MP3 Phil Humphrey and The Fendermen - That Was Then...This Is Now

Bluesy, soulful voice that powered the Fendermen to their 1960's hit Mule Skinner Blues

12 MP3 Songs
COUNTRY: Country Blues, BLUES: Mellow Blues



Details:
PHIL HUMPHREY OF âTHE FENDERMENâ BIOGRAPHY

Phil was born in Madison, Wisconsin on the 26th of November 1937. He started singing at eight years old and at that age, he made his first recording on a wire recorder that his father had. Phil was hooked from that moment. He sang tenor in the church choir and had his first band as a junior in high school. The band played at all the school dances and when he was a senior, Phil had the lead role of âRalph Rackstrawâ in the school musical version of H.M.S. Pinafore. After graduation, he and his band toured the local Southern Wisconsin area and became quite popular. In 1957, Phil joined the US Navy and in 1959, he became a SEAL and did a âblackâ tour of duty until 1960.

The story of âThe Fendermenâ is one of those too good to be true stories of the business, but true nonetheless. It's one of two guitarists, Phil Humphrey and Jim Sundquist, both born on the same day and month in two different towns who didn't meet until they were teenagers. Mutually infused with the rock'n'roll bug, they started playing as a duo, naming themselves after the Fender guitars they played with both of them plugged into a single amplifier. They formed the group called âThe Fendermenâ and recorded the Jimmy Rodgers song âMule Skinner Bluesâ which would become a huge smash. Originally released on the Cuca label in 1959, by the following year there was another release on Soma and it started climbing the charts in June of 1960, finally landing at number five in Cashbox and number 38 in Billboard. Sales to date are about 4,500,000 copies worldwide.

The band and its format changed a few times over the next seven years. The hits that followed âMule Skinner Bluesâ were âDonât You Just Know Itâ and âHeartbreakinâ Special.â They followed up with a fairly good vinyl album in 1962. Like many others of that generation, Phil was âscrewedâ by his record company, his manager, his booking agent, his distribution company and anyone else with their hand in his pocket . . .no, he was not a good business man, but did love to sing to his fans. That has not changed to this day. Philâs dream of returning from the ashes to sing to the amazing amount of people who are still fans of âthe voice that powered the Fendermen,â is being fullfilled at the time of this writing!

His newest recording is called âThat Was Then, This is nowâ and has something in it for everyone. Phil puts together an eclectic group of twelve of his favorite songs that he has listened to, recorded or played over the last 45 years. They include the old and new âMule Skinner Bluesâ and the new âDonât You Just Know It.â This album was produced by Doc Holiday and co-produced by Michael Humphrey, Philâs son. Phil plans to follow his latest release with a tour of Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan as well as his favorite place to perform, the mid-western USA.

Future recording plans are a collection of soft classics called âAfter Midnight with Phil Humphrey.â Phil is currently signed to Lit Match Records and is being distributed through Mega Records. He currently resides in Santa Barbara, California.