Instruments Vocals, guitar Years active 1979–present | Name Jim Keller Role Engineer | |
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Genres blues, pop, alternative rock Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician Labels Elisha James Music, Orange Mountain Music Associated acts Tommy Tutone, Jim Keller Band | ||
The Jim Keller Interview
Jim Keller is a musician who was one of the founders, the lead guitarist, and supporting vocalist for the American rock band Tommy Tutone based in San Francisco, CA, and was co-writer of that band's most famous single, 867-5309/Jenny. The song was co-written in the spring of 1981 by Alex Call and Jim Keller. Alex Call came up with the name, number, and chords. He and Jim Keller created the story line. Neither expected that the song would become a hit. In 1982 the song was number 4 on the Billboard charts for 27 weeks. In 2009, the number and an associated business were advertised for sale on Ebay.
Keller stopped performing and recording in 1994. After a ten-year hiatus, he started writing songs and playing again in 2005. He has used Fender Guitars and as of October 2008, was still "Rocking out heavily and writing songs for free." As of 2009, Jim Keller was Director of composer Philip Glass’s company, Dunvagen Music Publishers. He has recorded two albums since he left Tommy Tutone, including Sunshine in my Pocket (2009), which Condran describes as "a solid folkie, bluesy album" and Soul Candy (2011) He is currently touring with the Jim Keller Band.
