." This was followed by the classic album Breezy Stories in 1973. Besides Elvis, many other artists including Jerry Lee Lewis; Willie Nelson; Chet Atkins; Waylon Jennings; Leon Russell; Charlie Rich; and Mel Torme went on to record this classic composition.
This tandem combined for three other D O'K classics during that decade: "Angel Spread Your Wings" also recorded by Judy Collins; "The Road" also recorded by Jackson Browne; and "Magdalena" also recorded by Donny Hathaway and Leo Sayer. These songs garnered heavy AM and FM airplay for Danny and were the building blocks for his distinguished performing and songwriting career.
Now, regarding the co-write with Bob Dylan: besides Danny's version, "Well, Well, Well" has been recorded by Mavis Staples; David Lindley; Maria Muldaur; The Blind Boys of Alabama with Ben Harper and by Bonnie Raitt on her VH1 special.
Other notable co-writes and covers of Danny's compositions include: "Quits," sung originally as a duet with Linda Ronstadt (Andy Williams; Chris Hillman and Gary Stewart); "Along for the Ride" (John Denver); "Souvenirs" (Jimmy Buffet); "Next To You" (Sheena Easton); "Never Got Off the Ground" (co-written with David Mallett and recorded by Alison Krauss and Molly O'Brien); "Into the West" (Tim O'Brien); "When You Come Back Down" (Nickel Creek and Tim O'Brien); and most recently, "Anywhere On Earth You Are" (Allan Jackson on his 2006 CD "Like Red On A Rose.")
Danny believes that music is a powerful means for sharing concern and motivating change on critical issues such as the preservation of "song" in the world. After becoming increasingly concerned with the decimation of songbirds and their habitat, Danny started The Songbird Foundation (www.songbird.org) which works with musical artists to publicize the issue of songbird species decline due to devastation of their habitat. Using his music to publicize and popularize the issue, Danny successfully encouraged other musicians to do the same. Bonnie Raitt, John Mayer, Jimmy Buffet, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nickel Creek, Jackson Browne and many others have responded by contributing public service announcements, perform benefit concerts and do their part to make audiences aware that to create a truly sustainable world requires changed patterns of consumption, especially with concern to aggressive sun-grown coffee in the rain forests of Latin America.
Danny's voice is a superb mixture blues and Americana; his songwriting speaks for itself.
Discography
1971 - Danny O'Keefe Cotillion Records
Produced by Ahmet Ertegun
1972 - O'Keefe Signpost/Atlantic
Produced by Arif Mardin
Contains the top-ten hit "Goodtime Charlie's Got the Blues"
1973 - Breezy Stories Atlantic Records
Produced by Arif Mardin
Contains the single "Angel Spread Your Wings"
1975 - So Long Harry Truman Atlantic Records
Produced by John Boylan
Contained the single "Quits"
1977 - American Roulette Warner Bros. Records
Produced by John Court and Kenny Vance
1979 - The Global Blues Warner Bros. Records
Produced by Jay Lewis and Danny O'Keefe
1984 - The Day To Day Coldwater Records
Produced by Mathew McCauley and Tony Peluso
Contained the singles "Along for the Ride" and "Someday"
Both singles charted in the "20's" in AC charts
1989 - Redux Beachwood/Chameleon Records
(this is a re-release of The Day To Day with a new title and two new songs)
Contained the singles "Along for the Ride" and "Someday"
Both singles charted on AOR charts in the 20's
VH1 played the video of "Along for the Ride"
2000 - Runnin' From the Devil Miramar
January 25th, 2000
2003 - "Don't Ask" w/Bill Braun
Produced by Bill Braun
All songs written and performed by Danny O'Keefe and Bill Braun
Steel Guitar
Danny O'Keefe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Carole once told me she dreamed she was pretty
And lived in a very cool part of the city
With a man who came home every evening at six
And begged her to play him country licks
On her steel guitar
Show biz tricks on her steel guitar
Her Pa'd been a welder during the war
And he played country music every night till four
With some drugstore cowboys who could pick and grin
And if you let it all out they'd bring it back in
On a steel guitar
They'd go from hell to breakfast on a steel guitar
He taught his daughter to drink whiskey like water
And go for the man who had something to offer
He said to her, Baby, you can go very far
With an easy laugh and a steel guitar
A steel guitar
You don't need a man, you got a steel guitar
Jack was a rambler, he'd been around Nashville
He knew all the tricks and he sure wasn't bashful
When he sas Carole playing steel guitar
He said to her, Mama, we could sure go far
On your steel guitar
We could make it together on your steel guitar
Make a short story longer they had a couple of children
Jack went to war and the enemy killed him
Carole got his pension and a purple heart
And every night till two she tears them apart
With her steel guitar
Says, You don't need a man with a steel guitar
She plays country music and she's paid up her dues
You ought drop in if you got nothing to lose
She can steal a guitar, steal a heart
And they come every night to get torn apart
By a steel guitar
She's got a Sho-Bud Special, it's a steel guitar
Danny O’Keefe’s song “Steel Guitar” is a story about Carole, a woman who dreams of beauty and a cool city life with a husband who would come home every day at six and ask her to play country licks on her steel guitar. Her father, who used to play country music with some drugstore cowboys, taught her how to drink whiskey like water and play steel guitar. He also taught her to go for men who had something to offer and with her easy laugh and her steel guitar, she could go far. Carole meets Jack, a rambler from Nashville, who sees her playing steel guitar and suggests they could make it together. They end up having children, but Jack goes to war and gets killed, leaving Carol with his pension and a purple heart. Every night until 2 AM, Carole plays at a bar with her Sho-Bud Special steel guitar, playing country music and stealing hearts.
The song’s lyrics are metaphorical and imbued with themes of longing, loss, and resilience. O'Keefe uses imagery like “dreamed she was pretty” to highlight Carole’s unfulfilled desires and expectations, “with a man who came home every evening at six and begged her to play him country licks on her steel guitar” to convey her dreams of being appreciated for her talent by a supportive partner. The steel guitar itself serves as a symbol of Carole’s strength and independence, enabling her to survive the loss of her husband and raise her children on her own.
Line by Line Meaning
Carole once told me she dreamed she was pretty
Carole had a dream in which she was beautiful and attractive
And lived in a very cool part of the city
She resided in an exciting area of the town she dreamed of
With a man who came home every evening at six
She had a partner, who returned at a consistent hour every day
And begged her to play him country licks
He pleaded to listen to her play the guitar, listening to the country genre
On her steel guitar
Her instrument of choice was the steel guitar
Show biz tricks on her steel guitar
She had a significant number of talents and techniques when playing country music on her steel guitar
Her Pa'd been a welder during the war
Carole's father served as a welder during the conflict
And he played country music every night till four
He played country music every night until early in the morning
With some drugstore cowboys who could pick and grin
He enjoyed the company of musicians who were skillful at playing guitars and singing country music
And if you let it all out they'd bring it back in
They would always transform the direction of the musical performance
On a steel guitar
They were playing the steel guitar during these performances
They'd go from hell to breakfast on a steel guitar
Playing the steel guitar helped them relax in the night and wake up in the morning
He taught his daughter to drink whiskey like water
Carole was taught how to drink whiskey excessively
And go for the man who had something to offer
She was encouraged to find a partner who could provide something for her
He said to her, Baby, you can go very far
He believed that Carole had a lot of potential to achieve anything
With an easy laugh and a steel guitar
He believed that her charm and talent with the steel guitar were the keys to Carole's success
You don't need a man, you got a steel guitar
Carole's father believed that she didn't require anyone to be with, as long as she played the steel guitar wonderfully
Jack was a rambler, he'd been around Nashville
Jack had a history of wandering around Nashville
He knew all the tricks and he sure wasn't bashful
Jack was aware of everything there is to know and was not shy about it
When he sas Carole playing steel guitar
On seeing Carole playing the steel guitar,
He said to her, Mama, we could sure go far
Jack believed that they could achieve a lot together by using her musical talent on the steel guitar
On your steel guitar
Jack believed that the tandem's success could be attributed to her skillful manipulation of the steel guitar strings
Make a short story longer they had a couple of children
In brief, they had two children during their time together
Jack went to war and the enemy killed him
Sadly, during a period of military service, an enemy ended Jack's life
Carole got his pension and a purple heart
Following Jack's death, Carole was left with his military pension and a Purple Heart
And every night till two she tears them apart
Each night till late, Carole performs and moves her audience by playing the steel guitar
With her steel guitar
The tool that allows her to move audiences is the steel guitar she has a mastery over
Says, You don't need a man with a steel guitar
Through her performances, she gives the message that she doesn't need a partner as the steel guitar is all she needs to move on
She plays country music and she's paid up her dues
She focuses exclusively on playing country music and is duly compensated for her signature sound
You ought drop in if you got nothing to lose
People who don't have a lot to do should come and watch her perform
She can steal a guitar, steal a heart
Carole is capable of stealing a guitar, which makes the audience emotional
And they come every night to get torn apart
She has a reputation for making the audience emotional
By a steel guitar
The steel guitar is the reason behind the audience's potential emotional outburst
She's got a Sho-Bud Special, it's a steel guitar
She owns a particular type of steel guitar with a brand name of Sho-Bud and specializes in playing it
Contributed by Aiden H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Southern Style
on Shooting Star
Southern Style
I appreciate your posting the lyrics to this song, however I don't think the lyrics shown in the second verse were the lyrics penned by O'Keefe. I know every Lyric site shows it as presented here but as this is a song about unrequited love I feel it necessary to try to define the word "Electra"/"Elektra" which, at one point in time, referred to "pre-dawn"; Think sun rays coming over the horizon prior to sunrise. So what you have, in effect, is "morning waiting for Elektra but Elektra is mourning for the NIGHT". There is your unrequited love; Morning loves Elektra but Elektra loves Night.