Kelly Joe Phelps (October 5, 1959 – May 31, 2022) was an American musician and songwriter. His music has been characterized as a mixture of

delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

.Ann Powers, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', February 9, 2000.

Career

Kelly Joe Phelps grew up in Sumner, Washington, a blue-collar farming town. He learned

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

songs, as well as

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, from his father. He began playing guitar at age twelve. Phelps concentrated on

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

and took his cues from

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

s like

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

, and

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

. He spent 10 years playing jazz, mostly as a bass player. He refers to his "conversion" to a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

musician when he began listening to acoustic blues masters like

Mississippi Fred McDowell Fred McDowell (January 12, 1904 – July 3, 1972), known by his stage name Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American hill country blues singer and guitar player. Career McDowell was born in Rossville, Tennessee, United States. His parents were f ...

and

Robert Pete Williams Robert Pete Williams (March 14, 1914 – December 31, 1980) was an American Louisiana blues musician. His music characteristically employed unconventional structures and guitar tunings, and his songs are often about the time he served in pris ...

. He initially gained notice for his solo lapstyle slide guitar, 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. In 2005, Phelps released a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, '' Tap the Red Cane Whirlwind'', which he followed a year later with the studio album '' Tunesmith Retrofit''. In 2009, he released an album of

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

s titled ''

Western Bell ''Western Bell'' is an album by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released 2009. Unlike his previous albums, ''Western Bell'' is entirely instrumental. After five discs on Rykodisc and one for Rounder, Phelps joined Black Hen M ...

''. Following that release, he began recording and touring with the American singer-songwriter

Corinne West Corinne West (born 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist. She was born and raised in California. Biography At 15, while in school at Claremont High, West left home with guitar in hand to travel across America in a conv ...

. In January 2013, he announced a hiatus from touring due to

ulnar neuropathy Ulnar neuropathy is a disorder involving the ulnar nerve. Ulnar neuropathy may be caused by entrapment of the ulnar nerve with resultant numbness and tingling. It may also cause weakness or and paralysis of the muscles supplied by the nerve. Si ...

in his right hand and arm. 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''. Phelps died in Iowa on May 31, 2022.Kelly Joe Phelps, blues and country musician, dies aged 62
''The Guardian (UK)''. Retrieved June 21, 2022.

Discography

* '' Lead Me On'', (Burnside, 1994) * ''

Roll Away the Stone "Roll Away the Stone" is a song written by Ian Hunter, recorded by English rock band Mott the Hoople, and released as a single on the CBS label. On the first version, recorded before Mick Ralphs left the band, Ralphs plays lead guitar and one ...

'', (

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first Compact Disc, CD-only independ ...

, 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) * ''

'', (Black Hen, 2009) * ''

Magnetic Skyline ''Magnetic Skyline'' is an album by American musicians Kelly Joe Phelps and Corinne West, released in 2010. Most of the songs were released previously on West's solo albums. Critical reception Music critic Andrew Mueller wrote in his BBC review ...

'' with

(Make, 2010) * ''

Brother Sinner and the Whale ''Brother Sinner and the Whale'' is an album by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 2012. It was recorded in mono with only voice and guitar. Reception Music critic Thom Jurek praised the release in his Allmusic ...

'', (Black Hen, 2012) * '' Roll Away the Blues: The Very Best of'', (Nascente, 2013)

With others

* Various Artists: ''Hear the Angels Sing: Greetings from Rykodisc'' (Rykodisc) *

Paul Curreri Paul Curreri (born January 28, 1976), an American guitarist, pianist, songwriter, and music producer born in Seattle, Washington, and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He performs mainly in the folk and blues music styles. He married songwriter-g ...

: ''Songs for Devon Sproule'' (City Salvage) * Zubot and Dawson: ''Chicken Scratch'' (

True North True north (also called geodetic north or geographic north) is the direction along Earth's surface towards the geographic North Pole or True North Pole. Geodetic north differs from ''magnetic'' north (the direction a compass points toward the ...

) *

Jay Farrar Jay Farrar (born December 26, 1966) is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis. A member of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001. Beyond his establis ...

: ''Sebastopol'' (

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

) *

Rory Block Aurora "Rory" Block (born November 6, 1949, in Princeton, New Jersey) is an American blues guitarist and singer, a notable exponent of the country blues style. Career Aurora Block was born in Princeton and grew up in Manhattan. Her father, Allan ...

: ''I'm Every Woman'' (

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

) *

Linda Tillery Linda may refer to: As a name * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer * Anita Linda (born Alice Lake i ...

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 Tony Furtado (born October 18, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter, banjoist, and guitarist. History Furtado was born in Pleasanton, California. He took up the banjo at age 12, inspired by the Beverly Hillbillies television show and a sixth- ...

: ''Roll My Blues Away'' (Rounder) * Tony Furtado Band (Cojema Music) *

Martin Simpson Martin Stewart Simpson (born 5 May 1953) is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in Britain, Ireland, America and beyond. He builds a purposeful, often upbeat voi ...

: ''Cool & Unusual'' (Red House) * Louise Taylor: ''Ride'' (

Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...

) * Bo Ramsey: ''In the Weeds'' (Trailer) *

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

: ''The Highway Kind'' (Normal)

References

External links

French forum
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Kelly Joe 1959 births 2022 deaths People from Sumner, Washington American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Washington (state) Contemporary blues musicians Guitarists from Washington (state) 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Black Hen Music artists Rounder Records artists Rykodisc artists American male singer-songwriters

Career

Discography

With others

See also

References

External links