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 A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themsel ...

. 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 Suffolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and as such has no county. As of the 2020 census, the population was 94,324. It is the 9th most populous city in Virginia and the largest city in Virginia by boundary land area a ...

, 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 = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. 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 Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic exp ...

. While in Virginia, he also met the musically talented Rose Lee (Doris) Schetrompf, his future wife. Maphis and Schetrompf, of Clear Spring, Maryland, 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

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 Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

and other labels. Later based in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

, he rose to prominence with his own hits such as " Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music)", 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 Doyle Floyd Hendricks (June 30, 1936 – January 13, 2007), known by the stage name Doyle Holly, was an American musician best known as the bass guitar player of the country music band Buck Owens and the Buckaroos and for his solo hit songs " ...

, The Collins Kids,

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 Roselea Arbana "Rose" MaddoxMany sources give her birth name as Brogdon. This is an error. She was recorded, with her birth family, as Rose Maddox in the 1940 US Census, and other sources report her second husband's name as Brogdon. (August 1 ...

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, 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 John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

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 "Mother" Maybelle Carter (born Maybelle Addington; May 10, 1909 – October 23, 1978) was an American country musician and "among the first" to use the Carter scratch, with which she "helped to turn the guitar into a lead instrument". It ...

, 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

so admired Maphis that he was laid to rest in the Cash and Carter family Hendersonville, Tennessee, 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 and ...

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 Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finge ...

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 ...

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 John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as ...

and many others.

Mosrite guitar

Today, TNM Guitars manufactures a remake of the Mosrite 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