Kelly Joe Phelps | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1959-10-05)October 5, 1959 Sumner, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | May 31, 2022(2022-05-31) (aged 62) Iowa, U.S. |
| Genres | Blues,folk,Americana,gospel |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Acoustic guitar,slide guitar |
| Labels | Burnside,Rykodisc,Rounder, Black Hen |
| Website | www |
Kelly Joe Phelps (October 5, 1959 – May 31, 2022)[1] was an American musician and songwriter. His music has been characterized as a mixture ofdelta blues andjazz.[2]
Kelly Joe Phelps grew up in Sumner, Washington, a blue-collar farming town. He learnedcountry andfolk songs, as well asdrums andpiano, from his father. He began playing guitar at age twelve.[3]
Phelps concentrated onfree jazz and took his cues frommusicians likeOrnette Coleman,Miles Davis, andJohn Coltrane. He spent 10 years playing jazz, mostly as a bass player.[4] He refers to his "conversion" to ablues musician when he began listening to acoustic blues masters likeMississippi Fred McDowell andRobert 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 alive album,Tap the Red Cane Whirlwind, which he followed a year later with the studio albumTunesmith Retrofit. In 2009, he released an album ofinstrumentals titledWestern Bell. Following that release, he began recording and touring with the American singer-songwriterCorinne West. In January 2013, he announced a hiatus from touring due toulnar neuropathy in his right hand and arm.[7]
Phelps is featured in the 2011 bookI'll Be Here in the Morning: The Songwriting Legacy of Townes Van Zandt. In 2017, he was profiled in the UK music blog theImmortal Jukebox.[8]
Phelps died in Iowa on May 31, 2022.[9]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
