Shawn Phillips

Phillips in 1971

Phillips was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the son of James Young Phillips, a writer of detective novels under the pseudonym of Philip Atlee and the brother of CIA officer David Atlee Phillips. He grew up in various locations around the world, including Tahiti, 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.[2][5]

He played in folk clubs in the early 1960s, alongside singer-songwriter Tim Hardin, comedian Lenny Bruce and others, and when in Saskatoon, Canada, met and taught guitar techniques to aspiring singer Joni Anderson (later Mitchell). He recorded his first single, an adaptation of Bob Gibson's version of "Frankie and Johnnie" (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. Phillips released two albums on the label, I'm a Loner (1964) and Shawn (1965), though neither were successful. During this period, Phillips also met Donovan. The pair ultimately collaborated on several songs, including "Season of the Witch", for which Phillips (though uncredited) composed the melody.[2] Phillips also appeared on several of Donovan's albums, including Fairytale (on which Phillips is credited as co-writer of "Little Tin Soldier"), Sunshine Superman, and Mellow Yellow. Through Donovan, he met The Beatles and contributed backing vocals on "Lovely Rita".[5][4]

In 1967, he left England after his work permit expired, and after a period in Paris moved to Positano 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.[6] Sponsored by Dick James, he also recorded material with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood of Traffic.[2] 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, but they decided to release only one album, comprising only Phillips' songs, which was released as Contribution (1970). The album, which ranged from folk rock to "introspective quasi-classical guitar pieces"[2] 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).

Phillips continued to tour, and secured a standing ovation for his impromptu solo performance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. He was also approached to be the lead in the Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and started rehearsing the show, but withdrew because of contractual disagreements with the show's producer, Robert Stigwood.[5] 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 pop LP chart in the U.S..[7] In addition, the singles "Lost Horizon" (No. 63) and "We" (No. 92) appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1973.[8]

According to Bruce Eder at Allmusic, his 1970s recordings "established his reputation for boundless, nearly peerless creativity and virtuosity... [as a] 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."[2]

Later in the 1970s, Phillips began experimenting with jazz and funk music. using electronic keyboards. He moved to RCA Records, and released Transcendence (1978), on which he played with Herbie Hancock and a symphony orchestra. 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, Caleb Quaye, 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 (EMT) and firefighter in Texas. He moved to near Port Elizabeth, South Africa in 2000 with his wife Juliette, and worked as a paramedic with the National Sea Rescue Institute. His album No Category, containing a mix of new and unreleased music featuring his longtime collaborators Paul Buckmaster and Peter Robinson, was released in 2002.[2] 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.[2]

Since 2016, Phillips has resided in Louisville, Kentucky with Juliette and their son Liam.[9] He now divides his time between writing, recording, touring and his EMT work.

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:

I'm not that interested in the fame, and popularity, but I would like to have the money that comes with it. I suppose the two have to go hand in hand. My "secrecy" is simply because none of the companies I have ever been affiliated with have cared enough to hire a national PR firm on an annual basis as part of the machine that creates the fame and popularity. Also, if you use a word like xenophobia in a song, or any word that the general public has to look up, they tend to shy away from any semblance of intelligence in popular music.[4]

Before moving to Louisville, Kentucky in 2016, his wife Juliette and 12-year-old son Liam, Phillips lived in Italy and in South Africa.[10]

Phillips's uncle, David Atlee Phillips, was a top CIA officer who was associated with the alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.[11]

• Official website
• Shawn Phillips's channel on YouTube
• Official ReverbNation channel
• Shawn Phillips sings BREAKTHROUGH (1974) on YouTube
• Walking Through the Fields: The Shawn Phillips interview
• Shawn Phillips at discogs.com