Keith Green

Keith Gordon Green (October 21, 1953 – July 28, 1982) was an American pianist, singer, songwriter and contemporary Christian music recording artist.

Originally from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York, Green is known as a pioneer in the Christian and Jesus Music genre.

His most notable songs are "There Is a Redeemer", which was written by his wife Melody, "Oh Lord You're Beautiful", "I Want To Be More Like Jesus", "To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice", and "(Until) Your Love Broke Through".

Green was born in Sheepshead Bay, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.

In 1957, his family moved to Canoga Park, Los Angeles, where he grew up.

Green's parents were Jewish and eventually became Christian Scientists.

The family had a history of musical performance, with Green's father, Harvey, working in the music production industry in Los Angeles.

According to his wife Melody, Green grew up "in an atmosphere of moral purity, free of alcohol and drugs" and said his family's way of life "had a wonderfully preserving effect on Keith during his early years."

Green took to music at a young age, as he "began with the ukulele at three, the guitar at five, and the piano at seven."

His talents were noted by a major newspaper when he was eight, following a performance of Arthur Laurents' The Time of the Cuckoo.

A local review by the Los Angeles Times wrote, "roguish-looking, eight-year-old Keith Green gave a winning portrayal" of "the little Italian street urchin, Mauro"; another review commented that he "stole the show".

The show was Green's first appearance in live theater, which was held in Chatsworth, Los Angeles in September 1962.

According to the LA Times, he had already done a number of television commercials and made a TV pilot.

Green played the role of Kurt von Trapp in The Sound of Music starring Janet Blair in the opening production at the Valley Music Theater, a modern 2865-seat theatre in the round in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles when he was 10.

Green and his father Harvey signed a five-year contract with Decca Records in February 1965, with Harvey as business manager, having written 40 original songs already.

The first song released on disc was "A Go-Go Getter" in May 1965, produced by Gary Usher, which he had composed and published before signing with Decca.

He became the youngest person ever to sign with the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) upon publication of this song at age 11.

Decca Records planned to make Green a teen idol, regularly getting him featured in fan magazines such as Teen Scene and on television shows such as The Jack Benny Program and The Steve Allen Show.

He was a guest on the television game show I've Got a Secret on May 3, 1965.

His secret was "I just signed a five-year contract as a rock-'n'-roll singer."

The segment included a live performance of "We'll Do a Lot of Things Together".

Green had written 10 more songs by the time that he was 12.

Time ran an article about aspiring young rock-'n'-roll singers and referred to him as Decca Records' "prepubescent dreamboat".

The national attention that had been envisioned by Decca Records failed to materialize for Green, however, as Donny Osmond captured the attention of preteens and teenagers, eclipsing Green's newfound stardom; and he was quickly forgotten by the public.

He grew up reading the New Testament and called the mixture of being Jewish and learning about Jesus "an odd combination" that left him open-minded but confused and deeply unsatisfied.

As a teen perceiving his music career had failed, he ran away from home, began smoking marijuana, and used some psychedelics in hopes of finding spiritual truth.

He became interested in eastern mysticism and the "free love" culture.

His five year spiritual quest eventually led him back to the Bible, writing his diary in December 1972, "Jesus, you are hereby officially welcomed into me."

By age 19, Green had stopped using drugs, lost interest in eastern mysticism, and was started seriously looking into the Biblical teachings of Jesus Christ.

In early 1973 he met Melody Steiner, who was also Jewish as well as a songwriter.

Becoming inseparable, the couple married at The Little Brown Church in Studio City, CA on Christmas Day, 1973.

The newlywed couple sought more knowledge of Jesus together when, in March 1975, they visited a home bible-study in Brentwood, California called "Vineyard Christian Fellowship".

Led by Vineyard founder Kenn Gulliksen, the Greens later said it was during the study that they felt the presence of God through the teaching and guitar led worship.

Hearing the Gospel for the first time and learning about the Jesus as a Jewish rabbi, Green and his wife became born-again followers of Christ.

In 1975, the Greens, new believers in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, began taking people who needed help into their small home in the suburbs of Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley.

Both were staff songwriters for CBS Records in Hollywood and used their income to support all who came.

Early on, their close friend and Christian recording artist, Randy Stonehill, who was struggling at the time, stayed for a while.

Their home was later dubbed "The Greenhouse" – a place where people grow.

The Greens continued to open their home but mostly to strangers in need.

They eventually ran out of space and, purchasing the home next door to their own and renting an additional five in the same neighborhood, they provided a safe environment of Bible studies and practical discipleship to young and old alike.