Joe Maphis Was Country Music’s ‘King Of The Strings’

I suppose if you talked randomly to Country Music fans and asked them who they thought of when you said the word 'guitar', they'd probably first come up with Chet Atkins.  And with good reason.  Chet was (and is) probably the most well known guitarist in country music history.

Other names would come up, too of course.  Jerry Reed and his famous 'claw' picking.  Perhaps more recently, names like Vince Gill and Brad Paisley would be mentioned.  And there's no doubt about it, they are all world-class guitarists (or pickers, as we used to call them!).

But to country music fans of a, uh, certain age, they'd immediately think of a man called 'The King of Strings'.

Joe Maphis has been gone now for nearly four decades.  But in the 1950's and 1960's, perhaps one of the words most closely associated with Joe was 'flashy'.  When Joe strapped on a guitar, it became more than an instrument.  It became part of him.

Joe was best known playing a double-neck Mosrite (you can check it out in the Country Music hall of Fame).  But rather than talk about, let's watch Joe 'Pickin' and Singin'.

The video is certainly of a 'vintage' age and check out who introduces him...another Country Music Hall of Fame Legend.