RIP Ben Keith, 73

[urth]

Neil Young's longtime collaborator died of undisclosed causes.

http://www.nodepression.com/profiles/blogs/rip-ben-keith

Here's a somewhat more fleshed out obit:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/17386/185381

[Wayback]

Neil Young's longtime collaborator died of undisclosed causes.
http://www.nodepression.com/profiles/blogs/rip-ben-keith

Ben Keith was the long-time steel-guitar player for Neil Young dating back to the ‘Harvest’ days. In recent years, Ben was producing a second volume of ‘Last Man Standing’ for Jerry Lee Lewis.  His credits over the years include work with Ringo Starr, Linda Ronstadt, Todd Rundgren, Warren Zevon and J.J. Cale.  He was the producer of the first Jewel album ‘Pieces of You’. The record featured Neil Young band members Spooner Oldham and Tim Drummond. The album sold over 5 million in the USA.  Ben started out in Nashville in the late fifties and played on Patsy Cline’s ‘I Fall To Pieces’.  Neil Young first discovered Ben when they both appeared on The Johnny Cash Show. Neil recruited Ben right there and the two first worked on the now classic ‘Harvest’ album. RIP.

[RGMike]

I have a lovely Xmas album he did back in the early '90s that Neil guested on.