Born in
Knoxville, Tennessee, Leadbetter began playing the resonator guitar at age 12. He was a 1980 graduate of
Gibbs High School in
Corryton, Tennessee. In April 2011, Leadbetter was diagnosed with
Hodgkins Lymphoma, a form of cancer that attacks the lymph nodes. After return of cancer two more times, Leadbetter was diagnosed for a fifth time in June 2019, and in September 2019 became a five-time survivor on the new drug Opdivo. This is the same drug that Leadbetter had been given during clinical trials. Leadbetter died in October 2021, after having contracted
COVID-19 the previous month.
Career A summary of Leadbetter's professional career: • 1988: The
Grandpa Jones Show • 1989: The
Vern Gosdin Band • 1990–2001:
J. D. Crowe and
the New South • 2002–2006: Wildfire (founding member) • 2007–2010: Grasstowne (founding member) • 2010–2011:
The Whites • 2013–2016: The
Dale Ann Bradley Band • 2016–2017: Flashback (founding member) • 2017–2021: Phil Leadbetter And The All-Stars Of Bluegrass Leadbetter returned to performing in February 2013 as a member of Dale Ann Bradley's band after nearly 2 years away from the music business. He released a solo CD
The Next Move in the fall of 2015. In March 2016, Leadbetter left the Dale Ann Bradley band to help form the bluegrass group Flashback. The members of Flashback were in the original Grammy nominated J. D Crowe And the New South band from 1994. Flashback and Crowe toured during 2015 on a 20-year reunion tour. At the end of 2015, Crowe retired from music, but the band continued to perform under the name "Flashback". Leadbetter departed the band in November 2017 to start a new musical direction with his new band Phil Leadbetter And The All-Stars Of Bluegrass.
Awards and recognition In 1994, Leadbetter received a Grammy Nomination for "Best Bluegrass Album" at the 37th Annual
Grammy Awards for his work with
J. D. Crowe and the
New South on the album
Flashback. In 2005, 2014, and 2019, he was voted
International Bluegrass Music Association "
Dobro Player Of The Year". He also won the 2005 "Instrumental Album Of The Year" for his CD
Slide Effects. His song "California Cottonfields" held the #1 spot on the National Bluegrass Chart for two consecutive months in 2005. In 2015, Leadbetter was awarded "Dobro Player Of The Year" at The International Bluegrass Music Awards. This was his second time winning this award. One of only three dobro players to ever win that award. Leadbetter was inducted into The Atlanta Country Music Hall Of Fame on November 28, 2015. The 'Phil Leadbetter Signature Dobro' manufactured by the
Gibson Guitar Corporation featured a square neck for
steel guitar playing and a single inverted-cone resonator. The guitar also featured solid wood construction. It was the only guitar being made at that time which bore the name "Dobro". After the shut down of the Gibson Acoustic division, Leadbetter moved over to The Recording King Company, and a new line of resonator guitars were released bearing his name in late 2018. ==Discography==