Shawn Phillips(I)
- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Dubbed "the best kept secret in the music business" by the late rock
musician Bill Graham, Shawn Phillips' music is as wide as his
more-than-4-octave vocal range. Praised for his unusual musical style
and full use of the English language, Phillips defies all conventions
of popular music. He has composed some of the most intense and
thought-provoking music in the business, yet has achieved only a small,
but devoted following, and yet, remains devoted to composing, no matter
how few hear his wonderful music. Shawn Phillips was born 3 February
1943 in Fort Worth, Texas, the son of spy novelist/poet James Atlee
Phillips.
His first introduction to music was sitting under the piano while his
mother played "Malaguena". He first picked up the guitar at the age of
7. He and his family traveled all around the world living in many
varied places, such as Tahiti, and Shawn absorbed the music of wherever
he was. He moved back to Texas in his teens, briefly joined the Navy at
the age of 16, moved back to Texas and then to California in the early
1960s, immersing himself in the folk music scene. Looking for a change,
he moved to England where he recorded two albums for Columbia's
Lansdowne Series, "I'm A Loner" (1965) and "Shawn" (1966). While in
England Shawn met folk musician Donovan Leitch, and played guitar on
Donovan's 1965 Pye album "Fairy Tale", which included the Shawn
Phillips composition "Little Tin Soldier". Later he got into trouble
with the media when he claimed to have co-written many of the songs on
Donovan's 1966 album "Sunshine Superman".
He was eventually thrown out of England for playing without a work
permit. He lived briefly in Paris, then moved to Italy. He then went
back to London in the year of 1968 with the idea of releasing not a
3-record album, but a collection of 3 separate albums released at the
same time. He was rejected at every turn since none were willing to
take on such a vast undertaking for such an unknown musician, that is
until he met producer Jonathan Weston at A&M Records, who agreed to
sign him under the condition that his 3 albums be released separately
instead of at the same time. Reluctantly, Phillips agreed and signed
on. In 1970, "Contribution" was released, followed by 1971's "Second
Contribution", considered by many critics to be his crowning
achievement, and was the record that brought most attention to him from
music critics and the media alike, though by popular standards, it was
not close to what other popular artists at the time were receiving.
Subsequent albums under A&M were released: 1971's "Collaboration"
1972's "Faces", 1973's "Bright White", 1974's "Futhermore", 1975's "Do
You Wonder", 1976's "Rumpelstiltskin's Resolve" and 1977's "Spaced".
Then, A&M dropped him, citing poor album sales. He was picked up by RCA
in 1978 and released the album "Transcendence" under the label. He was
given $100,000 to make the album and he spent $95,000 of it. Despite
the fact that 7 of the 9 songs on the album had full orchestral
arrangements, the entire album was recorded in an astounding 20 days,
from the first day of walking into the studio to the day the master
discs got shipped. RCA soon let Phillips go, and in 1980, his first
"Best Of" collection was released in Canada, called "The Best of Shawn
Phillips". Though he continued to play gigs whenever he could and
continued to compose, he was not picked up by another record label
until the late 1980s.
Under the Chameleon record label, he released 1988's "Beyond Here Be
Dragons". As was expected, the album sold poorly and he was dropped
again. In the same fashion, he was signed on by yet another label,
Imagine, and in 1994, he released "The Truth If It Kills". A couple of
years earlier, in 1992, A&M released in America his 2nd compilation
album, entitled "The Best of Shawn Phillips: The A&M Years". They
released yet another in 1996 called "Another Contribution: An
Anthology". In 1998, under his own record label, Wounded Bird Records,
he re-released 8 of his albums: "I'm A Loner", "Shawn", "Contribution",
"Bright White", "Furthermore", "Do You Wonder", "Transcendence" and
"Beyond Here Be Dragons". In 2002, he released his 15th album, the
aptly titled "No Category". He toured for the album in South Africa,
where he felt his music would make the most difference. Shawn released
his first live album "Living Contribution" in 2007, and "At The BBC" in
2009.
He gave his free time as an Emergency Medical Technician, Marine
Firefighter Rescuer (a rescue scuba diver) and firefighter in Houston,
and in 2001, received the First Responder of the Year Award in 2001
from Pedernales Emergency Services, who gave Phillips his training. His
wife, Juliette Phillips, is also a firefighter and an Emergency Care
Attendant with Shawn. About his limited success, Phillips remains
modest, and has no regrets. He continues to compose and remains the
epitome of a major record company's worst nightmare, refusing to
compromise himself under any situation. As of 2009, Shawn lives in Port
Elizabeth, South Africa with his wife and their son Liam. He remains an
inspiration to those searching for something deeper and more meaningful
in the world of "popular music."
musician Bill Graham, Shawn Phillips' music is as wide as his
more-than-4-octave vocal range. Praised for his unusual musical style
and full use of the English language, Phillips defies all conventions
of popular music. He has composed some of the most intense and
thought-provoking music in the business, yet has achieved only a small,
but devoted following, and yet, remains devoted to composing, no matter
how few hear his wonderful music. Shawn Phillips was born 3 February
1943 in Fort Worth, Texas, the son of spy novelist/poet James Atlee
Phillips.
His first introduction to music was sitting under the piano while his
mother played "Malaguena". He first picked up the guitar at the age of
7. He and his family traveled all around the world living in many
varied places, such as Tahiti, and Shawn absorbed the music of wherever
he was. He moved back to Texas in his teens, briefly joined the Navy at
the age of 16, moved back to Texas and then to California in the early
1960s, immersing himself in the folk music scene. Looking for a change,
he moved to England where he recorded two albums for Columbia's
Lansdowne Series, "I'm A Loner" (1965) and "Shawn" (1966). While in
England Shawn met folk musician Donovan Leitch, and played guitar on
Donovan's 1965 Pye album "Fairy Tale", which included the Shawn
Phillips composition "Little Tin Soldier". Later he got into trouble
with the media when he claimed to have co-written many of the songs on
Donovan's 1966 album "Sunshine Superman".
He was eventually thrown out of England for playing without a work
permit. He lived briefly in Paris, then moved to Italy. He then went
back to London in the year of 1968 with the idea of releasing not a
3-record album, but a collection of 3 separate albums released at the
same time. He was rejected at every turn since none were willing to
take on such a vast undertaking for such an unknown musician, that is
until he met producer Jonathan Weston at A&M Records, who agreed to
sign him under the condition that his 3 albums be released separately
instead of at the same time. Reluctantly, Phillips agreed and signed
on. In 1970, "Contribution" was released, followed by 1971's "Second
Contribution", considered by many critics to be his crowning
achievement, and was the record that brought most attention to him from
music critics and the media alike, though by popular standards, it was
not close to what other popular artists at the time were receiving.
Subsequent albums under A&M were released: 1971's "Collaboration"
1972's "Faces", 1973's "Bright White", 1974's "Futhermore", 1975's "Do
You Wonder", 1976's "Rumpelstiltskin's Resolve" and 1977's "Spaced".
Then, A&M dropped him, citing poor album sales. He was picked up by RCA
in 1978 and released the album "Transcendence" under the label. He was
given $100,000 to make the album and he spent $95,000 of it. Despite
the fact that 7 of the 9 songs on the album had full orchestral
arrangements, the entire album was recorded in an astounding 20 days,
from the first day of walking into the studio to the day the master
discs got shipped. RCA soon let Phillips go, and in 1980, his first
"Best Of" collection was released in Canada, called "The Best of Shawn
Phillips". Though he continued to play gigs whenever he could and
continued to compose, he was not picked up by another record label
until the late 1980s.
Under the Chameleon record label, he released 1988's "Beyond Here Be
Dragons". As was expected, the album sold poorly and he was dropped
again. In the same fashion, he was signed on by yet another label,
Imagine, and in 1994, he released "The Truth If It Kills". A couple of
years earlier, in 1992, A&M released in America his 2nd compilation
album, entitled "The Best of Shawn Phillips: The A&M Years". They
released yet another in 1996 called "Another Contribution: An
Anthology". In 1998, under his own record label, Wounded Bird Records,
he re-released 8 of his albums: "I'm A Loner", "Shawn", "Contribution",
"Bright White", "Furthermore", "Do You Wonder", "Transcendence" and
"Beyond Here Be Dragons". In 2002, he released his 15th album, the
aptly titled "No Category". He toured for the album in South Africa,
where he felt his music would make the most difference. Shawn released
his first live album "Living Contribution" in 2007, and "At The BBC" in
2009.
He gave his free time as an Emergency Medical Technician, Marine
Firefighter Rescuer (a rescue scuba diver) and firefighter in Houston,
and in 2001, received the First Responder of the Year Award in 2001
from Pedernales Emergency Services, who gave Phillips his training. His
wife, Juliette Phillips, is also a firefighter and an Emergency Care
Attendant with Shawn. About his limited success, Phillips remains
modest, and has no regrets. He continues to compose and remains the
epitome of a major record company's worst nightmare, refusing to
compromise himself under any situation. As of 2009, Shawn lives in Port
Elizabeth, South Africa with his wife and their son Liam. He remains an
inspiration to those searching for something deeper and more meaningful
in the world of "popular music."