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Joe Maphis

 
Artist: Joe Maphis
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Similar Artists:

Larry Collins, James Burton & Ralph Mooney, Don Rich, Jimmy Bryant, Speedy West, Les Paul, Roy Clark, Buddy Emmons, The Willis Brothers, Clarence "Tater" Tate

Influenced By:

Merle Travis

Followers:

Barbara Mandrell

Performed Songs By:

M. Christian, Earl Scruggs

Worked With:

Harold Bradley, Floyd Cramer
  • Born: May 12, 1921, Suffolk, VA
  • Died: June 27, 1986
  • Active: '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s
  • Genres: Country
  • Instrumental Country, Traditional Country, Bakersfield Sound Instrument: Guitar, Session Musician
  • Representative Albums: "Fire on the Strings," "Flying Fingers," "Flat-Picking Spectacular"
  • Representative Songs: "Lonesome Road Blues," "Black Mountain Rag," "Fire on the Strings"

Biography

Joe and Rose Maphis were a popular husband-and-wife act in the late '40s and early '50s, singing traditional material backed by the amazing instrumental talent of Joe, who played everything with strings on it, especially the twin-neck guitar. The honky-tonk anthem "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music)" was their big hit. Until his death in 1986, Joe was a sessions instrumentalist, backing such stars as Rick Nelson, Tex Ritter, and Wanda Jackson. ~ David Vinopal, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: Joe Maphis
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Cover of Joe Maphis' album "Fire on the Strings", published in 1957
His double-neck Mosrite guitar

Joe Maphis, born Otis W. Maphis (born May 12, 1921 – died June 27, 1986), was an American country music guitarist. He married singer Rose Lee Maphis in 1948.

One of the flashiest country guitarists of the 1950s and 1960s, Joe Maphis was known as The King of the Strings.[1] He was able to play many stringed instruments with great facility.[2] However, he specialized in dazzling guitar virtuosity. Working out of Bakersfield, California, 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, Doyle Holly, The Collins Kids, Wanda Jackson, Rose Maddox and Ricky Nelson. His playing was an influence on such greats as Merle Travis, Jimmy Bryant and Chet Atkins.[citation needed] He was known for his use of a double-neck Mosrite guitar, specially built for him by Semie Moseley, which was a boon to Moseley's fledgling career as a guitar builder. He was a regular guest on the Jimmy Dean television show in the 1960s.

Joe's guitar hero was Mother Maybelle Carter, matriarch of the Carter Family. Her daughter June Carter Cash and husband Johnny Cash so admired Joe's guitar playing that Joe is buried in a Hendersonville, TN cemetery next to Maybelle, her husband, Ezra Carter (A.P.'s brother), and daughter, Anita Carter.

Mosrite guitar

Today, TNM Guitars manufactures a remake of the Mosrite guitar, recreated by guitar luthier Terry N. McArthur. Singer/songwriter Marshall Crenshaw has said "If I ever buy another guitar it'll be one of these."[3]

External links

Footnotes

  1. ^ "The Vintage Guitar Gallery, "Joe Maphis"". http://home.exetel.com.au/mosrite/Joe%20Maphis.php. 
  2. ^ "Video, "Pickin' and Singin'"". http://youtube.com/watch?v=Oi4W3qH4xxs. 
  3. ^ "The Marshall Crenshaw Page". http://www.marshallcrenshaw.com/. 
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Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Joe Maphis".  Read more

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