The Keeper of the Stars

Infobox Single
Name = The Keeper of the Stars


Cover size =
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Caption =
Artist = Tracy Byrd
Album = No Ordinary Man
Released = 1995
Format = Single
Recorded =
Genre = Country
Length = 4:06
Label = MCA
Writer = Dickey Lee
Danny "Bear" Mayo
Karen Staley
Producer = Jerry Crutchfield
Audio sample? =
Certification =
Last single = "The First Step"
(1994)
This single = "The Keeper of the Stars"
(1995)
Next single = "Walkin' to Jerusalem"
(1995)
Misc =

"The Keeper of the Stars" is the title of a song recorded by American country music artist Tracy Byrd. Released in early 1995 (see 1995 in country music) as the fourth single from his 1994 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. A year after its release, it was named Song of the Year by the Country Music Association. [cite web |url=http://countrymusic.about.com/library/blprevacmsong.htm |title=ACMs - Previous Winners - Song of the Year |accessdate=2008-03-05 |work=About.com] It is also considered one of Byrd's signature songs. [cite web |url=http://www.holmencourier.com/articles/2006/08/11/features/00lead.txt |title=The truth about country singer Tracy Byrd |accessdate=2008-03-03 |last=Erickson |first=Randy |date=2006-08-11 |work=Holmen Courier]

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 he sang it in the lower key while performing in concert.cite journal |author=Brian Mansfield |year=1995 |month=April |title=City Lights: Byrd's Latest 'Keeper' |journal=New Country |volume=2 |issue=5 |pages=16 |issn=1074-536x |accessdate=2008-04-06 ] The radio edit was also used in the song's music video, which aired on the networks CMT and TNN (now Spike TV).

Byrd re-recorded the song again in 2001 for his album "Ten Rounds", and this 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 Byrd's publicist realized that the song had been receiving positive feedback when the singer performed it in concert. 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 #2.

References

External links

* [http://music.yahoo.com/Tracy-Byrd/The-Keeper-Of-The-Stars/lyrics/909289 Song lyrics] at Yahoo! Music