Phil Leadbetter (March 31, 1962 – October 14, 2021) was an American

resonator guitar A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar that produces sound by conducting string vibrations through the bridge to one or more spun metal cones (resonators), instead of to the guitar's sounding board (top). Resonator guit ...

player.

Life

Born in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the stat ...

, Leadbetter began playing the resonator guitar at age 12. He was a 1980 graduate of Gibbs High School in

Corryton, Tennessee Corryton, also known as Corryton Village, is an unincorporated bedroom community in northeastern Knox County, Tennessee, United States, about 15 miles northeast of Knoxville. The United States Geographic Names System classifies Corryton as a popula ...

. In April 2011, Leadbetter was diagnosed with

Hodgkins Lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition w ...

, a form of cancer that attacks the lymph nodes. After return of cancer two more times, Leadbetter was diagnosed for a fifth time in June 2019, and in September 2019 became a five-time survivor on the new drug Opdivo. This is the same drug that Leadbetter had been given during clinical trials. Leadbetter died in October 2021, after having contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

the previous month.

Career

A summary of Leadbetter's professional career: * 1988: The

Grandpa Jones Louis Marshall Jones (October 20, 1913 – February 19, 1998), known professionally as Grandpa Jones, was an American banjo player and "old time" country and gospel music singer. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.McCall, Michael; ...

Show * 1989: The

Vern Gosdin Vernon Gosdin (August 5, 1934 – April 28, 2009) was an American country music singer. He had 19 top-10 solo hits on the country music charts from 1977 through 1990. Three of these hits went to Number One: "I Can Tell By the Way You Dance (You ...

Band * 1990–2001:

J. D. Crowe James Dee Crowe (August 27, 1937December 24, 2021) was an American banjo player and bluegrass band leader. He first became known during his four-year stint with Jimmy Martin in the 1950s. Crowe led the bluegrass group New South from 1971 until ...

and the New South * 2002–2006: Wildfire (founding member) * 2007–2010: Grasstowne (founding member) * 2010–2011:

The Whites The Whites is an American country music vocal group from Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It consists of sisters Sharon White and Cheryl White, and their father, Buck White. Sharon on guitar, Cheryl on bass and Buck on Mandolin. Formed in 1972 ...

* 2013–2016: The

Dale Ann Bradley Dale Ann Bradley is an American bluegrass musician. She is a six-time (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2021) Female Bluegrass Vocalist of the Year, a distinction given by the International Bluegrass Music Association. She has released music b ...

Band * 2016–2017: Flashback (founding member) * 2017–2021: Phil Leadbetter And The All-Stars Of Bluegrass Leadbetter returned to performing in February 2013 as a member of Dale Ann Bradley's band after nearly 2 years away from the music business. He released a solo CD ''The Next Move'' in the fall of 2015. In March 2016, Leadbetter left the Dale Ann Bradley band to help form the bluegrass group Flashback. The members of Flashback were in the original Grammy nominated J. D Crowe And the New South band from 1994. Flashback and Crowe toured during 2015 on a 20-year reunion tour. At the end of 2015, Crowe retired from music, but the band continued to perform under the name "Flashback". Leadbetter departed the band in November 2017 to start a new musical direction with his new band Phil Leadbetter And The All-Stars Of Bluegrass.

Awards and recognition

In 1994, Leadbetter received a Grammy Nomination for "Best Bluegrass Album" at the 37th Annual

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

for his work with

and the

New South New South, New South Democracy or New South Creed is a slogan in the history of the American South first used after the American Civil War. Reformers used it to call for a modernization of society and attitudes, to integrate more fully with the ...

on the album ''Flashback''. In 2005, 2014, and 2019, he was voted International Bluegrass Music Association "

Dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson (guitar company), Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. ...

Player Of The Year". He also won the 2005 "Instrumental Album Of The Year" for his CD ''Slide Effects''. His song "California Cottonfields" held the #1 spot on the National Bluegrass Chart for two consecutive months in 2005. In 2015, Leadbetter was awarded "Dobro Player Of The Year" at The International Bluegrass Music Awards. This was his second time winning this award. One of only three dobro players to ever win that award. Leadbetter was inducted into The Atlanta Country Music Hall Of Fame on November 28, 2015. The 'Phil Leadbetter Signature Dobro' manufactured by the

Gibson Guitar Corporation Gibson Brands, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation) is an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and professional audio equipment from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and now based in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was form ...

featured a square neck for

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conv ...

playing and a single inverted-cone resonator. The guitar also featured solid wood construction. It was the only guitar being made at that time which bore the name "Dobro". After the shut down of the Gibson Acoustic division, Leadbetter moved over to The Recording King Company, and a new line of resonator guitars were released bearing his name in late 2018.

Discography

Solo albums

* 1999: ''Philibuster'' (

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 ...

) * 2005: ''Slide Effects'' ( Pinecastle) * 2014: ''The Next Move'' (Pinecastle)

As a member of
J. D. Crowe James Dee Crowe (August 27, 1937December 24, 2021) was an American banjo player and bluegrass band leader. He first became known during his four-year stint with Jimmy Martin in the 1950s. Crowe led the bluegrass group New South from 1971 until ...
and The New South

* 1994: ''Flashback'' (Rounder) * 1999: ''Come On Down to My World'' (Rounder)

As a member of Wildfire

* 2001: ''Uncontained'' (Pinecastle) * 2003: ''Where Roads Divide'' (Pinecastle) * 2005: ''Rattle The Chains'' (Pinecastle)

As a member of Grasstowne

* 2007: ''The Road Headin' Home'' (

Thirty Tigers Thirty Tigers is an American entertainment company which offers music marketing, distribution, and management services to independent artists. It is based in Nashville. History The company was founded in 2002 by David Macias and Deb Markland ...

) * 2009: ''The Other Side of Town'' (Pinecastle)

As a member of Flashback

* 2017: ''Foxhounds & Fiddles'' (Pinecastle)

As a member of Phil Leadbetter And The All-Stars Of Bluegrass

* 2020 ''Swing For The Fences '' (Pinecastle)

As primary artist/contributor

* 1999: various artists - ''Christmas in the Smokies'' (Evening Star) - track 2, "

Jingle Bells "Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed t ...

" * 2010: various artists - ''Southern Filibuster: A Tribute to Tut Taylor'' (

Entertainment One Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television s ...

) - track 11, "Acoustic Toothpick" (with Jerry Douglas)

Also appears on

* 1994:

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver Doyle Lawson (born April 20, 1944) is an American traditional bluegrass and Southern gospel musician. He is best known as a mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 6-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Lawson was inducted into ...

- ''Flashback'' ( Sugar Hill) * 1995: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver - ''Never Walk Away'' ( Sugar Hill) * 2005: Michelle Nixon and Drive - ''What More Should I Say?'' (Pinecastle) * 2005: Darrell Webb - ''Behind The Scenes'' (Lonesome Day) * 2006: Emmaus Road - ''Transformed'' (self-released) * 2007: The Special Consensus - ''The Trail of Aching Hearts'' (Pinecastle) * 2014: Steve Gulley - ''Family, Friends & Fellowship'' (Rural Rhythm) * 2015:

- ''Pocket Full of Keys'' (Pinecastle) * 2015: Steve Gulley and New Pinnacle - ''Steve Gulley & New Pinnacle'' (Rural Rhythm) * 2016: Stuart Wyrick - ''East Tennessee Sunrise'' (Rural Rhythm)

References

External links

*
Phil Leadbetter Dobros available from Gibson
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leadbetter, Phil 1962 births 2021 deaths Slide guitarists Musicians from Knoxville, Tennessee Guitarists from Tennessee 20th-century American guitarists New South (band) members Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee American country guitarists American male guitarists American bluegrass guitarists Resonator guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians