When Phil Earhart lost his prolonged battle with lung cancer last Wednesday, the city lost one of the strongest voices in the revival of its classic R&B scene. The vigorous leader of the Jefferson Street Bluesmen not only wrote, sang, arranged and played guitar for a quintet whose combined experience totaled over 200 years with major artists and labels; he also gave back to the North Nashville community by arranging benefits with the Music City Blues Society for community organizations like Renewal House and Kids to the Country.
The title of that series of benefits, "Blues in the Streets," was the same as the Bluesmen's latest album, a record that garnered considerable praise, including my year-end pick as best local blues CD of 2004. Reminiscent of Albert King's most prophetic blues, its title track confronts the realities of urban blight and disintegration. Thick with the rhythms and flavors of the country blues, "Sweet Homeland of the Blues" recalls Earhart's early days listening to the radio, learning from local players like Johnny Jones, touring on the chitlin circuit and making his first purchases from Ernie's Record Mart. Earhart went on to manage the celebrated record outlet.
As the writer or co-writer of over 40 copyrighted songs, Earhart composed in the R&B, blues and country genres. (The last of these included the unforgettably titled "My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend, and I Sure Do Miss Him.") Longtime friend Gene Golden, who played keyboards for Kenny Rogers and who knew Earhart when they were both in their early teens, remembers a man whose "integrity could not be bought," thus leading to frustration with the songwriting business in Music City. Earhart played at various times with William Potter's Continentals and country-soul pioneer Arthur Alexander. His mid-1970s tune "Funky Fox," which was produced by Rogers' brother Leland, was used as theme music for WVOL.
Earhart was deep into his 26-year career with Roadway Express before he effected the "rebirth" of the J-Street Bluesmen, who revived the name of a popular local 1940s and '50s combo. According to the group's bassist, Johnny Terrell, the core of the Bluesmen was formed by chance in 1999, when he and Earhart brought electric instruments to what was supposed to be an acoustic blues concert in Centennial Park and immediately formed a bond.
Terrell and others also remember how Earhart tirelessly strove to find opportunities for the band and how he always put the needs of his bandmates before his own. He also was a perfectionist, energetically seeking to reanimate each number in the group's repertoire so that it would evoke a distinct moment of the region's blues and R&B history.
—Bill Levine
