Washington Phillips

Washington Phillips is one of the most controversial and mysterious figures of the 1920's blues & gospel age, with fierce debates going on to this day concerning everything from the basic facts of his life and death to the type of instrument he played.
Believed to have born Jan.11 1880 in or near Fairfield Texas. He became an itnerant preacher travelling from church to church reagardless of denomination eventually ending up in Dallas where he recorded a series of 78's for Columbia Records from 1927-29. These records are unlike any others from the era, gentle yet complex with long biblical recitations sung in a more low key voice than the roar of Blind Willie Johnson or Rev. Gary Davis, and accompanied by the delicate ringing sounds of an unknown stringed or keyed insturment rather than a blues guitar based sound. In fact Phillips' sound seemed to be a holdover to an earlier era before blues, jazz or ragtime.
~ What instrument did he play?
The controversy over exactly what instrument the long-forgotten Phillips played began when he was "rediscovered" in the folk boom of the early 60's when a copy of the original paper-work from Columbia's 1927 session turned up listing the instrument as a Dolceola, an archaic keyed instrument similar to a small piano or harpsichord used in the Victorian era. Rarely recorded, the dolceola was sometimes used by travelling musicians (who could not get access to a piano) due to it's small size and portabillity. This information inspired Ry Cooder & Jim Dickenson to track down a dolceola and record a cover of Phillips "Denomination Blues". Many musicologists supported this view, writing papers on the subject, but others, listening to the crackling 78's insisted the instrument bing played wasn't a keyed instrument at all but rather a plucked Zither or a Hammered Dulcimer. Further research by a more recent musicologists has backed the latter view with testimony from contemporary surviving witnesses suggesting a homemade version and eventually an actual photo showing a man identified as Phillips holding two Zithers. The Zither was a German harplike instrument popular in the pre-WW1 era until it was replaced by the improved autoharp and would have been more readily available by mail-order, many of these can still be found in antique & junk stores across North America although they were not heavily recorded. Another possibility is the less common Dulcimer, a Zither-like stringed instrument played by striking it with small hammers. Both the Zither & Dulcimer would be more likely candidates for a homemade or modified instrument and modern remastered recordings do sound more like a Zither or Dulcimer than a keyed instrument however the Cooder/Dickenson camp hold true to the Dolceola and the contoversy continues.
~ His death
Early research into Phillips found a death cerificate for a Washington Phillips who was committed to a sanitorium mere months after his last recording session and died of tuberculosis eight years later. This image of the tortured suffering artist suited romantic myth and was accepted as fact until further research revealed that this Washington Phillips was a different man, perhaps a cousin of Washington Phillips the singing preacher, who was born in 1880 being at least ten years older than previously thought and 47 in 1927 which might explain his archaic choice of instrument and sound. After his last session in 1929 the coming depression forced him into retiring from recording (as it did to many rural musicians) although he continued to perform at church functions and street corners until his death from injuries suffered in a fall in 1954.