Tony McPhee was a giant of the British blues scene and is regarded as one of the most charismatic musicians of his generation. He started his career in the 1960s and became famous as an exceptionally skilled slide guitarist. His band The Groundhogs achieved great popularity in the early 1970s and successfully promoted three albums that reached the top ten of the most popular recordings in the UK.
Tony McPhee is dead. The founder of The Groundhogs was 79 years old
Tony McPhee and his band toured with such blues artists as Little Walter and Jimmy Red. In 1971, the band played a joint tour with the Rolling Stones, and their most popular releases from that decade are the albums “Thank Christ for the Bomb”, “Split” and “Who Will Save the World”. Listeners especially liked the song “Cherry Red” after the performance on the cult show “Top of the Pops”. McPhee emphasized: “I always try to write and play songs that are timeless and out of fashion – just like the blues. I am honest and able to incorporate new ideas and playing techniques into my music” – “The Guardian”.
During his long career, the musician has collaborated with artists such as Champion Jack Dupree, John Lee Hooker, Big Joe Williams, Billy Boy Arnold, Jo-Ann Kelly and Joanna Deacon. He also played with the band Herbal Mixture, even the Polish Blues Rock Guitar Workshop led by Leszek Cichoński, and the Outsider formation. He performed in Poland for the first time in 1994 and visited our country several times, playing intimate club concerts or at the Rawa Blues festival. In 2000, he even released the album “Live in Poland at Blues Express”.
McPhee suffered a stroke in 2009 that severely affected his ability to speak and sing. Since then, he had increasingly serious health problems. In 2022, there was a serious fall and the artist died as a result of the long-term consequences of the accident. The news of his death was confirmed by The Groundhogs.
Source: Gazeta
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