“Country Drive” Podcast Welcomes Legendary Industry Veteran and Founder of Dreamland Entertainment, Keith Stegall
Last week, multiple Grammy, CMA, and ACM award-winning producer, Keith Stegall, was invited to be a guest on Nashville’s newest podcast, Country Drive. In the intimate interview, Keith discussed his extensive career in the music industry, working with legendary artists such as Randy Travis, Alan Jackson, and founding the esteemed Dreamlined Entertainment Group. As a songwriter and artist himself before transitioning to record production, Stegall has a deep knowledge of the Nashville music scene and is able to guide rising artists on their career trajectory.
“As a record producer, songwriter, artist, and music executive, Keith Stegall has been responsible for so much of the soundtrack to my life,” exclaims Country Drive host and creator, Taylor Swaid. “It was a true honor to have him on the podcast.”
Dreamlined Entertainment Group develops songwriters and artists both creatively and professionally. On shaping artists, Stegall elaborates, “I’m always thinking, what does this artist need from me? I think it’s just about being a good human and listening to people.”
The group currently mentors blossoming artists including Makayla Lynn, Bradley Gaskin, and The Haygoods, among others. Stegall’s dream is to expand Dreamlined’s presence through investigating additional business opportunities such as starting another company.
During the interview, Stegall spoke about his early work with Alan Jackson, his quick 10-year rise to stardom, and the significance of his hit song Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) which he wrote after the 9/11 tragedy. Stegall believes he is one of the luckiest people in the world to have been part of Alan’s career and seeing how it developed over time.
Stegall also had the opportunity to speak on what makes someone successful in the music industry. He thinks that aspiring professionals should dedicate themselves 100% to their passions, focus on just one thing, and this alone will change their lives. He also recommends musicians be adaptable in the ever-changing industry, especially since creatives now face the challenges of surviving on royalties from streaming services. While musicians used to be able to make it on album cuts, they now have to compete in a space where music is nearly unlimited and readily accessible at a fraction of original price. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence continues to develop. Keith talks about the origins of AI in ProTools, and how the technology might become a strong asset to songwriters if they choose to embrace and learn more about it.
To listen to Stegall’s full interview with Country Drive, CLICK HERE!
About Keith Stegall
For multiple Grammy, CMA, ACM Award-winning producer Keith Stegall, music has always been his life, strongly influenced by his dad, 1950s Abbott Records recording artist, Bob Stegall. The elder Stegall also played steel guitar for the legendary country singer Johnny Horton.
Born in the central Texas town of Wichita Falls and raised in Shreveport (the home of the Louisiana Hayride, a stage his father often graced) the Stegalls were constantly playing and writing songs on guitars and the piano. It was by chance he met another famous Texan, Kris Kristofferson, who inspired Keith to move to Music City. “Show me what you’ve got!” Kris told Keith backstage at a Kristofferson show. Keith played a couple songs, which prompted Kristofferson to remark, “Son, you need to get your ass to Nashville and hang out with other writers. They will break you down and make you the best you can be.”
Keith took the advice to heart and three months after his arrival in 1978, Keith co-wrote his first hit, Dr. Hooks’ 1980 smash Sexy Eyes. Soon after, Helen Reddy, The Commodores, Johnny Mathis, and many others rushed to record Keith’s songs. Most notable was Al Jarreau’s career hit We’re In This Love Together. Eventually Keith signed a record deal with Capitol Records and later Epic Records. He released a pair of albums in the early 1980s with minor chart success. “Because I grew up in the studio,” Keith recalls, “the mistake I made was that they told me to produce myself.” The upside, he says, was he learned how to produce other artists by producing himself.
In the midst of trying to get his own artist career off the ground, a struggling nightclub singer named Randy Ray asked Keith to produce an independent album to sell at his local gigs. The project led to Keith producing the standout songs On The Other Hand and Reasons I Cheat on the singer’s epochal debut, “Storms of Life,” under the singer’s new moniker… Randy Travis.
The success of “Storms of Life” convinced Keith that a life behind the scenes was more suited for him. “I wasn’t able to accomplish what I wanted to do until I became a producer,” Keith says. “When I did, I told myself, ‘this is where I belong.’”
Meanwhile, a friend and songwriting partner asked Keith to produce a tape to play for record companies in hopes of getting a record deal. That friend, Alan Jackson, would go on to sell over 50 million records and have 35 number one hits with Keith in the producer’s chair. Keith continued collaborating with Jackson, co-writing such hits as Don’t Rock The Jukebox and Dallas.
In 1992, Keith received an offer to head Mercury Nashville’s A&R department and a chance to release another album as an artist. “I thought, ‘this is not my gig,’ I’ve spent half my life fighting with record labels,” recalled Keith. “Alan (Jackson) himself had told me, ‘Half the reason I wanted to work with you is that you are an artist and you understand.” So reminiscent of Chet Atkins years earlier at RCA, Keith became an artist and executive at Mercury Records. His subsequent 1996 Mercury debut “Passages” was critically acclaimed.
In 1997, Keith teamed up with legendary songwriter Dan Hill (Sometimes When We Touch). The collaboration quickly yielded two number one records: Sammy Kershaw’s Love Of My Life and Mark Wills’ I Do (Cherish You). Shortly after Wills recorded I Do, the platinum selling pop act 98 Degrees heard the song and included it on their sophomore album “98 Degrees And Rising,” as well as on the soundtrack to the 1999 Julia Roberts film “Notting Hill.” The song became one of the group’s biggest hits reaching the top 5 in the CHR and AC charts.
The year 1999 saw Stegall working with country music legend George Jones. The album, “Cold Hard Truth” went Gold and included the Grammy Award-winning track, Choices. Three more albums with Jones followed including an album featuring another country music legend, Merle Haggard.
In late 2006, Keith was invited to a show by an unsigned band out of Georgia called the Zac Brown Band. According to Stegall, “Zac had been passed around Nashville a little bit. He had been Nashville’d to death.” Just as he’d been for Alan Jackson, Stegall was the absolutely ideal producer and mentor for the Zac Brown Band. Seemingly countering all the 2008 Music Row rules and conventional wisdom, the first nine singles went to No. 1 on the country charts. Three platinum albums and millions of single downloads quickly followed. The group’s third album, “Uncaged,” earned Keith and the group a Grammy Award for Country Album of the Year.
In 2015, Stegall launched Dreamlined Entertainment, a company specializing in artist development and record label services. Currently, he is working on a new project with Alan Jackson, as well as up and coming talented artists including William Michael Morgan, Bradley Gaskin, and Makayla Lynn. Keith Stegall has the exact same passion as he always has, and keeps painting outside the lines to bring country fans, radio, and artists some of the greatest music they’ve ever experienced.
Follow Keith Online
keithstegall.com
Keith Stegall – Spotify
Spotify Playlist – Writer/Producer
Keith Stegall – Apple Music
Apple Music Playlist – The Producers
Apple Music Playlist – The Songwriters
Dreamlined Entertainment
Instagram: @Dreamlined_Entertainment
Facebook: DreamlinedEntertainmentGroup
About Dreamlined Entertainment Group
Dreamlined Entertainment, founded by Grammy award-winning producer Keith Stegall, is a Nashville-based production, publishing and record company specializing in songwriter/artist development. Dreamlined Entertainment is an artist-driven firm which caters to talent in a modern and flexible manner. Their focus on making adjustments and tailoring their approach to individuals needs, sets them apart from other production, management and publishing companies.
