Name
Jeffrey "Smokey " McKeen
Files
Biography
Jeff McKeen grew up in a musical household, singing both at home and in church. He learned to play guitar as a young man, at first playing pop and rock music and later turning towards folk and traditional. In college he learned to play banjo and mandolin, also adding fiddle and accordion to his repertoire later. He co-founded the musical group Old Grey Goose in 1977 and has toured with them around the United States and the world. In addition to being a musician, McKeen has worked as a folklorist for numerous cultural organizations in Maine and the Canadian Maritimes, doing research, producing folk festivals and radio documentaries, and collecting traditional songs and dances. In 2002, he was appointed to the Maine Arts Commission and served a three year term. When he is not engaged in performing or collecting traditional music, he is co-owner and operator of an oyster farm.
Keywords
banjo, mandolin, fiddle, accordion, Old Grey Goose, Maine, Maine Arts Commission, Canadian Maritimes, “Raatikko”, “Krakoviak”, “Jag har en vän” (“I Have a Friend”), “The Spring of ‘65”, “Bye-Bye Longjohns”, “The Little Mohea”
Disciplines
Ethnomusicology | Folklore | Oral History
Recommended Citation
McKeen, Jeffrey "Smokey", "Jeffrey "Smokey " McKeen" (2012). Maine Song and Story Sampler Collectors. 12.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/songstorysamplercollectors/12
Works Collected
“Raatikko” by Walfred Hamari, “Krakoviak” by John Supruniuk, “Jag har en vän” (“I Have a Friend”) by Chester Ringdahl, “The Spring of ‘65” by Eddie Rollins, “Bye-Bye Longjohns” by Jim Cahill and Dot Ruppell, “The Little Mohea” by Harvey Gurney.