Shawn Phillips (born February 3, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, primarily influential in the 1960s and 1970s. His work is rooted in

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk music, folk and rock music, rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the American fo ...

but straddles other genres, including

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and key ...

and funk. Phillips has recorded twenty-six albums and worked with musicians including

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world musi ...

Paul Buckmaster Paul John Buckmaster (13 June 1946 – 7 November 2017) was a Grammy Award-winning British cellist, arranger, conductor and composer, with a career spanning five decades. He is best known for his orchestral collaborations with David Bowie, Sh ...

, J. Peter Robinson, Eric Clapton,

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his distin ...

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Ta ...

Tim Hardin James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk and blues musician and composer. As well as releasing his own material, several of his songs, including " If I Were a Carpenter" and " Reason to Believe", be ...

, Manos Hatzidakis and many others. Rock impresario Bill Graham described the Texas-born musician as "the best kept secret in the music business". Phillips'

AllMusic 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 dat ...

biography states: "His refusal to pigeonhole his music – which seamlessly melds folk, rock, jazz, funk, progressive, pop, electro, classical, and global folk traditions – to meet anyone else's expectations allowed him to retain his cult following without ever achieving the stardom that his talent seemed to merit."

Biography

Phillips was born in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

, the son of James Atlee Phillips, writer of

spy novels Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligen ...

under the pseudonym of Philip Atlee, and nephew of

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

officer

David Atlee Phillips David Atlee Phillips (October 31, 1922 – July 7, 1988) was a Central Intelligence Agency officer of 25 years and a recipient of the Career Intelligence Medal. Phillips rose to become the CIA's chief of operations for the Western hemisphere. In 19 ...

. He grew up in various locations around the world, including

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Aust ...

, and learned to play guitar as a child. He returned to live in Texas in the late 1950s, and, after a time in the U.S. Navy, moved to California. Jeff Cramer, "A Very Candid Conversation with Shawn Phillips", ''Jeff Cramer'', July 12, 2018
Retrieved January 24, 2020 He played in folk clubs in the early 1960s, alongside singer-songwriter

, comedian

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

and others, and when in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as ...

, Canada, met and taught guitar techniques to aspiring singer Joni Anderson (later Mitchell). He recorded his first single, an adaptation of

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ...

's version of "

Frankie and Johnnie "Frankie and Johnny" (sometimes spelled "Frankie and Johnnie"; also known as "Frankie and Albert", "Frankie's Man", "Johnny", or just "Frankie") is a traditional American popular song. It tells the story of a woman, Frankie, who finds her man Joh ...

" (credited as "The New Frankie & Johnnie Song"), in 1964. While travelling to India, he stopped in London and met record producer Denis Preston, who signed him to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. Phillips released two albums on the label, ''I'm a Loner'' (1965) and ''Shawn'' (1966), though neither was successful. During this period, Phillips also met

. The pair ultimately collaborated on several songs, including " Season of the Witch", for which Phillips (though uncredited) composed the melody. Phillips also appeared on several of Donovan's albums, including ''

Fairytale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cul ...

'' (on which Phillips is credited as writer of "Little Tin Soldier"), '' Sunshine Superman'', and ''

Mellow Yellow "Mellow Yellow" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. In the US, it reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Outside the US, "Mellow Yellow" peaked at No. 8 in the UK in early 1967. Content The song was rumo ...

''. Through Donovan, he met

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

and contributed backing vocals on " Lovely Rita". Phillips played the character Paul Taylor in the 1966 film "Run with the Wind", which he also wrote songs for. In 1967, he left England after his work permit expired and after a period in Paris moved to

Positano Positano (Campanian: ) is a village and ''comune'' on the Amalfi Coast (Province of Salerno), in Campania, Italy, mainly in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast. Climate The climate of Positano is very mild, of the Mediterranean ...

in Italy, while continuing to tour. He returned to England to write and perform, with The Djinn, the music for the controversial Jane Arden play ''Vagina Rex and the Gas Oven'' at the Arts Laboratory on Drury Lane in London in February 1969. Sponsored by Dick James, he also recorded material with

, Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood of

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffi ...

. This was intended to become a trilogy of albums, combining songs together with instrumental pieces and verse readings. He was signed by

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

, but they decided to release only one album, comprising only Phillips' songs, which was released as ''Contribution'' (1970). The album, which ranged from

to "introspective quasi-classical guitar pieces" was relatively successful, and Phillips released a string of further albums on A&M through the 1970s, starting with ''Second Contribution'' (1970), and ''Collaboration'' (1971). The song with which he is most widely associated is "She Was Waiting For Her Mother At The Station In Torino And You Know I Love You Baby But It's Getting Too Heavy To Laugh", more commonly known as "Woman", from the ''Second Contribution'' album. Phillips continued to tour and secured a standing ovation for his impromptu solo performance at the

1970 Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 was a music festival held between 26 and 31 August 1970 at Afton Down, an area on the western side of the Isle of Wight in England. It was the last of three consecutive music festivals to take place on the isla ...

. He was also approached to be the lead in the Broadway production of ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'', and started rehearsing the show, but withdrew because of contractual disagreements with the show's producer,

Robert Stigwood Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer and impresario, best known for managing Cream, Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees, theatrical productions like '' Hair' ...

. He recorded successfully throughout the 1970s, with four of his albums – ''Faces'' (1972; No. 57), ''Bright White'' (1973; No. 72), ''Furthermore'' (1974; No. 50), and ''Do You Wonder'' (1975; No. 101) – reaching the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' pop LP chart in the U.S. In addition, the singles "Lost Horizon" (No. 63) and "We" (No. 92) appeared on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1973. According to Bruce Eder at ''

Allmusic 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 dat ...

'', his 1970s recordings "established his reputation for boundless, nearly peerless creativity and virtuosity...

s a S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. History ...

12-string guitarist combined with his four-octave vocal range.....Writers lavished praise on Phillips for his unusual lyrics, haunting melodies, daunting musicianship, and the ambition of his records. He was a complete enigma, American-born but raised internationally, with a foreigner's keen appreciation for all the music of his homeland and a seasoned traveler's love of world music, with none of the usual limits on his thinking about music." Eder continued: "Phillips never achieved major stardom, despite his critical accolades. He never courted an obvious commercial sound, preferring to write songs that, as he put it, 'make you feel different from the way you felt before you started listening,' primarily love songs and sonic landscapes." Later in the 1970s, Phillips began experimenting with

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and

funk music Funk is a music genre that originated in African Americans, African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African A ...

. using

electronic keyboard An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument, an electronic derivative of keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs ...

s. He moved to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

, and released ''Transcendence'' (1978), on which he played with

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...

and a

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...

. He also wrote music for movies. After moving from Italy back to Los Angeles, he recorded ''Beyond Here Be Dragons'' with musicians including

Alphonso Johnson Alphonso Johnson (born February 2, 1951) is an American jazz bassist active since the early 1970s. Johnson was a member of the jazz fusion group Weather Report from 1973 to 1975, and has performed and recorded with numerous high-profile rock ...

Caleb Quaye Caleb Quaye (born 9 October 1948), is an English rock guitarist and studio musician best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with Elton John, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Hall & Oates and Ralph McTell, and also toured wi ...

, J. Peter Robinson, and Ralph Humphrey; the album was released in 1988. Phillips retired from music in the mid-1990s and qualified as an

emergency medical technician An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics a ...

(EMT) and firefighter in Texas. He moved to near

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, S ...

, South Africa in 2000 with his wife Juliette and worked as a

paramedic A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research. Not all ambulance personnel are p ...

with the

National Sea Rescue Institute The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) is a voluntary non-profit organization in South Africa tasked with saving lives through drowning prevention. It operates 41 bases (as of 2020) comprising coastal stations and inland stations on dams. Th ...

. His album ''No Category'', containing a mix of new and unreleased music featuring his longtime collaborators

and Peter Robinson, was released in 2002. In 2007, his first live album, ''Living Contribution'', was released, along with a live DVD of the same title. His early recordings were reissued on CD during the 1990s, together with several compilations of his work. Since 2016, Phillips has resided in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

, with Juliette and their son, Liam. He now divides his time between writing, recording, touring, and his EMT work. Of his EMT work, he says:

“One of my EMT calls was an 89-year-old woman named Clara, who had fractured her pelvis from stepping out of bed too hard. I took a great deal of care to keep her from suffering before we transferred to Austin EMS. I said to her, ‘We’re gonna give you over to these guys, but you’re in very good hands.’ She was very frightened. As I left, she grabbed me by the arm, looked me in the eyes, and said, ‘Thank you so much for taking care of me.’ And the music business just disappeared into the distance. I got a double standing ovation in front of 657,000 people at the Isle of Wight in the 1970s. You can imagine the rush. But that moment with Clara was much more powerful, because that work is immediate. It’s as real as you can get.”

In an interview with Chicago music critic Scott Itter, Phillips was reminded that he had once been described as "the best kept secret in the music business" by the late rock impresario Bill Graham. Asked why he was still "a secret" to many people, Phillips replied:

Family and personal life

Before moving to

, in 2016 with his wife, Juliette, and then-12-year-old son Liam, (named after his younger brother) Phillips lived in Italy and in South Africa. Phillips's uncle,

, was a top CIA officer who was associated with the alleged assassin

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 ...

Discography

Studio albums

* ''I'm a Loner'' (1965) e-issued in Canada as ''Favourite Things''* ''Shawn'' (1966)

e-issued in Canada as ''First Impressions''* ''Contribution'' (1970) * ''Second Contribution'' (1970) US No. 208, Canada No. 68 * ''Collaboration'' (1971) * ''Faces'' (1972) US No. 57, Canada No. 38 * ''Bright White'' (1973) US No. 72, Canada No. 50 * ''Furthermore'' (1974),

US No. 50, Canada No. 56 * ''Do You Wonder'' (1974) US No. 101, Canada No. 42 * ''Rumplestiltskin's Resolve'' (1975) US No. 201 * ''Spaced'' (1977) * ''Transcendence'' (1978)

* ''Favourite Things'' (1987)

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

* ''Beyond Here Be Dragons'' (1983) Wounded Bird Records * ''The Truth If It Kills'' (1994) * ''No Category'' (2002)

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

/ Fat Jack Records * ''Reflections'' (2012) * ''Perspective'' (2013) * ''Infinity'' (2014) * ''Continuance'' (2017)

Live albums

* ''Living Contribution: Both Sides'' (2007) Sheer Sound * ''At the BBC'' (2009) Hux Records * ''Live in the seventies'' (2022) TLAK Records

Greatest hits

* ''Best of Shawn Phillips'' (1990) * ''The Best of Shawn Phillips: The A&M Years'' (1992) * ''Another Contribution: Anthology'' (1995) * ''Contribution/Second Contribution'' (2004)

Singles

* "A Christmas Song" (1970, A&M AMS-819) * "We" (US #89, 1972, A&M 1402) * "Lost Horizon" (US #63, 1973, A&M 1405) * "Anello (Where Are You)" (1973, A&M 1435) * "Bright White" (1973, A&M 1482) (#62 Canada) * "Do You Wonder" (1974, A&M 1750) (#89 Canada)

Collaborations

* 1965 – ''

'' by

: 12-string guitar on "Summer Day Reflection Song" and "Jersey Thursday", wrote "The Little Tin Soldier" * 1966 – '' Sunshine Superman'' by Donovan: sitar on 6 songs and co-wrote "Season Of The Witch" but was not credited * 1967 – ''

'' by Donovan: sitar on "Sunny South Kensington" * 1969 – ''If Only For A Moment'' by

Blossom Toes Blossom Toes were a British psychedelic pop band active between 1966 and 1970. Initially known as The Ingoes, they were renamed and signed to the Marmalade record label of manager Giorgio Gomelsky. The original line-up comprised Brian Godding (b ...

: guitar and sitar * 1970 – ''Into The Fire'' by

Wynder K. Frog Mick Weaver (born 16 June 1944, Bolton, Lancashire, England) is an English session musician, best known for his playing of the Hammond B3 organ, and as an exponent of the blues and funk. Career Weaver's band performed as Wynder K. Frog and beca ...

: co-wrote, played guitar and sang on "Eddie's Tune" * 1971 – '' Taupin'' by

: co-wrote "To a Grandfather", "Today's Hero", "Ratcatcher" and "The Visitor"; played sitar, acoustic and electric 6 & 12 string guitars, koto and vocals * 1971 – '' Say No More'' by

Linda Lewis Linda Ann Fredericks (born 27 September 1950), better known as Linda Lewis, is an English vocalist, songwriter and guitarist. She is the eldest of six children, three of whom also had singing careers. She is best known for the singles "Rock-a- ...

: guitar * 1971 – ''Gilbert Montagné'' by

Gilbert Montagné Gilbert Montagné (; born 28 December 1951) is a French singer, musician, pianist and organist from the Ménilmontant neighbourhood of Paris and Bourbonnais historical region of central France. Blind since shortly after birth, he is best remem ...

: guitar * 1973 – ''New York Rock'' by Michael Kamen: co-wrote "Hot as the Sun" and "Indian Summer" * 1980 – ''Cosmic Debris'' by Cosmic Debris: guitar, synthesizer and engineering * 1981 – ''Keys'' by Light: vocals on "It's For You Part I" and "It's For You Part II"

References

External links

Official website
*
Official ReverbNation channel
*

Shawn Phillips
at discogs.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Shawn 1943 births Living people People from Fort Worth, Texas American expatriates in South Africa American rock songwriters American rock guitarists Fingerstyle guitarists American male guitarists American folk singers American rock singers American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas Winners of Yamaha Music Festival Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians