Shawn Phillips: Folk Music's Best Kept Secret Quiz

Answer: Lovely Rita

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was the eighth album released by The Beatles. The album spent a number of weeks at number one on both the UK and US album charts. "Lovely Rita" is a song about a female traffic warden. Paul McCartney apparently received a parking ticket and then wrote a song about the lovely traffic warden who gave him the citation.

A young Shawn Phillips, as a session musician, sang backing vocals on this song.

Answer: Sitar

"Sunshine Superman" did moderately well on album charts, reaching number eleven on the "Billboard" chart. Phillips was not the only session musician to play on this album. Jimmy Page, later of Led Zeppelin fame, was hired to play electric guitar on "Season of the Witch".

Answer: Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight Festival took place over three consecutive years, 1968-1970. 1970's festival was the largest of the three and according to estimates, surpassed the attendance of Woodstock. Since 2002, this festival has been revived annually and in 2016, one of the original 1970 acts, The Who, were one of the headline acts.

Answer: Run With The Wind

"Run With the Wind" is a British film starring Francesca Annis, Sean Caffrey and Phillips in the main roles. Phillips composed and performed all the music for the movie.

Written on the film programme:

"In "Run With The Wind" popular FOLK music is an integral part of a dramatic story line, but the film does not depend entirely on the musical element for its interest."

Answer: Burt Bacharach

Phillip's rendition of "Lost Horizons" reached position sixty-three on the "Billboard Top 100" chart. The complete soundtrack peaked at position fifty-six, but according to Bacharach came close to ending his musical career. The film itself was included in the book "50 Worst Films of All Time", co-written by critic Michael Medved.

Answer: Joni Mitchell

According to interviews given by Phillips, he met Joni Mitchell in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where she was working as a waitress in a coffee shop. She asked him to teach her guitar. Joni Mitchell went on to have an illustrious career, with "Big Yellow Taxi" being one of her more popular songs. It reached position number eleven on the UK charts.

Answer: Nashville

The Nashville Symphony Orchestra performed the suite, made up of nine Phillips pieces, in 2006 to critical acclaim. This was not the first time that Phillips' music has been accompanied by an orchestra. In 1978 he released the album "Transcendence", with a 60-piece symphony orchestra, members of Herbie Hancock's band and Phillips' guitars.

Answer: The Ballad of Casey Deiss

According to interviews with Phillips, he claims that Casey Deiss was a close friend of his who died after being struck by lightning while walking with his ax in the forest. He remained close to Casey's wife Diana, who was pregnant with her third child, and cared for Casey's wife and young children after he died.

In 1970, "Second Contribution" reached position 501 on the album charts. In that year landmark albums from The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Van Morrison and Simon & Garfunkel were among the top ten albums.

"Second Contribution" also includes the popular song "She Was Waitin' For Her Mother At The Station In Torino And You Know I Love You Baby But It's Getting Too Heavy To Laugh", which is by far the longest song title on any Phillips album.

Answer: Quadruple bypass heart surgery

While recuperating from his surgery in Texas, Phillips qualified as an EMT and firefighter. After relocating to South Africa, he went further and qualified as a navigator with the NSRI (National Sea Rescue Institute). He employs his skills as an EMT and firefighter with the organisation too.

Answer: South Africa

Phillips lived in various places as a child, including countries like Tahiti. His father, an award winning writer who wrote under the name "Philip Atlee", preferred to write on location. He enlisted in the Navy and plied his musical trade in England and Italy.

He met his wife, a South African, in America and decided to move to South Africa in 2000. He lives with his wife, Juliette and young son Liam, in Port Elizabeth on the Eastern Cape coast of the country.