The Keeper of the Stars

"The Keeper of the Stars" is a song written by Dickey Lee, Danny Mayo and Karen Staley, and recorded by American country music artist Tracy Byrd. It was released in February 1995 as the fourth and last single from his album No Ordinary Man, it went on to reach a peak of #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, behind "I Can Love You Like That" by John Michael Montgomery. A year after its release, it was named Song of the Year by the Academy of Country Music.[3]

"The Keeper of the Stars"
Single by Tracy Byrd
from the album No Ordinary Man
B-side"Pink Flamingos"[1]
ReleasedFebruary 2, 1995[2]
GenreCountry
Length4:06 (album version) 4:17 (radio version)
LabelMCA
Songwriter(s)Dickey Lee
Danny Mayo
Karen Staley
Producer(s)Jerry Crutchfield
Tracy Byrd singles chronology
"The First Step"
(1994)		 "The Keeper of the Stars"
(1995)		 "Walking to Jerusalem"
(1995)

Content

The song is a ballad in which the singer addresses his lover, telling her that a third party must have been responsible for bringing them together. Specifically, that third party is defined as being "the keeper of the stars" (i.e., God).

Re-recordings

A different recording of the song, one semitone lower than the album version, was released as the radio edit. This re-recording was made because Byrd felt that he sang it better in a lower key, and sang it as such while performing in concert.[4] The radio edit was also used in the song's music video, which was directed by Michael Merriman, and premiered in early 1995.

Byrd re-recorded the song again in 2001 for his album Ten Rounds, and that particular re-recording was reprised on his 2005 Greatest Hits package.

Chart performance

Initially, Byrd's label (MCA Records) had not planned for "The Keeper of the Stars" to be a single, until his publicist realized that the song had been receiving positive feedback for it in concert.[4] The fourth single from Byrd's No Ordinary Man album, "The Keeper of the Stars" spent twenty weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, reaching a peak position of number two.

Chart (1995) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[5] 5
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 68
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[7] 2

Year-end charts
Chart (1995) Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[8] 98
US Country Songs (Billboard)[9] 53

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  2. AOL Music profile for "Keeper of the Stars"
  3. "ACMs - Previous Winners - Song of the Year". About.com. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  4. Brian Mansfield (April 1995). "City Lights: Byrd's Latest 'Keeper'". New Country. 2 (5): 16. ISSN 1074-536X.
  5. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 8999." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. May 15, 1995. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  6. "Tracy Byrd Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  7. "Tracy Byrd Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  8. "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1995". RPM. December 18, 1995. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  9. "Best of 1995: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1995. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
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