Joe Maphis
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Otis Wilson "Joe" Maphis (May 12, 1921 – June 27, 1986), was an American
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
guitarist. He married singer Rose Lee Maphis in 1953 and they performed together, later referred to as "Mr & Mrs Country Music". One of the flashiest country guitarists of the 1950s and 1960s, Joe Maphis was known as "The King of the Strings". He was able to play many stringed instruments with great facility. However, he specialized in dazzling guitar virtuosity.


Biography


Early life

Maphis was born in Suffolk, Virginia, United States. His family moved to
Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,076. Located on the Potomac River, ...
, in 1926 when his father Robert Maphis landed a job with the B&O Railroad. Joe Maphis's first band was called the Maryland Rail Splitters. He also played in the local (Cumberland) Foggy Mountain Boys as well as The Sonnateers before Maphis hit the road in 1939. He played across Virginia until he became a regular featured performer on the "Old Dominion Barn Dance," broadcast live on radio WRVA-AM and aired in 38 states. In 1944, Maphis went into the U.S. Army. His musical skills landed him a gig entertaining the troops around the world. Maphis was discharged from the Army in 1946. On his return to the states, he began playing on WLS radio in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
. In the late 1940s he returned to Richmond, Virginia and the Old Dominion Barn Dance until the early 1950s. During this period Maphis met many country music stars of the day who played the same circuit, including Merle Travis. While in Virginia, he also met the musically talented Rose Lee (Doris) Schetrompf, his future wife. Maphis and Schetrompf, of
Clear Spring, Maryland Clear Spring is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 358 at the 2010 census. History The Joseph Fiery House, Wilson School, Rufus Wilson Complex, and Plumb Grove are listed on the National Register of His ...
, were married in 1953. A talented vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Rose performed with Joe onstage throughout the remainder of his career.


Recording career

Maphis' recording career took off in 1951 when he was invited to Los Angeles by Merle Travis and country music entertainer
Johnny Bond Cyrus Whitfield Bond (June 1, 1915 – June 12, 1978), known professionally as Johnny Bond, was an American country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and composer and publisher, who co-founded a music publishing firm, he was active in the musi ...
. He made two LPs with Travis, recorded for countless country and pop stars and worked on many themes for television programs and movie soundtracks. Maphis recorded for Columbia Records and other labels. Later based in Bakersfield, California, he rose to prominence with his own hits such as "
Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music) Dim may refer to: * Dim, a rhinoceros beetle in the 1998 Disney/Pixar animated film ''A Bug's Life'' * ''Dim'' (album), the fourth studio album by Japanese rock band The Gazette * Dim, Amur Oblast, a rural locality in Amur Oblast, Russia * Dim, ...
", as well as playing with acts like
Johnny Burnette John Joseph Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, Johnny and his brother, Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison formed the band that became ...
, Doyle Holly,
The Collins Kids The Collins Kids were an American rockabilly duo featuring Lawrencine "Lorrie" Collins (May 7, 1942 – August 4, 2018) and her younger brother Lawrence "Larry" Collins (born October 4, 1944). Their hits in the 1950s as youngsters, such as "Hop ...
,
Wanda Jackson Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of rock, country and gospel. She was among the first women to have a career in rock and roll, ...
, Rose Maddox and
Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...
. "Dim Lights" has become a honky-tonk standard with numerous artists recording versions of the tune including
Flatt and Scruggs Flatt and Scruggs were an American bluegrass duo. Singer and guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo player Earl Scruggs, both of whom had been members of Bill Monroe's band, the Bluegrass Boys, from 1945 to 1948, formed the duo in 1948. Flatt and Scru ...
, Vern Gosdin, Daryle Singletary and Dwight Yoakam. Maphis was a band member and featured soloist on the ''
Town Hall Party ''Town Hall Party'' was an American country music program, firstly broadcast on radio and then television The first radio broadcast was in Autumn 1951 by stations KXLA-AM in Pasadena, California and KFI-AM in Los Angeles, California The televis ...
'' radio (and later television) program broadcast throughout the 1950s. Emanating from the Los Angeles area, Maphis was a regular on the program which included many recording stars of the day including
Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John, grandsons Jason and ...
, Johnny Cash, Gene Autry,
Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although ...
and the Texas Playboys and many others. "Town Hall Party," was later syndicated under the name "Ranch Party," and seen in most parts of the country. He was also a regular guest on the
Jimmy Dean Jimmy Ray Dean (August 10, 1928 – June 13, 2010) was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. He was the creator of the Jimmy Dean sausage brand as well as the spokesman for its TV commercials. He became ...
television show in the 1960s. The duo performed on the PBS television broadcast "Austin City Limits," in 1984 as part of the programs, "Legends Series." Fellow music industry insiders and fans had begun calling them "Mr. and Mrs. Country Music."


Death

Maphis was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1985. He died in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 27, 1986. His guitar hero was Mother Maybelle Carter, matriarch of the Carter Family. Maybelle's daughter
June Carter Cash June Carter Cash (born Valerie June Carter; June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. A five-time Grammy award-winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prio ...
and June's husband Johnny Cash so admired Maphis that he was laid to rest in the Cash and Carter family
Hendersonville, Tennessee Hendersonville is the largest city in Sumner County, Tennessee, on Old Hickory Lake. The population was 61,753 at the 2020 census. Hendersonville is the fourth-largest city in the Nashville metropolitan area after Nashville, Murfreesboro, ...
, burial plot next to Maybelle, her husband, Ezra Carter, and her daughter,
Anita Carter Ina Anita Carter (March 31, 1933 – July 29, 1999) was an American singer who played upright bass, guitar, and autoharp. She performed with her sisters, Helen and June, and her mother, Maybelle, initially under the name The Carter Sisters an ...
.


Maphis family

They had three children: Dale, Lorrie and Jody. Dale died in an automobile accident in 1989. Jody Maphis is an active musician. He has played drums or guitar for Earl Scruggs,
Johnny Rodriguez Juan Raoul Davis "Johnny" Rodriguez (born December 10, 1951) is an American country music singer. He is a Tejano and Texas country music singer, infusing his music with Latin sounds, and even singing verses of songs in Spanish. In the 1970s an ...
, Johnny Cash,
Gary Allan Gary Allan Herzberg (born December 5, 1967) is an American country music singer. Signed to Decca Records in 1996, Allan made his country music debut with the release of his single " Her Man", the lead-off to his gold-certified debut album '' U ...
, Marty Stuart and many others.


Mosrite guitar

Today, TNM Guitars manufactures a remake of the
Mosrite Mosrite is an American guitar manufacturing company, based in Bakersfield, California, from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. Founded by Semie Moseley, Mosrite guitars were played by many rock and roll and country artists. Mosrite guitars wer ...
guitar, recreated by guitar luthier Terry N. McArthur.


References


External links


Joe Maphis Discography
at Rockin' Country Style {{DEFAULTSORT:Maphis, Joe 1921 births 1986 deaths American country guitarists American male guitarists Western swing performers Starday Records artists People from Suffolk, Virginia 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Columbia Records artists United States Army personnel of World War II People from Cumberland, Maryland Military personnel from Virginia