Remembering Bill Phillips
Friday, August 27 2010
by Frank Stasio and Lindsay Thomas
Album cover, "Put It Off Until Tomorrow"
Country music artist Bill Phillips started playing the guitar in his childhood. He grew up in Canton, North Carolina and when he left home for Miami, Phillips started making his mark in the music industry. The tenor singer toured for nearly two decades with the well-known “Kitty Wells Show” and followed that up with a thriving solo career that resulted in 19 chart hits. Phillips died Monday at the age of 72, but he leaves behind some classic country tunes and an important music legacy that’s partly responsible for introducing Dolly Parton to a mainstream audience. Host Frank Stasio remembers Bill Phillips with help from writer Ralph Harkey of the Charlotte Country Music News Examiner and Tom “Cat” Reeder, a friend of Phillips and host of WAMU’s “Bluegrass Country” show.
