Keith Gattis, beloved Nashville musician and songwriter, dead at 52

In a town where authenticity is often mentioned without consideration for the credibility of the person making the statement, Johnson City, Texas-native guitarist performer, producer and songwriter Keith Gattis' authentic credibility as a country music artist seemingly always added immeasurable value to the genre when, where and how the genre wanted to receive it.

The musician died on Sunday, April 23, 2023, at 52, after a tractor accident at his Nashville home.

For four decades, Gattis stood out not just as the RCA Records-signed artist whose 1996 single "Little Drops of My Heart" had minor sales chart success. Instead, it's the work taken to achieve that success -- founded in years of playing between Austin and San Antonio, Texas, plus time spent in Los Angeles, plus Nashville, too -- that defined his hard-earned, comprehensive knowledge of the art of country music.

"Gattis himself is a classic example of the singer-songwriter whom the Nashville music establishment just doesn't know quite how to handle," wrote Chet Flippo in 2012, comparing Gattis to Buddy Holly and Willie Nelson as Texans whose fringe existence on Nashville's mainstream eventually impacted all other locales nationwide uniquely inspired by country music's chords and truths.

Nashville arrived as the destination of Gattis' career first. Five years after fronting a band that won a Texas-wide Future Farmers of America (FFA) talent competition when he was 17, in July 1988, he'd graduated college and moved to Music City. Less than a year into relocating, by 1991, he had taken on Sammy Kershaw as a manager, then signed with RCA.

"When I stepped out on the stage, there were 8,000 kids out there in the arena," stated Gattis about his fortune-changing July 1988 gig in an East Nashvillian interview.

"I'll never forget hitting that first chord and hearing it ring through that place. It was the coolest sound I'd ever heard in my life. We started playing and the kids were getting into it -- screaming and going crazy -- it might as well have been the Beatles. That's when I got the bug. It was amazing. I didn't even know such a thing existed. I'd already played bars, but it hadn't been like that."

Gattis' standout work as a composer, guitarist and songwriter proved of greater value to mainstream country music.

Credits in his career after his 1996 solo debut include session work as a composer and guitarist on George Jones' 1998 and 1999 albums "It Don't Get Any Better Than This" and "The Cold Hard Truth," plus Sara Evans' "No Place That Far" -- notable to the latter is Dwight Yoakam's producer and guitarist Pete Anderson's involvement on the project.

By 2000, Gattis had moved to Los Angeles, being called by the inspiration of the Yoakam-inspired Bakersfield-style honky-tonk scene of the city. By 2003, he'd joined the Country Music Hall of Famer as his lead guitarist and bandleader.

"Keith in addition to being a fantastically talented Texas born guitar 'slinger,' singer and songwriter, had as pure a musical soul as anyone I ever met," stated Yoakam via Twitter.

By 2006, his wanderlust led him back to Nashville. The industry's changing tides and maneuverings towards less "red dirt" stylings left him without a record deal and surviving as a touring musician again -- this time for then-emerging stars like Randy Houser.

Gattis' musical pedigree and peerless skill -- plus having a tune like his 2004-penned and released "El Cerrito Place" in his back pocket, keyed success for the rest of his Nashville years.

About the tune, Flippo adds, "["El Cerrito Place"] connects Gattis, Robison and Chesney and Nashville and Texas and Southern California. Just listen to it sung. It will hypnotize you. A song without a singer just lies there on the page. And a singer without a song is just an idiot. But put the two together and you sometimes get magic."

Kenny Chesney cutting the tune, plus "I'm a Small Town" for his 2012-released, platinum-selling 14th studio album "Welcome To The Fishbowl" led to artists, including fellow Texan George Strait recording his songs "I Got a Car," "Let It Go" and "Goin' Goin' Gone" on his albums "Love Is Everything" and "Cold Beer Conversation."

At that point, a veritable who's who of artists seeking Bakersfield-style or pure Texas authenticity or Texas favorites themselves -- including Wade Bowen, Brandy Clark, Jack Ingram, Joe Nichols, Jon Pardi, Kid Rock, Randy Rogers, Sunny Sweeney and Randy Travis -- all sought his work.

Country artist Kendell Marvel recalled meeting Gattis in 2008 and counted the decade they spent together as collaborators as intrinsic in the artistic development that led both to his 2017 debut album "Lowdown and Lonesome" and also his Honky Tonk Experience residency that has featured the likes of Houser, Cody Jinks, Jamey Johnson, Alison Krauss, Ashley McBryde, Brothers Osborne, Chris Shiflett of the Foo Fighters and more.

Gattis is survived by his wife, Penny -- an executive at Nashville's Eclipse Music Group -- and their daughters, Delaney and McKenzie. A GoFundMe account has been established in Gattis' memory and to support his family during this tragic time.

More information can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/provide-support-to-keith-gattis-family.

Gattis' life in music is perhaps best summarized by an interview quote.

"I got lucky and had a little success. It got me enough money to pay off debts, get square with the tax man [and] put a down payment on my house. I thought I was going to be a star, but I never really wanted that. I wanted a great career so I could play music for the rest of my life, and that's what I've ended up with."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Keith Gattis, beloved Nashville musician and songwriter, dead at 52