Rare Video Surfaces: Young Keith Urban Dazzles Radio Execs With Wicked Guitar Skills
on May 24, 2017 • Updated Feb 16, 2022
Straight from the archives, this long lost treasure shows one of today’s biggest country music superstars in his early years – and boy was he a force to be reckoned with!
Today, Keith Urban is recognized worldwide for his distinctive country sound and seemingly endless number of chart-topping country hits like “The Fighter,” “Somebody Like You,” and “Long Hot Summer” – but way back in 1999, Urban was still somewhat of a fresh face in Nashville.
During the annual Country Radio Seminar nearly two decades ago, 32-year-old Urban was featured at a party being held at Spence Manor’s Webb Pierce Pool. There, he stood with just a guitar in his hands, surrounded by influential folks from across the country music industry and blew them away with his knockout talent!
Playing a mash up of lightning-quick guitar picking and various famous songs and themes, Urban held everyone’s attention as he moved through this one-of-a-kind performance that proved he was a superstar in the making.
In the last half of the performance, Urban dropped jaws with an acoustic performance of his original song, “Shelby County Jail.” The song, which he’s never officially released, was written alongside one of his earliest writing partners, Vernon Rust, and he’s played it at various concerts throughout his career.
Just the very next year following this unbelievable performance, Urban would go on to find incredible success on the country charts with his very first No. 1 hit, “But for the Grace of God,” a hit that was quickly followed by a consecutive series of 10 singles that charted in the top three spots over the course of five years.
Watch this almost never-before-seen video of Keith Urban below!
