washington phillips

Biography

George Washington "Wash" Phillips (January 11, 1880 – September 20, 1954) was an American gospel and gospel blues singer and instrumentalist who emerged as one of the most distinctive and mysterious figures in early 20th-century American music. Born near Cotton Gin, Texas, in Freestone County, Phillips was the son of freed slaves who had purchased farmland in the freedmen's community of Simsboro, near Teague, Texas, following emancipation in 1865. He farmed 30–40 acres of land while serving as a "jack-leg preacher"—an unlicensed minister who would preach at churches and spontaneous street gatherings—and was affiliated with multiple congregations including Pleasant Hill Trinity Baptist Church, St. Paul Church of God In Christ, and St. James Methodist Church.

Phillips' recording career was remarkably brief but extraordinarily prolific in its impact. Between December 1927 and December 1929, he recorded 18 songs for Columbia Records in a makeshift studio in Dallas under the direction of Frank B. Walker, producing what musicologist Garry Harrison called "the absolute height of rural originality." His first three 78 rpm releases in 1928 achieved his best commercial success, with his debut "Take Your Burden To the Lord and Leave It There" selling 8,725 copies. However, the Stock Market Crash of September 1929 devastated the market for gospel records, and Phillips, already 47 years old when he began recording, was largely washed up by age 50. He subsequently retreated into rural life, playing music for neighbors and churchgoers in Simsboro until his death in 1954 following a fall down the stairs at city hall in Teague.

Phillips' musical legacy rests on his completely original sound—a fusion of Christian blues and gospel characterized by ethereal, celestial vocals accompanied by a mysterious homemade instrument he called a "Manzarene" (later identified by Frank B. Walker as a "dulceola"). His music emerged from post-slavery Black America, when blues and gospel existed as spiritual neighbors yet remained worlds apart. His most celebrated composition, "Denomination Blues," critiques sectarianism in organized religion and has become his most enduring work, covered by numerous artists across generations. Though largely forgotten for decades, Phillips' work was rediscovered in the 1960s and has since been recognized as a singular artistic achievement—a body of work that sounds simultaneously ancient and timeless, simple yet intricately developed to the point of being almost psychedelic.

Fun Facts

• Phillips' mysterious instrument, which he called a "Manzarene," was actually a homemade creation assembled from broken, discarded parts. Frank B. Walker reported that Phillips would spend half an hour or more assembling it before each recording session, and claimed that "nobody else on earth could use it except him."
• For decades, Phillips' biographical information was incorrectly based on the death certificate of his cousin, who died in a state asylum at age 47. The real Washington Phillips lived until 1954, dying at age 74 after a fall down the stairs at city hall in Teague, Texas.
• Phillips' first recording, "Take Your Burden To the Lord and Leave It There," was a commercial success by 1920s standards, selling 8,725 copies at 75 cents per record—but the Stock Market Crash of September 1929 devastated the market for gospel records, effectively ending his recording career just two years after it began.
• His most famous song, "Denomination Blues," was discovered by the 1960s counterculture and covered by blues legend Ry Cooder in 1971, leading to a major revival of interest in Phillips' work decades after his death. Sister Rosetta Tharpe had already adapted the song as "That's All" in 1938, making it her first recording on electric guitar.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Charles Albert Tindley - Methodist preacher whose hymn "What Are They Doing in Heaven" (1901) Phillips recorded and popularized ("What Are They Doing in Heaven Today?" (Phillips' version, 1927-1929)) [1901 (hymn composition) - 1927-1929 (Phillips' recording)]

Key Collaborators

• Frank B. Walker - Columbia Records director who supervised Phillips' recording sessions and identified his instrument as a "dulceola" (All 18 recorded tracks (1927-1929)) [1927-1929]

Artists Influenced

• Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Pioneering gospel and electric guitar artist who adapted Phillips' "Denomination Blues" into "That's All" with altered lyrics and secular arrangement ("That's All" (1938, Decca 2503B) - first record on which she played electric guitar) [1938 (early 1940s)]
• Ry Cooder - Blues and roots musician who recorded Phillips' compositions on multiple albums, bringing his work to wider audiences ("Denomination Blues" (Into the Purple Valley, 1971) and "You Can't Stop a Tattler" as "Tattler" (Paradise and Lunch, 1974)) [1971-1974]
• Linda Ronstadt - Contemporary pop/country artist who covered Ry Cooder's arrangement of Phillips' "Tattler" ("Tattler" (Hasten Down The Wind, 1976)) [1976]
• 2nd Chapter of Acts - Contemporary Christian group that recorded Phillips' "Denomination Blues" ("Denomination Blues" (To the Bride, 1975 live album with Barry McGuire)) [1975]
• The 77s - Contemporary Christian band that recorded Phillips' "Denomination Blues" ("Denomination Blues" (Ping Pong over the Abyss, 1983)) [1983]
• Jorma Kaukonen - Jefferson Airplane guitarist and solo artist who recorded Phillips' composition ("What Are They Doing in Heaven Today?" (Blue Country Heart, 2002)) [2002]
• Will Oldham - Alternative/experimental musician who recorded Phillips' composition with Palace Brothers ("I Had a Good Father and Mother" (Palace Brothers album)) [1990s]

Discography

Albums

Top Tracks

1. Mother's Last Word To Her Son (The Key To The Kingdom)
2. Lift Him Up That's All (The Key To The Kingdom)
3. What Are They Doing In Heaven Today? (Storefront & Streetcorner Gospel 1927 - 1929)
4. What Are They Doing In Heaven Today (The Key To The Kingdom)
5. I Had A Good Father And Mother (The Key To The Kingdom)
6. Take Your Burden To The Lord And Leave It There (The Key To The Kingdom)
7. Denomination Blues, Pt. 1 (The Key To The Kingdom)
8. Paul And Silas In Jail (The Key To The Kingdom)
9. Denomination Blues, Pt. 2 (The Key To The Kingdom)
10. Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There (Washington Phillips and His Manzarene Dreams)

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia