Jerry Troy "J. T." Corenflos (November 6, 1963 – October 24, 2020), was an American

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

and country guitarist, who played on an estimated 75 Number One hit records as well as hundreds of other recordings and hits. He received 14 nominations for "Guitarist of the Year" from the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

(2002–2012, 2014–2015, and 2020), winning in 2012 and 2020.

Early life

Jerry Troy Corenflos was born on November 6, 1963, in Terre Haute, Indiana to parents Jerry and Alice Corenflos. His dad (Big Jerry) was a carpenter, who worked at Overhead Door company and, later, at Indiana State University. Although a gifted and hardworking carpenter, Big Jerry's real passion was music, a passion he shared and nurtured in the young Jerry Troy. JT's mom, Alice, worked at the Columbia Records pressing plant and the 8-track plant in Terre Haute. Alice later ran the small restaurant, the Shuffle Inn Restaurant and worked at (Larry Birds') Boston Connection restaurant. JT has a son, Jacob Corenflos, who is also a musician, and two siblings, brother Steve Corenflos and sister Cathy. Growing up in the Highlands neighborhood of Terre Haute, JT's childhood was filled with playing sports, riding bikes and hanging out with neighborhood friends, all of whom would remain friends throughout his life. He attended Rankin elementary school, Terre Town elementary school, Otter Creek junior high school, North Vigo high school. It was during these early years, that JT began playing guitar under the tutelage of his dad. JT's quiet passion and determination to master the guitar, drove his rapid development, and by junior high he had already outgrown most guitar instructors in the area. During these years, JT played with his dad's bands in a wide variety of venues and circumstances. Corenflos wrote on his website:

Career

In March 1982 JT moved to Nashville to play guitar for Jean Shepard (Capital/United Artist Records, Grand ole Opry). He worked with Jean for about a year and a half performing mostly at the Grand ole Opry and occasionally some road dates. In early summer of 1983, JT auditioned and landed a job with Joe Stampley (Epic/CBS records), and worked with him for seven years doing road dates. Occasionally, Joe would collaborate with fellow singer

Moe Bandy Marion Franklin "Moe" Bandy Jr. (born February 12, 1944) is an American country music singer. He was most popular during the 1970s, when he had several hit songs, both alone and as part of a duo with Joe Stampley. Early life and recordings Ma ...

as "Moe and Joe", doing some television shows and recording as a duo. When not on the road, JT played in clubs around Nashville with several different writer/artists, sometimes helping them work on their demos in the studio. One of those bands was called "The Fantastic" Blue Tick Hounds featuring

David Lee Murphy David Lee Murphy (born January 7, 1959) is an American country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American ...

. The Blue Tick Hounds played all over Nashville through the mid and late 80s, and JT continued working with David Lee Murphy throughout his life. . In the spring of 1990, JT left the road to stay in Nashville and focus on doing studio work. Likening it to "starting over again", he played every Jam night, Writer night, showcase club, casual gig, beer joint and dive bar he could find, not to mention trying to get studio work. During this period of taking whatever studio work he could get his hands on, JT met a lot of other really great players, aspiring songwriters, artists and producers, many of whom he continued to work with throughout his life. By 1992, JT was starting to get a good bit of demo session work, while helping form a band called Palomino Road (Capitol/Liberty Records). Palomino Road did one album and about a year and a half of road dates. After Palomino Road disbanded, JT decided to focus 100% on session work.

''Somewhere Under The Radar''

In 2015, Corenflos released a solo album titled ''Somewhere Under The Radar'', composed of 12 instrumental songs showcasing his electric guitar playing.

Gear

Corenflos was known for playing a blue Telecaster style guitar with a 1984 contoured alder Joe Glaser body and the V-shaped neck from a late 1956 Fender Esquire.

Death

On the evening of October 24, 2020, multiple members of Nashville's studio community began posting tributes to Corenflos, including Derek Wells, a long-time friend of his, who confirmed that Corenflos had died earlier that day. Less than a week before his death, it had been announced that Corenflos was battling pneumonia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corenflos, J.T. American country guitarists American male guitarists American session musicians 1963 births 2020 deaths People from Terre Haute, Indiana Country musicians from Indiana 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American musicians 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American musicians Guitarists from Indiana 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians