Phil Leadbetter
Encyclopedia
Phil Leadbetter is one of the leading players of the resonator guitar
.
In 1994, Phil received a Grammy Nomination for "Best Bluegrass Album" at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards for his work with J. D. Crowe
and the New South
on the album "Flashback". In 2005 he was voted International Bluegrass Music Association
"Dobro
Player Of The Year". That year he also won "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.
Born in Knoxville, Tennessee
, Phil was a 1980 graduate of Gibbs High School
in Corryton, Tennessee
. Gibbs was also the high school attended by country artist Kenny Chesney
. Phil currently plays with The Whites
. They are Grand Ole Opry
members and multiple Grammy Award winners.
Phil's previous professional work:
1988 : The Grandpa Jones
Show
1989 : The Vern Gosdin
Band
1990-2001 J.D. Crowe And The New South
2002-2006 Wildfire (Founding member)
2007-2010 Grasstowne (Founding member)
2010-Present The Whites
The Phil Leadbetter Signature Dobro, manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation
, is named after him. It features a square neck for steel guitar
playing and a single inverted-cone resonator. The guitar also features solid wood construction. It is the only guitar being made today which bears the name "Dobro".
Resonator guitar
A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
.
In 1994, Phil received a Grammy Nomination for "Best Bluegrass Album" at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards for his work with J. D. Crowe
J. D. Crowe
James Dee Crowe is an American banjo player and bluegrass band leader. He first became known during his four year stint with Jimmy Martin in the 1950s.-Biography:...
and the New South
New South (band)
The New South is a bluegrass band formed around 1973 by banjo player J. D. Crowe. Their first two albums, Bluegrass Evolution and the eponymous record known by the album number, "Rounder 0044," established them as a dominant force in bluegrass, though the two albums are wildly different.-Band...
on the album "Flashback". In 2005 he was voted International Bluegrass Music Association
International Bluegrass Music Association
The International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music.Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International Bluegrass Music Museum as a joint venture with...
"Dobro
Dobro
Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
Player Of The Year". That year he also won "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.
Born in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, Phil was a 1980 graduate of Gibbs High School
Gibbs High School (Corryton, Tennessee)
Gibbs High School is a public high school located in Corryton, Tennessee located at 7628 Tazewell Pike. The school was founded in 1913 in a two story brick building built on 12 acres which burned down in 1937. The second building burned down 13 years later in 1950. The third and current school...
in Corryton, Tennessee
Corryton, Tennessee
Corryton is an unincorporated community in northeastern Knox County, Tennessee, United States, about 15 miles north of Knoxville. The United States Geographic Names System classifies Corryton as a populated place...
. Gibbs was also the high school attended by country artist Kenny Chesney
Kenny Chesney
Kenneth "Kenny" Arnold Chesney is an American country music singer and songwriter. Chesney has recorded 15 albums, 14 of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. He has also produced more than 30 Top Ten singles on the U.S...
. Phil currently plays with The Whites
The Whites
The Whites is an American country music vocal group consisting of lead singer Sharon White, her sister Cheryl , and their father Buck...
. They are Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
members and multiple Grammy Award winners.
Phil's previous professional work:
1988 : The Grandpa Jones
Grandpa Jones
Louis Marshall Jones , known professionally as Grandpa Jones, was an American banjo player and "old time" country and gospel music singer...
Show
1989 : The Vern Gosdin
Vern Gosdin
Vern Gosdin was an American country music singer. He idolized The Louvin Brothers and The Blue Sky Boys as a young man and sang in a gospel quartet called The Gosdin Brothers. An inheritor of the soulful honky tonk style of Lefty Frizzell and Merle Haggard, Gosdin was nicknamed "The Voice" by his...
Band
1990-2001 J.D. Crowe And The New South
2002-2006 Wildfire (Founding member)
2007-2010 Grasstowne (Founding member)
2010-Present The Whites
The Whites
The Whites is an American country music vocal group consisting of lead singer Sharon White, her sister Cheryl , and their father Buck...
The Phil Leadbetter Signature Dobro, manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
, is named after him. It features a square neck for steel guitar
Steel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
playing and a single inverted-cone resonator. The guitar also features solid wood construction. It is the only guitar being made today which bears the name "Dobro".