Joe Maphis
b. Otis W. (‘Joe’) Maphis, 12 May 1921, near Suffolk, Virginia, USA, d. 27 June 1986, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. His father taught him to play the fiddle as a child and he was performing at local dances by the age of 10. At 16, Maphis was a featured musician on WBRA Richmond, by which time he also played guitar, mandolin and bass. During the '40s, he starred on several top country shows, including Boone County Jamboree (later the Midwestern Hayride) (WLW Cincinnati), National Barn Dance (WLS Chicago) and Old Dominion Barn Dance (WRVA Richmond), where he first met his future wife Rose Lee (b. 29 December 1922, Baltimore, Maryland, USA). She was singing and playing the guitar before she reached her teens and at the age of 15, as Rose Of The Mountains, she had her own show on radio in Hagerstown, Maryland. In 1948, she met Maphis and they were soon married. They moved to Los Angeles in 1951, where they became regulars on Cliffie Stone's Hometown Jamboree and later stars of the televised Town Hall Party from KFI Compton. Maphis also worked with Merle Travis on occasion and they recorded two duet albums together. In the '50s, apart from their own recordings they worked as session musicians. Joe, with his super-fast picking on his unusual double-necked guitar, was much in demand by both country and pop artists and he recorded with rockabilly singers such as Wanda Jackson and Ricky Nelson, with whom he also toured. Maphis appeared with many of the major country stars, including Jimmy Dean and Jerry Lee Lewis on network television shows. From the '50s, for almost 30 years, he and Rose Lee toured with their own show, joined later by their three children Jody, Dale and Lorrie. During this time they not only played in every state but also in Europe and the Far East. They made their home in Nashville in the '60s, where Joe's multi-instrumental skills were much in demand for session work. He played the background music on several films and television series, including Thunder Road, Have Gun Will Travel, The Virginian and The FBI Story. Their abilities won them the nickname of Mr & Mrs Country Music. Over the years, they recorded in their own right for several labels, including Capitol, Starday and CMH. In 1960, Joe gave 11-year-old Barbara Mandrell her first big break in country music when he included her on his show at the Showboat Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas. (Contrary to many reference books, although Barbara referred to him as Uncle Joe, he was not her real uncle) Joe Maphis, who was Bert Weedon's favourite picker, became known as the King Of The Strings and ranks with Merle Travis and Chet Atkins as one of the finest guitarists of all time. He died in June 1986.