Keith Gattis Was a Texas Songwriting Legend. A New Duo Honor His Legacy

Keith Gattis made a quick impression on Low Gap. Now, the Ohio band wants to remind the world of the impact that Gattis had on country music, more than a year after the songwriter’s passing.

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On Friday, Low Gap, led by brothers Gus and Phin Johnson, dropped the new single “Waves,” which was co-written with Gattis shortly before his death in April 2023.

Lyrically, “Waves” is a song in which the singer laments being in love with a person less sure of what they want. The chorus — which lends the tune its title — ends with a vintage-Gattis turn of phrase: “That girl comes around in waves.”

“For an hour and a half, Phin and I witnessed what could only be described as brilliance ensue across the table,” Gus Johnson says about writing the song. “To be honest, Keith wrote most of this song, and we watched him work.

“About a month after we met Keith, we were given the devastating news of his passing. We realized it was our responsibility to ensure this song was nothing short of the perfection we witnessed in that small publishing office in Nashville. We set out to find a team to help us release this song who knew Keith personally. We wanted to capture the Keith Gattis sound that helped define an entire corner of country music.”

The brothers asked Adam Odor to produce the song. Odor is a longtime friend of Gattis’s, and the two co-produced several prominent Texas-music albums, including Cory Morrow’s 2005 record Nothing Left to Hide . “Waves” was recorded at Odor’s Yellow Dog Studios in San Marcos, Texas.

Odor brought on Kevin Szymanski — who also worked on Nothing Left to Hide with Odor and Gattis — to oversee the mix. Szymanski engineered Gattis’s 2002 album Big City Blues , which has proven to be the late songwriter’s primary recording legacy.

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“I wanted to keep it all in the Gattis family,” Odor says of bringing Szymanski on board.

Gattis had his songs recorded by Kenny Chesney and George Strait. He produced Randy Hauser’s album Magnolia as well as high-profile records by Wade Bowen and Micky and the Motorcars. He had a fan in Charlie Robison, who covered several Gattis songs — including five off of Big City Blues —throughout his career. (Just shy of five months after Gattis’s death, Robison died in September.)

“Waves” marks the second high-profile release of a Gattis song this week. Koe Wetzel included a cover of Gattis’s “Reconsider” on his 9 Lives album, which also drops on Friday.

Low Gap members are aware the market for Gattis tributes is hot right now, but they hope sharing an unreleased co-write casts more light on his body of work.

“I hope those who knew Keith better than I are proud of this,” Gus Johnson says. “I especially hope his wonderful family is proud of this song. And I hope this song will push new people to discover the music of the man who quietly was one of the most influential men in the history of Texas country music.”

Josh Crutchmer is a journalist and author whose third book, Red Dirt Unplugged , is set for release on December 13, 2024, via Back Lounge Publishing, and available for pre-order.

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