Biography
Phil Baugh earned acclaim as one of Nashville’s premier session guitarists throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Northern California was his birthplace and childhood home, where he first played guitar in church services before progressing to band work and nightclub appearances. His initial major break came via Ray Price, whose support secured a Longhorn Records contract in Dallas. The 1964 album Country Guitar, recorded with Vern Stovall, yielded the major hits “Country Guitar” and “One Man Band.” In 1965 the ACM named him Best Guitarist, Billboard selected him as Outstanding Instrumentalist of the Year, and Cashbox awarded him Instrumentalist of the Year. He rejoined Ray Price’s band as lead guitarist in 1969. Two years later he relocated to Dallas, where he became a sought-after studio musician for jingles and album sessions. His 1975 move to Nashville established him as one of the city’s busiest session players. The “Phil Baugh Pedal,” an invention consisting of six pedals that bent electric guitar strings to emulate steel guitar tones, shaped his distinctive sound. He assembled the Superpickers in 1980, enlisting steel guitarist Buddy Emmons, drummer Buddy Harmon, bassist Henry Stryzlecki, pianist Willie Rainsford, and percussion/harmonica player Terry McMillian. A thriving producing career also developed for him in the early 1980s. Although a coronary in 1985 impaired his health, he continued performing on the Nashville Network’s Church Street Station until his death in 1990 at age 53.
Albums