Ron Keel
Encyclopedia
Ron Keel is a Heavy metal
vocalist and guitarist
for a number of bands from the 1980s to the modern day, including the glam metal
band Keel
.
-based band known as Lust. He came to Los Angeles with his band Steeler
, which later on featured Yngwie Malmsteen, Rik Fox
and Mark Edwards. Steeler became one of many of L.A.'s '80's rock acts who could not withstand the test of time. Malmsteen was the first to leave, opting to play with the band Alcatrazz
(featuring Graham Bonnet
) before achieving success with his own band. However, Steeler was able to record one self-titled album, released in 1984 on Shrapnel Records
. At one point, Steeler had the highest selling independent record of all-time for Shrapnel.
After the demise of Steeler and a failed audition to join Black Sabbath
, Ron formed a new band and simply called it Keel
. The band secured a record deal with Gold Mountain
/ A&M Records
. Keel toured the world and sold 2 million records throughout its duration. KISS
vocalist/bassist Gene Simmons
produced two of Keel's albums: The Right to Rock
and The Final Frontier. The band regrouped in 2008 and are touring to celebrate their 25th anniversary.
After the release of "Larger than Live" Ron formed a group with four women called Fair Game. Two of the songs released by the band were featured on the soundtrack to the movie Bad Channels
. The remaining tracks were left unreleased until recently when Metal Mayhem records finally put out the only album from the project: Beauty and the Beast.
In 1997 he collaborated with Japan's legendary guitarist Akihito Kinoshita, becoming a vocal asset for Kinoshita's heavy metal band Saber Tiger
, at which time "Project One" (what could be seen as a project that fuses "western" techniques with their own whilst in a partially dis-banded state) was recorded and released on the same year with Saber Tiger
. The album was considerably successful, with the release being one of the band's most successful to date.
Outside of Keel, Ron also plays country music
, sometimes performing under the name "Ronnie Lee Keel." In 2000, Ron formed IronHorse, which mixed country with hard rock. He left the band in 2007 to focus on other aspects of his career. He also performed as part of a Brooks & Dunn
tribute band in the Country Superstars Tribute at the Fitz Casino & Hotel
in Las Vegas, Nevada
.
Prior to reforming Keel, Ron formed a band in 2008 called K2 Featuring Ron Keel, which performed many of the songs throughout his career.
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
vocalist and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
for a number of bands from the 1980s to the modern day, including the glam metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
band Keel
Keel (band)
Keel is an American heavy metal band founded in 1984 in Los Angeles, California. They were known for their rock anthem "The Right to Rock." The band was active until 1989, with a brief reunion in 1998. Keel reunited in 2008 and is currently touring for their 25th anniversary.-History:Keel was...
.
Biography
Ron Keel started his music career with a TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
-based band known as Lust. He came to Los Angeles with his band Steeler
Steeler
Steeler was an early 1980s American heavy metal band from Nashville. Band members included: Ron Keel on vocals and guitar, Michael Dunigan on lead guitar, Bobby Eva on drums and Tim Morrison on bass. In 1982, they released the single Cold Day in Hell....
, which later on featured Yngwie Malmsteen, Rik Fox
Rik Fox
Richard Suligowski , better known as Rik Fox, is an American heavy metal bass guitar player. He was mainly active during the 1970s and 1980s both in the New York City and Hollywood Rock and Metal scene.-Early life:...
and Mark Edwards. Steeler became one of many of L.A.'s '80's rock acts who could not withstand the test of time. Malmsteen was the first to leave, opting to play with the band Alcatrazz
Alcatrazz
Alcatrazz is an American heavy metal band formed in 1983 by Graham Bonnet, Jimmy Waldo and Gary Shea.-History:The band's initial line-up consisted of former Rainbow frontman Graham Bonnet, young Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen who had recently left American band Steeler, Gary Shea and Jimmy...
(featuring Graham Bonnet
Graham Bonnet
Graham Bonnet is an English rock vocalist, and songwriter. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist, and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal bands including Rainbow, the Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri.-Early days:Bonnet was born in Skegness in 1947...
) before achieving success with his own band. However, Steeler was able to record one self-titled album, released in 1984 on Shrapnel Records
Shrapnel Records
Shrapnel Records is a guitar-oriented record label started in 1980 by record producer Mike Varney. Guitarist Marty Friedman , one of the label's most successful artists, first appeared on the album Unsung Guitar Heroes II in 1980 with the band Vixen. Vixen would later change their name to Hawaii...
. At one point, Steeler had the highest selling independent record of all-time for Shrapnel.
After the demise of Steeler and a failed audition to join Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, Ron formed a new band and simply called it Keel
Keel (band)
Keel is an American heavy metal band founded in 1984 in Los Angeles, California. They were known for their rock anthem "The Right to Rock." The band was active until 1989, with a brief reunion in 1998. Keel reunited in 2008 and is currently touring for their 25th anniversary.-History:Keel was...
. The band secured a record deal with Gold Mountain
Gold Mountain Records
Gold Mountain Records was a record label that was distributed by A&M Records between 1983 and 1985. Since 1985, the distributor has been MCA Records.Gold Mountain Records changed its name in 1989 to Gold Castle Records....
/ A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
. Keel toured the world and sold 2 million records throughout its duration. KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
vocalist/bassist Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
produced two of Keel's albums: The Right to Rock
The Right to Rock
The Right to Rock is the second studio album by heavy metal band Keel. It was the first to be produced by Kiss's Gene Simmons under their new label Gold Mountain Records . When the band started recording the album, drummer Bobby Marks left...
and The Final Frontier. The band regrouped in 2008 and are touring to celebrate their 25th anniversary.
After the release of "Larger than Live" Ron formed a group with four women called Fair Game. Two of the songs released by the band were featured on the soundtrack to the movie Bad Channels
Bad Channels (film)
Bad Channels is a 1992 science-fiction spoof, released by Full Moon Features. It is about two aliens who invade a radio station with the intention of capturing female humans, by using radio broadcasts.The film is followed by Dollman vs...
. The remaining tracks were left unreleased until recently when Metal Mayhem records finally put out the only album from the project: Beauty and the Beast.
In 1997 he collaborated with Japan's legendary guitarist Akihito Kinoshita, becoming a vocal asset for Kinoshita's heavy metal band Saber Tiger
Saber Tiger (band)
Saber Tiger is a heavy metal band formed in Sapporo, Japan. It was founded in 1981 by guitarist Akihito Kinoshita, who is responsible for producing, engineering and composing most of the band's work. Saber Tiger has released nine studio albums, four compilation albums, a live album, two EPs and...
, at which time "Project One" (what could be seen as a project that fuses "western" techniques with their own whilst in a partially dis-banded state) was recorded and released on the same year with Saber Tiger
Saber Tiger (band)
Saber Tiger is a heavy metal band formed in Sapporo, Japan. It was founded in 1981 by guitarist Akihito Kinoshita, who is responsible for producing, engineering and composing most of the band's work. Saber Tiger has released nine studio albums, four compilation albums, a live album, two EPs and...
. The album was considerably successful, with the release being one of the band's most successful to date.
Outside of Keel, Ron also plays country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, sometimes performing under the name "Ronnie Lee Keel." In 2000, Ron formed IronHorse, which mixed country with hard rock. He left the band in 2007 to focus on other aspects of his career. He also performed as part of a Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn was an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, who were both vocalists and songwriters. They were paired by record producer Tim DuBois in 1990. Before the duo's foundation, both members of the duo were solo recording artists...
tribute band in the Country Superstars Tribute at the Fitz Casino & Hotel
Fitzgeralds Casino and Hotel Las Vegas
Fitzgeralds Casino and Hotel is a 34-story, 638-room hotel and casino in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, in the United States. It is owned by Barden Nevada, a subsidiary of The Majestic Star Casino, LLC....
in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
.
Prior to reforming Keel, Ron formed a band in 2008 called K2 Featuring Ron Keel, which performed many of the songs throughout his career.
Steeler
- SteelerSteeler (American album)Steeler is an album by the band of the same name. It was largely recorded at Prairie Sun Studios in Cotati, California, about fifty miles north of San Francisco. It was the only album released by the band until a 2005 compilation album released by Ron Keel. After the album was released the band...
(1983) - Metal Generation: The Steeler AnthologyMetal Generation: The Steeler AnthologyMetal Generation: The Steeler Anthology was released by majestic rock records in 2005 as a compilation album of the US heavy metal band Steeler. The album was co-produced by a former band member, Ron Keel, as he believed there was a public desire for such an album...
(2005)
Keel
- Lay Down the LawLay Down the Law (Keel album)Lay Down the Law is the debut album by the band Keel. It was the only album to feature original drummer Bobby Marks. Also, both "Speed Demon" and the Rolling Stones cover "Let's Spend the Night Together" were re-recorded for their next album The Right to Rock, although the version of Let's Spend...
(1984) - The Right to RockThe Right to RockThe Right to Rock is the second studio album by heavy metal band Keel. It was the first to be produced by Kiss's Gene Simmons under their new label Gold Mountain Records . When the band started recording the album, drummer Bobby Marks left...
(1985) - The Final Frontier (1986)
- KeelKeel (album)Keel is the fourth album by the glam metal band Keel, released on June 21, 1987. This was the last album to feature guitarists Marc Ferrari and Brian Jay, as they left the band a year later...
(1987) - Larger Than LiveLarger Than LiveLarger Than Live is the fifth album by heavy metal band Keel. It consists of six new studio tracks and six of the band's previous songs recorded live at The Roxy in West Hollywood, CA...
(1989) - Keel VI: Back in ActionKeel VI: Back in ActionKeel VI: Back in Action is the sixth album by heavy metal band Keel and the first to feature the classic lineup since their self-titled 1987 album...
(1998) - Streets of Rock & RollStreets of Rock & RollStreets of Rock & Roll is a studio album by heavy metal band Keel, released in 2010. It marks the band's first studio recording since their 2008 reunion and is the first to feature new bassist Geno Arce.-Track listing:#Streets of Rock & Roll - 4:46...
(2010)
Solo projects
- Alone at Last (2006)
- The Ultimate Collection (2007)
- The Ultimate Video Collection (DVD, 2007)
- Lick It Up: A Millennium Tribute to Kiss (2008)
- "Lick It UpLick It Up (song)"Lick It Up" is a glam metal song by the American hard rock band Kiss. It is the title track on their 1983 album of the same name.Written by guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley and guitarist Vinnie Vincent, the song was released as the first single from the album in 1983.A video was made to promote the...
" (with Richard Kendrick)
- "Lick It Up