Artist Spotlight: Keith Bragg

I am a singer/songwriter living in the mountains of north Georgia in a little town named Blairsville. I am originally from the Charleston, WV area.

My wife, Olivia, and I have been married for over 41years now and have two sons, Caleb and Levi. I had two other sons and a daughter, Millie as well as quite a few grandchildren. The two sons, Keith and Chris, are both deceased.

I wrote and sang primarily country music from the time I was eleven years old up until 1995. From 1984 until 1989 around a dozen of my songs were accepted for publication by three different Nashville area publishers, but none were ever successfully pitched to country artists, though there were several close calls on several of them to artists like Randy Travis, Roger Wittaker, and Glen Campell. Long story.

As a boy, I recorded two of my songs on a nondescript label in the Atlanta Area while part of “The Bragg Brothers,” a foursome made up of my brother, Jerry, my Uncle Kyle and my Dad, Doyle Bragg. The group was a temporary thing as many are, and I was on my own again as an artist at age 16.

I have sung at several shows as a local singer headlined by old-time country artists like Connie Smith, David Houston, Jeanne Pruett, Skeeter Davis and Nat Stuckey. I was not an opening act, but just one of several local performers who sang and played before or between shows. Jeanne Pruett tried to talk me into moving to Nashville to chase the dream, but I was married and had a little boy at the time who needed to eat on a regular basis so all that was for other guys, not me….

In about 1995 or so, I felt moved to write Gospel or Christian songs. I remember I wrote two songs one Sunday afternoon after Church. I now write songs in that genre exclusively, except for patriotic tunes and pro-life songs. I feel at times that it is difficult to separate these genres.

Many have compared my singing with that of Elvis Presley and Marty Robbins. I don’t really hear that myself, but am not going to complain if they want to think so. Those guys were pretty good.

I have sung at quite a few Memorial Day Ceremonies in Blairsville, in Hayesville, NC and in Murphy, NC. I usually do the National Anthem and my original patriotic tunes.
Our area used to have a parody of “Hee Haw” each year and I was Marty Robbins in that doing songs like “El Paso” and “Don’t Worry”. In 2007 I was the singer for “Operation Old Glory” in New Hampshire. That was a celebration of New Hampshire’s placement of an American flag in every classroom in the state. I sang three of my original patriotic songs in that. I sing locally in nursing homes, at funerals, etc. I just sing to help others get through tough times and to inspire patriotism

My heart is in my music. I love the Lord and what He has done for us all. I am an old guy now, but He keeps giving me songs, letting me be able to sing, and He keeps answering my prayers.

If there is any way I can use the talents He gave me to save babies from abortion or to reach someone for Jesus or to help someone feel patriotism stirring in their hearts, I want to do those things before it is too late for me to do so. I don’t feel like I missed a thing by not heading off to Nashville as a 20 year- old. It wasn’t what God wanted.