Keith & Tex

Born in the Rocksteady era, Keith Rowe and Phillip Texas Dixon made their mark with a slew of hits and classics that have lasted more than half a century. From their haunting delivery of “Hypnotic Eyes” to the iconic guitar intro and solo by the late Lynn Taitt on “Stop That Train”, you are treated to a unique style that’s still alive and kicking after five decades. Since the late sixties, many of their songs have enjoyed great success and continue to be played and sung by a new generation of Rocksteady lovers. This duo has a style that still seems surprisingly engaging and refreshingly innocent. Performing as Keith and Tex, this singing duo hit it big in Jamaica in 1966 with their rocksteady anthems, “Tonight” and “Stop That Train”. Rocksteady, a style of Jamaican music popular for a brief period from 1966 to 1970, was the stylistic bridge between ska and reggae, drawing heavily from American R&B (rhythm and blues) and soul music. Rowe and Dixon parted ways in 1970. Keith moved with his family to the United States and served in the U.S. Army for more than 20 years. Tex and his family relocated to Canada and had a career with the Canadian government. They reconnected in 1997 to record an album appropriately titled, Back Together Again, that was only distributed in local record stores. Since 2013, they have been discovering new, young audiences, in the United States and around the world who are reverent of early Jamaican music.

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