Biography

THE LEWIS TRADITION

Lifelong residents of Lincolnton, Georgia, THE LEWIS TRADITION is an outgrowth of The Lewis Family, the legendary bluegrass gospel music group that retired in September 2009 after six decades of performing more than 200 days each year on bluegrass festivals and gospel music programs.  In addition, the group set a national record for doing a weekly television show, originating from WJBF-TV, Channel 6 in nearby Augusta, Georgia for 38 continuous years, 1954 until 1992.  Roy and Pauline Lewis, known wherever bluegrass and gospel are played as "Pop" and "Mom" Lewis, were the patriarch and matriarch respectively of the family.  Mom Lewis died in 2003 and Pop in 2004, at 98 years of age.

Performing children of Mom and Pop and original Lewis Family members were a son, Wallace, who died in 2007 and daughters, Janis, Miggie and Polly, the latter two having retired in September 2009 because of ill health.  Longtime Lewis Family fans will also remember original members and children of Mom and Pop, Talmadge Lewis, mandolin and fiddle player, who left in 1972 to enter a private business and Little Roy Lewis, comedic entertainer and multi-instrumentalist.

Members of THE LEWIS TRADITION include Janis Lewis Phillips, youngest daughter of Mom and Pop Lewis and her son, Lewis Phillips, Travis Lewis, son of the late Wallace Lewis, and Travis' oldest son, Jameson.  Janis was a Lewis Family member from the group's earliest days; Travis from 1974 and Lewis from 1977.  Though he performs only on special occasions, Earl Phillips, Janis' husband and Lewis' father, is a retired bank executive and extremely important to the group as business manager, a post he filled for The Lewis Family beginning in 1967.  He never fails to delight audiences with his songs and subtle humor.

A child prodigy, Lewis Phillips, appeared playing banjo at the age of six on a 1979 Carol Burnett and Dolly Parton Valentine CBS-TV network special.  He is a featured vocalist and his song He Still Looks Over Me, earned a Dove Award in 1999 as did another song  My Cross in 2006.  His 2000 solo album, entitled Empty Fields, garnered three Dove nominations.  Instrumentally, Lewis is one of the nation's most talented banjo and lead guitar players.  Travis has few peers as an acoustic bass player and his rock-solid bass playing is the foundation for the music.  He was awarded "bass player of the year" honors for five years by SPBGMA.  Janis sings beautiful lead and harmony parts and does the MC work for the group onstage.  Through the years she has sung the high parts on all The Lewis Family's many albums.  Two of her songs, Purple Robe and A Rose In A Bible were among the group's most requested.  Her presence is very special to Lewis Family devotees.  Jameson plays piano and sings harmony.  He taught himself to play by listening to old country music and Lewis Family albums.

As members of the former Lewis Family, THE LEWIS TRADITION members have won prestigious honors that include membership in the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, Grand Ole Gospel Reunion's Living Legend Award, induction to the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and The IBMA Hall of Fame, both headquartered in Nashville.

They proudly carry on the tradition of America's First Family of Bluegrass Gospel Music.

Lance LeRoy, The LANCER AGENCY, P.O. Box 160, Hendersonville, TN 37077  (615) 822-0222