Shawn Phillips

Shawn Phillips (born February 3, 1943) is an American folk-rock musician, primarily influential in the 1960s and 1970s. Phillips has recorded twenty albums and worked with musicians including Donovan, Paul Buckmaster, J. Peter Robinson, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Bernie Taupin, and many others. The Texas-born singer-songwriter was described as "The best kept secret in the music business" by the late rock impresario Bill Graham.

Phillips was born in Fort Worth, Texas. In the 1960s he worked as a session player on several Donovan albums including Fairytale, Sunshine Superman, and Mellow Yellow, performed at the Isle of Wight festival, sang on "Lovely Rita" by the Beatles, and was cast to play the lead in the original production of Jesus Christ Superstar (he had to withdraw due to his heavy recording and touring schedule). In February 1969 Phillips wrote and performed, with The Djinn, the music for the controversial Jane Arden play Vagina Rex and the Gas Oven at the Arts Laboratory on Drury Lane.(Read more at Wikipedia

Links to Peel
Peel became aware of Shawn Phillips in 1967, when the DJ was working for Radio London. A listener to his Perfumed Garden programme sent him a copy of the singer's 1965 LP for EMI Columbia, Shawn, and Peel played tracks from it on the PG, including Billy Edd Wheeler's song "Coal Tattoo", which was featured on the final Perfumed Garden of 14 August 1967. The DJ also played Phillips's 1967 single "Stargazer", commercially unsuccessful but now appreciated by collectors of rare psychedelia.

After a break, Shawn Phillips resumed his recording career in 1970, and Peel played tracks from his albums and featured him in session on his Top Gear programmes during the first half of the 1970s. But his most lasting link to Peel is as a contributor to Donovan's "Sunshine Superman" LP. Phillips was a member of Donovan's social and musical circle for a time and has since claimed that he was co-author of some of the singer's material. He is said to have played sitar on some Donovan tracks, including Peel's life-long favourite "Guinevere".

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Other Shows Played
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