Bob Keane

Bob Keane (sometime spelled Keene; born Robert Verrill Kuhn; 5 January 1922 Manhattan Beach, California – 28 November 2009) was an American musician, producer and owner of the record label Del-Fi Records. He was well known for being the producer and manager of Ritchie Valens and Pinoy star Josephine Roberto aka Banig.

Life and career

Early years

Bob Keane was born Robert Verrill Kuhn in Manhattan Beach, California, in 1922. He was a clarinet player, and his ambition was to front a big band like his idol, Benny Goodman. He did so and in 1938 (at age 16), he was setting up to play his first show at Glendale Junior College and was approached by an employee of KFWB, a Los Angeles radio station, who wanted to broadcast the concert on air to replace a canceled scheduled show. The next day Keane received a phone call from an agent at MCA who had heard the broadcast on KFWB, and who wanted to sign Keane to the label. MCA billed him as "The World's Youngest Bandleader".

MCA dropped Keane from the label in 1941 as they felt he was likely to be drafted. Keane decided to enlist in the Army Air Force, and was retired from active service due to a lung infection. He returned to Los Angeles and continued to play clarinet in several bands. In 1950, he was offered a job as a conductor on The Hank McCune Show, a new radio show. After the first episode, the producer approached Bob and told him that he would have to change his name, as the announcer was pronouncing Kuhn as "Coon". A band colleague suggested Keen, after a popular Woody Herman song, "Peachy Keen", to which Bob decided to add an 'e'. Later on in life he changed this to Keane.