Keith Green

• October 21, 1953 - Keith Gordon Green was born in Brooklyn, New York. His family on the east coast was Jewish. His family on the west coast followed Christian Science.

• c1956 - He started playing the ukulele at the age of 3.

• c1961 - At the age of 8 he was performing live at The Troubadour in Los Angeles

• c1964 - He co-wrote, with Gary Usher, his first song, The Way I Used To Be. As a result he was the youngest member of the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)

• 1965 - He appeared in Joan Crawford's movie, Della.

• March 11, 1966 - Keith was mentioned in Time Magazine. He also appeared in fanzines such as Teen Scene.

• Colonel Parker, Elvis Presley's manager, called the family offering help.

• Keith's fame faded, eclipsed by other teenage stars such as Donny Osmond.

• He began dabbling with drugs and mysticism, astrology, tarot cards, etc.. He was seeking spiritually.

• He joined a chapter of the Rosicrucians but soon left that behind.

• 1972 - went to the World Family Gathering.

• June 1972 - He found it hard to find any spiritual satisfaction, describing himself as a "seeker" but aware of his sin and selfishness.

• 1973 - He wrote of welcoming Jesus into himself. But he had trouble with the divinity of Jesus (consistent with his Jewish and Christian Science background).

• 1973 - he met Melody who had also been seeking in New Age Mysticism, Buddhism, etc. . They had a whirlwind romance, continuing to seek spiritually. As they became serious about their faith and finding a Christian community, they stopped having sex, before deciding to get married at the Little Brown Church, Beverley Hills.

• Playing music he began meeting other musicians who were involved in the Jesus People Movement: Randy Stonehill, Larry Norman, Chuck Girard, The Second Chapter of Acts...

• Keith and Melody worked as song writers for CBS Records.

• He wrote of his discontent in not being able to find Christians who were not too worldly or too doctrinally insulated. He couldn't find confused Christians like himself. He regretted the laxity of many Christians.

• Chuck Girard invited Keith to a Bible study in Beverley Hills led by Ken Gulliksen. Here he and Melody came to a deeper understanding of their faith. Ken Gulliksen was also working with Larry Norman, Lonnie Frisbee, and Bob Dylan.

• 1975 - Through Ken Gulliksen, Keith met Richard G. Lowe. At this point Keith and Melody became committed Evangelical Christians.

• 1976 - Keith was invited to meet Clive Davis, head of Columbia Records, but he was turned down. He decided that he wanted to make Christian music. He signed with Sparrow Records, that had been founded by Billy Ray Hearn. 

• 1977 - Keith Green released his first album, For Him Who Has Ears To Hear, selling over 300,000 copies in the first year. Keith became a household name within Christian music. He travelled and combined his music with passionate evangelism, which some see as lacking grace, focusing on the commands.

• Keith and Melody had an open home, welcoming many people to stay with them and buying and renting properties. At one point they had 70 people living with them.

• He sought out mentors such as Leonard Ravenhill, David Wilkerson, and Winkie Pratney. A common theme for them was apocalypticism.

• 1978 - Keith & Melody started Last Days Ministries.

• 1978 - Keith released his second album, No Compromise, reflecting Keith's focus on true Christians and the need for no compromise with the culture.

• September 18, 1978 - their first child, Josiah David was born.

• 1978 - Keith performed at the Jesus North West Festival. His preaching was somewhat combative, influenced by Charles Finney and reflecting a desire for revival.

• 1979 - the Green family moved to Texas.

• 1980 - Keith ended his contract with Sparrow Records. His next album, So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt, he decided to distribute himself. He did not charge for his concerts and wanted others to do the same.

• 1980 - they have their second child, Bethany Grace.

• Keith started to get involved in ministry. He wanted to use his fame and money for the Kingdom of God. He got involved with Mercy Ships, YWAM.

• In Texas, he bought land to use for ministry. He built an air strip for use by ministries.

• 1982 - He might also have been adopting a softer, more grace-filled style of preaching.

• 1982 - Keith released Songs For The Shepherd.

• 1982 - Melody gave birth to Rebekah Joy. Soon Melody was pregnant again.

• July 28, 1982 - Keith, plus two of his children, another family of six, and the pilot, died in an aeroplane crash.

After Keith Green's Death

• About February 1983 - Melody gave birth to Rachel.

• Various tribute albums were produced.

• Keith was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame.