Not only has she been nominated for five Grammy® Awards, one Emmy®, and won three Doves, but singer, songwriter, recording artist, author, and actress Bonnie Keen is one of the most-loved talents in Nashville. One-third of the classic CCM trio First Call with Marty McCall and Melody Tunney, Bonnie began her Christian music career when her neighbor, Mike Blanton, asked her to sing backing vocals for a young artist she’d never heard of named Amy Grant. It was on those first tours with Amy that Bonnie’s own heart for expressing her devotion to Christ was discovered, starting her down the path of becoming one of CCM’s leading vocalists and performers, including fourteen studio recordings with First Call alone.
Bonnie has performed on stages throughout the world including The Grammy Awards, Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, and on tours with First Call, Amy Grant, Sandi Patty, and BeBe and CeCe Winans to name but a few. She performs with the Nashville Shakespeare Theatre and travels with Windborne Music’s “Tribute to the Music of Michael Jackson” performing most recently with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. Theatrical highlights include the roles of Stephanie “To Kill A Mockingbird, The Witch “Into The Woods” Grace in “Cinderella” with the Nashville Symphony, Petie Quince (The Nashville Shakespeare Festival), Tiny “Comedy of Errors”, Maud/Pinky in “Pride’s Crossing” (Lipscomb University), Mama Legend “Scarecrows” (Playhouse Nashville), Mrs. Whitehead in “Man and Superman” and Gingy in “Love, Loss and What I Wore”.
She has recorded three solo projects and authored three books with Harvest House Publishers. Her story graced the covers of Today’s Christian Woman and Virtue magazine. Bonnie’s vocals can be heard on commercials for Pepsi, Dodge Trucks, Fritos, Wrigleys Gum and Coke, work with Garth Brooks, Steve Winwood, Barry Manilow and Michael Crawford. Bonnie is currently touring her two-woman musical co-written and performed with Nan Gurley called Women Who Dared to Believe. When she’s not on the road she performs with an Eagles revival band called The Eaglemaniacs and with Tim Akers and The Smoking Section, an R&B revival band in the Nashville area comprised of some of Nashville’s finest musicians and singers.
In this conversation with John Chisum, Bonnie reveals her deep heart for truth, for a return to the real Gospel, and some of her writing inspirations. She shares some “Keen insights” on songwriting and encourages younger generations to find their own voice and make their contribution to Gospel music and the Kingdom of God as only they can. Anyone wanting more insight into this amazing artist will find it here, as well as aspiring songwriters seeking direction and keys for powerful productivity.
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