Tony McPhee was an English guitarist who lived from 23 March 1944 to 6 June 2023. In the middle of the 1960s, he established the blues rock group Groundhogs, which supported Champion Jack Dupree and John Lee Hooker at shows in the UK. He frequently receives credit as “Tony (T.S.) McPhee.” When McPhee and Champion Jack Dupree recorded the duet track “Get Your Head Happy!” in 1966, producer Mike Vernon proposed changing the name to “T.S.” to make it appear more like an actual blues name.
The Groundhogs developed into a blues-rock trio in the early 1970s, releasing three UK Top 10 singles on the UK Albums Chart. Despite the fact that they still play today in different lineups.
Who was Tony McPhee? Singer and guitarist for rock band the Groundhogs dies aged 79
Tony McPhee, the Groundhogs’ lead vocalist and guitarist, passed away at the age of 79.
Over the course of six decades, from 1962 to 2015, he intermittently served as the leader of the British blues and rock band, achieving three UK top 10 albums.
We are profoundly saddened to report that 79-year-old guitar and blues icon Tony (TS) McPhee passed away quietly at home today, June 6, from complications from a fall last year, according to a statement posted on the band’s Facebook page.