Reprinted from the liner notes to the Rodd Keith compilation CD, I Died Today (Tzadik)

This music is the result of those “send us your lyrics” come-ons that you’ve probably seen in magazines. Lately there’s been a growing interest in this type of music, now being recognized as a genre wholly unto itself. People from all over the world sent in lyrics and poems about popular topics of the day: astronauts, politicians, love, hippies, dance crazes, exotic locals and revisionist history. These lyrics were then set to music, recorded and pressed into records by companies that offered to “send them around.” For a fee, of course.

Rodd Keith (aka Rod Rogers) wrote music, sang and played keyboards for several of these companies on and off during the ’60s and early ’70s. You may already be familiar with Rodd’s astounding recording “Beat of the Traps.” Thanks to the efforts of Tom Ardolino (drummer for NRBQ), who has been collecting these kinds of records for years, “song-poem” music has finally come to light. Tom’s collections Beat of the Traps and The Makers of Smooth Music (both on Carnage Press) contain some of the most bizarre examples of this type of music ever heard. Over the years Tom tried many times to find out just who Rodd Keith was, but to no avail. Rodd remained an elusive figure.

Rodney Keith Eskelin was my father. He was, however, an elusive figure in my life as well. My parents separated when I was young, and Rodd and I never had a chance to meet before his tragic death in 1974. I began playing saxophone at age ten and as I became serious about it I was told that my father was a great musician. It was said that he could do anything. This had a profound effect on me. I knew a little bit about the kind of work he did, but it wasn’t until recently, when I heard Beat of the Traps, that I realized that this strange music had turned Rodd into a cult hero.