Mark Otis Selby (September 2, 1961 – September 18, 2017) was an American blues rock singer-songwriter, guitarist,

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

, and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

. Born in

Enid, Oklahoma Enid ( ) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, a ...

, he was a solo artist, signed to ZYX Records in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, and one half of performing duo with his wife, songwriter

Tia Sillers Tia Maria Sillers is an American songwriter. She has written over 40 singles in multiple music formats, including the Lee Ann Womack single "I Hope You Dance", and the Kenny Wayne Shepherd single "Blue on Black". Sillers' songs have been featur ...

. He also played guitar in recording sessions for musical artists such as

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

, Johnny Reid,

Keni Thomas Kenneth Mervyn Thomas (born July 1, 1965) is an American country music singer and former United States Army Ranger. Thomas was deployed in support of Operation Restore Hope as a member of Task Force Ranger in Somalia, and served in the Battle ...

Jimmy Hall Jimmy Hall (born April 26, 1949) is the American lead singer and harmonica player for the Southern rock group, Wet Willie. Hall was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and reared in Mobile, Alabama. He first gained notoriety in 1970 as the lead vocal ...

, and

Wynonna Judd Wynonna Ellen Judd or simply Wynonna ( ; born Christina Claire Ciminella; May 30, 1964) is an American country music singer. She is one of the most widely recognized and awarded female country singers. In all, she has had 19 No. 1 singles, incl ...

. Selby is perhaps best known for the number of songs that he co-wrote with the blues-rock artist

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Kenny Wayne Shepherd (born Kenny Wayne Brobst; June 12, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has released several studio albums and experienced significant commercial success as a blues artist. Life and career Shepherd wa ...

which includes the No. 1 single, "

Blue on Black "Blue on Black" is a song by American blues rock group Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band. Written by Shepherd with Mark Selby and Tia Sillers, it was originally released on their second studio album, '' Trouble Is...'' (1997). In 1998, the song was re ...

". This song was also ''Billboard'' magazine rock track of the year in 1998. Selby also collaborated with Sillers on the No. 1 song, "

There's Your Trouble "There's Your Trouble" is a song written by Mark Selby and Tia Sillers and recorded by American country music band Dixie Chicks (now known as the Chicks). It was released in March 1998 as the second single from the band's fourth studio album, '' W ...

" and won the band their first

Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal The Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded from 1970 to 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: * In 1970 the award was known as Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group * From 1971 to 19 ...

in 1999. Selby released a number of solo albums over his career. The first two projects, ''More Storms Comin and ''Dirt'' were on

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...

. After signing with ZYX in

Merenberg Merenberg is a municipality in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Merenberg lies on the southern edge of the Westerwald between the district seat of Limburg and Weilburg. Neighbouring communities Merenberg borders in ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, he released his next album, ''Mark Otis Selby And The Horse He Rode In On''. This all-acoustic release featured Selby's 1974 Mossman guitar and spurred a broad audience in Germany and Switzerland. His most recent project, ''Blue Highway'', was released in 2013. He has worked with the Grammy winning record producer

Brent Maher Brent Maher is a producer, engineer, and songwriter currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee. He has produced and engineered six Grammy-winning records and received awards from the CMA, ACM, CCMA, ASCAP, SOCAN and NSAI. Maher engineered ...

on 5 of his projects. In 2016, Selby was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall Of Fame. Besides the Mossman, he played a modified 1990s Fender Relic Nocaster, a Fender

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Due to his virtuosic playing, but relative lack of fame compared to some others, he has been referred to as "the greatest ...

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuousl ...

, and a 1944

Gibson J-45 The Gibson J-45 is a dreadnought style acoustic guitar manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. It is generally regarded as Gibson's most famous and widely used acoustic guitar model. The J-45 is part of Gibson's round-shoulder "jumbo" ...

. As for amplifiers, he described himself as "a Fender guy." Selby died on September 18, 2017, from cancer.

Influences

When asked to describe some of his influences, he noted, "When I was younger, I really got into an Eric Clapton anthology that had a cross selection of songs he was well known for, and some spontaneous jams with Jimmy Page and

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...

. There was so much emotion and a big slice of life in those songs performed by the old blues players...

Billy Gibbons William Frederick Gibbons (born December 16, 1949) is an American musician who is the guitarist and lead singer of the rock band ZZ Top. He began his career in the band the Moving Sidewalks, which recorded a full-length album entitled, ''Flas ...

was also a very big influence...He had a great way of synthesizing a lot of great styles and making it his own."Wilson David (ed.) (2008). "Mark Otis Selby", The Tone Quest Report, Volume 9, Number 4, February 2008, pp. 1-9.

Select discography

Albums

*1984: ''One way ticket'' *1986: ''One of these days'' *1990: ''Wheatfield Boogie'' (Mark Selby & The Sluggers) *2000: ''More Storms Comin *2003: ''Dirt'' *2006: ''Mark Otis Selby And The Horse He Rode In On'' *2008: ''Nine Pound Hammer'' *2009: ''Live at

Rockpalast ''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and jazz ...

- One Night In Bonn'' *2013: ''Blue Highway'' *2018: ''Naked Sessions''

Compilation albums

*2001: ''Avalon Blues: A Tribute To The Music Of Mississippi John Hurt'' *2007: ''Mark Selby's Nashville Picks! (Vol. 1)'' *2014: ''Mark Selby: The Box Set" *2017: ''One Night With Mark Selby''

Singles written by Selby

References

External links

* * Biography by Alex Hendersonfor Allmusic
Mark Selby on creativity, style and guitar tone
for The Tone Quest Report
Sillers & Selby Songwriting Partners
for The Tennessean
Singer-Songwriter Mark Selby Dies
for MusicRow
Mark Selby Bio
for Loan Star Music
Dirt
for No Depression {{DEFAULTSORT:Selby, Mark 1960s births 2017 deaths Deaths from cancer in Tennessee American rock singers American male singers American rock guitarists American male guitarists American multi-instrumentalists Record producers from Oklahoma Vanguard Records artists 20th-century American guitarists Musicians from Enid, Oklahoma 20th-century American male musicians