Kelly Joe Phelps (October 5, 1959 – May 31, 2022)[1] was an American musician and songwriter. His music has been characterized as a mixture of delta blues and jazz.[2]
Kelly Joe Phelps grew up in Sumner, Washington, a blue-collar farming town. He learned country and folk songs, as well as drums and piano, from his father. He began playing guitar at age twelve.[3]
Phelps concentrated on free jazz and took his cues from musicians like Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. He spent 10 years playing jazz, mostly as a bass player.[4] He refers to his "conversion" to a blues musician when he began listening to acoustic blues masters like Mississippi Fred McDowell and Robert Pete Williams.[3][5] He initially gained notice for his solo lapstyle slide guitar,[6] which he played by laying the instrument flat and fretting it with a heavy steel bar. Inspired by the birth of his daughter Rachel in 1990, Phelps began writing songs. He began singing and released his critically praised debut, Lead Me On, in 1995.[5]
kelly, phelps, october, 1959, 2022, american, musician, songwriter, music, been, characterized, mixture, delta, blues, jazz, background, informationborn, 1959, october, 1959sumner, washington, diedmay, 2022, 2022, aged, iowa, genresblues, folk, americana, gosp. Kelly Joe Phelps October 5 1959 May 31 2022 1 was an American musician and songwriter His music has been characterized as a mixture of delta blues and jazz 2 Kelly Joe PhelpsBackground informationBorn 1959 10 05 October 5 1959Sumner Washington U S DiedMay 31 2022 2022 05 31 aged 62 Iowa U S GenresBlues folk Americana gospelOccupation s Musician singer songwriterInstrument s Acoustic guitar slide guitarLabelsBurnside Rykodisc Rounder Black HenWebsitewww wbr kellyjoephelps wbr net Contents 1 Career 2 Discography 2 1 With others 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksCareer editKelly Joe Phelps grew up in Sumner Washington a blue collar farming town He learned country and folk songs as well as drums and piano from his father He began playing guitar at age twelve 3 Phelps concentrated on free jazz and took his cues from musicians like Ornette Coleman Miles Davis and John Coltrane He spent 10 years playing jazz mostly as a bass player 4 He refers to his conversion to a blues musician when he began listening to acoustic blues masters like Mississippi Fred McDowell and Robert Pete Williams 3 5 He initially gained notice for his solo lapstyle slide guitar 6 which he played by laying the instrument flat and fretting it with a heavy steel bar Inspired by the birth of his daughter Rachel in 1990 Phelps began writing songs He began singing and released his critically praised debut Lead Me On in 1995 5 In 2005 Phelps released a live album Tap the Red Cane Whirlwind which he followed a year later with the studio album Tunesmith Retrofit In 2009 he released an album of instrumentals titled Western Bell Following that release he began recording and touring with the American singer songwriter Corinne West In January 2013 he announced a hiatus from touring due to ulnar neuropathy in his right hand and arm 7 Phelps is featured in the 2011 book I ll Be Here in the Morning The Songwriting Legacy of Townes Van Zandt In 2017 he was profiled in the UK music blog the Immortal Jukebox 8 Phelps died in Iowa on May 31 2022 9 Discography editLead Me On Burnside 1994 Roll Away the Stone Rykodisc 1997 Shine Eyed Mister Zen Rykodisc 1999 Sky Like a Broken Clock Rykodisc 2001 Beggar s Oil Rykodisc 2002 Slingshot Professionals Rykodisc 2003 Tap the Red Cane Whirlwind Rykodisc True North 2005 Tunesmith Retrofit 2006 Rounder 2005 Western Bell Black Hen 2009 Magnetic Skyline with Corinne West Make 2010 Brother Sinner and the Whale Black Hen 2012 Roll Away the Blues The Very Best of Nascente 2013 With others edit Various Artists Hear the Angels Sing Greetings from Rykodisc Rykodisc Paul Curreri Songs for Devon Sproule City Salvage Zubot and Dawson Chicken Scratch True North Jay Farrar Sebastopol Artemis Rory Block I m Every Woman Rounder Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir Say Yo Business Earthbeat Tim O Brien The Crossing Alula Greg Brown Slant 6 Mind Red House Greg Brown Further In Red House Tony Furtado Roll My Blues Away Rounder Tony Furtado Band Cojema Music Martin Simpson Cool amp Unusual Red House Louise Taylor Ride Signature Bo Ramsey In the Weeds Trailer Townes Van Zandt The Highway Kind Normal See also editList of contemporary blues musicians List of blues musicians List of singer songwritersReferences edit Skelly Richard Biography for Kelly Joe Phelps at AllMusic Retrieved January 2008 Ann Powers The New York Times February 9 2000 a b kjppt1 Peknet com Retrieved 2014 06 14 Towne Crier Interview Townecrier com Archived from the original on 2013 03 15 Retrieved 2014 06 14 a b Russell Tony 1997 The Blues From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray Dubai Carlton Books Limited pp 154 155 ISBN 1 85868 255 X Obama To Mark Anniversary Of Sept 11 New Hampshire Public Radio Nhpr org 2012 09 11 Retrieved 2014 06 14 News KellyJoePhelps Archived from the original on 2016 04 02 Retrieved 2019 07 18 Review ThomHickey 2 March 2017 Retrieved 2017 03 03 Kelly Joe Phelps blues and country musician dies aged 62 The Guardian UK Retrieved June 21 2022 External links editFrench forum Kelly Joe Phelps discography at Discogs Kelly Joe Phelps at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kelly Joe Phelps amp oldid 1210708823, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
