Phil Leadbetter
Phil Leadbetter (born March 31, 1962) 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 and 2014 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) 2010–2011 The Whites 2013-2016 The Dale Ann Bradley Band 2016-Present Flashback
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".
In April 2011, Phil was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. This is a form of cancer that attacks the lymph nodes. After 15 months of very intense chemotherapy came improvement, and in late August 2012, Phil entered a stem cell program which totally healed the cancer as of Dec. 20 2012. He returned to performing in February 2013 as a member of The Dale Ann Bradley Band after nearly 2 years of being away from the business due to his illness. In 2015, Phil was awarded "Dobro Player Of The Year" at The Imternational Bluegrass Music Awards. This was his 2nd time winning this award. One of only 3 dobro players to ever win that award. Phil also released a new CD titled "The Next Move" in the Fall of 2015. In March 2016, Phil left The Dale Ann Bradley band to help form the bluegrass group Flashback. Flashback was the original Grammy nominated J.D Crowe And The Newsouth band from 1994. The group, along with Crowe toured during 2015 as a 20-year reunion tour. At the end of 2015, Crowe retired from music, but the band continues to perform full-time as Flashback.
Phil was inducted into The Atlanta Country Music Hall Of Fame on November 28th, 2015