Philip Joseph Alvin (born March 6, 1953) is an American singer and guitarist known primarily as the leader of the rock band

The Blasters The Blasters are an American rock band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Their self-described " American Music" i ...

. His voice has been described as "robust...powerful...rich, resonant, ndsupremely confident."

Biography

Alvin grew up in

Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program. It is also the home of ...

in a music-loving family where he and his younger brother

Dave Alvin David Albert Alvin (born November 11, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is a former and founding member of the roots rock band the Blasters. Alvin has recorded and performed as a solo artist since the late 1980s a ...

were exposed to

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 ...

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

, and

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 ...

. Inspired and influenced by the music they grew up with, Phil and Dave formed the

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

band The Blasters in the late 1970s with fellow Downey residents Bill Bateman and John Bazz. Sullivan, Denisebr>"Artist Biography: The Blasters"

Allmusic.com AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. The group released four studio albums between 1980 and 1985. While never achieving

mass market The term "mass market" refers to a market for goods produced on a large scale for a significant number of end consumers. The mass market differs from the niche market in that the former focuses on consumers with a wide variety of backgrounds with ...

success on the

music charts A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

, the group's recordings and concerts drew critical acclaim and a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

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 Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. In 1986, after The Blasters had disbanded, Alvin released a solo album, '' Un "Sung Stories"''. He then returned to

graduate school Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

, where he eventually earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

. Numerous accounts have stated that Alvin earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree.Ankeny, Jaso
"Artist Biography: Phil Alvin"
Allmusic.com. However, there is reason to believe that this accepted wisdom is not accurate, and that Alvin's most advanced degree is in fact a

. Incidentally, before launching his music career, Alvin had taught mathematics at the same university. When The Blasters reconvened in 1986 without Dave Alvin, who was pursuing a solo career and other projects, Phil resumed his role as the band's lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and harmonica player. In 1994, he released a second solo album, ''County Fair 2000''. In 2005, under Alvin's leadership, a revised configuration of The Blasters released ''4-11-44'', the first studio album from the group since 1985. The band followed that effort in 2012 with the studio album, ''Fun On Saturday Night''. In June 2012, while playing in Spain with The Blasters, Alvin had a near-death experience owing to an infection from an abscessed tooth. Though he had an emergency tracheotomy and flatlined twice, he recovered with his voice intact. In 2014, Phil and Dave Alvin released the album ''Common Ground'', a selection of

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1903 – August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African American audiences. In the 1930s ...

covers, as a duo. It was the first studio collaboration by the Alvin brothers since the mid-1980s. They followed up with ''Lost Time'' in 2015. More than 40 years after The Blasters got started, and despite ongoing health concerns in recent years, Phil Alvin remains their frontman. The lineup includes two other original members, John Bazz and Bill Bateman, as well as

Keith Wyatt The Blasters are an American rock band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Their self-described " American Music" ...

Discography

with The Blasters

*'' American Music'' (1980) *''

'' (1981) *''Over There'' (1982) *''Non Fiction'' (1983) * '' Hard Line'' (1985) *''The Blasters Collection'' (1990) *''Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings'' (2002) *''The Blasters Live - Going Home'' (2004) *''4-11-44'' (2005) *''Fun On Saturday Night'' (2012)

Solo albums

*'' Un "Sung Stories"'' (1986) *''County Fair 2000'' (1994) *'' Common Ground: Dave & Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy'' (with

) (2014) * ''Lost Time'' (with Dave Alvin) (2015)

The Blasters videography

*''

Streets of Fire ''Streets of Fire'' is a 1984 American neo-noir rock musical film directed by Walter Hill and co-written by Hill and Larry Gross. It is described in the opening credits and posters as "A Rock & Roll Fable" and is a mix of various movie genres wi ...

'' (1984) *''The Blasters Live-Going Home'' (2004)

References

External links

The Blasters official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvin, Phil 1953 births Living people American blues singers American harmonica players American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers California State University, Long Beach alumni California State University, Long Beach faculty Cowpunk musicians Musicians from Downey, California The Blasters members Slash Records artists Guitarists from California 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians