Bob Keane was born "Robert Kuhn" on January 5th 1922 in California. His parents were Benjamin Walker Kuhn and Gladys Cobb.

Bob Keane was a clarinet player, and showed interest in dance music and he fronted his own band. He later discovered, recorded and produced the music of the legendary musician Ritchie Valens. In 1958, he had a minor hit with Ritchie Valens' "Come On, Let's Go" and "La Bamba" which reached #22 in the charts. Not long after, "Oh Donna" which was written for Valens' girlfriend, reached #2 in the charts. After Ritchie Valens' death, "La Bamba" rose to #1 in 1987 after the band Los Lobos covered it.

Bob Keane had started several labels of his own later for other artists, but is remembered mainly for producing records for Ritchie Valens and Frank Zappa.