Joe Maphis

Country music legend Joe Maphis was born in 1921 in the town of Suffolk, Virginia. The son of a guitarist, Joe picked up the instrument at age eleven and soon after began playing piano in a local square dance group with his father and uncle. For the next several years he played in numerous ensembles across Maryland and Virginia.

In 1944, Joe entered the U.S. Army. He initially had no intent to put his musical skills to use as a member of military entertainment, but it wasn’t long until his extraordinary talent was discovered while his troop was headed to the Pacific theater of war. He was quickly reassigned and soon led the Swing Billy Revue, performing for troops throughout the Pacific, sometimes even in the midst of combat. 

When he returned to the US in 1946, he landed a radio gig in Chicago and picked up his career where he left off. While performing between Chicago and Virginia in the ensuing years, Maphis met singer and guitarist Rose Lee Schetrompf (soon-to-be Rose Lee Maphis). The two eventually wedded in 1953 and became musical collaborators for life. 

In 1951, his career accelerated immensely thanks to the support of Merle Travis and Johnny Bond, two influential country musicians he had met in his touring years who invited him to Los Angeles to record. Throughout the 50s and 60s, Joe took part in countless studio sessions and TV appearances, recording soundtracks, themes, country and pop songs, and even his own successful numbers like his much-performed hit “Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music).”

Joe performed for decades to come, appearing on three albums for CMH: 1978’s Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Good Old Country Music) with Rose Lee & Dale, 1979’s Country Guitar Giants with Merle Travis, and 1981’s The Joe Maphis Flat-Picking Spectacular. CMH is proud to house these excellent late-career recordings by this timeless musician.

Joe Maphis passed away in 1985. He and Rose Lee had three children together: Dale, Lorrie, and Jody (the latter an active musician who has performed with many country and bluegrass legends). Because of Joe’s deep respect for guitarist Mother Maybelle Carter and the fact that he had an admirer in Carter’s son-in-law Johnny Cash, Maphis was laid to rest in the Cash and Carter burial plot in Hendersonville, Tennessee.