[2] Kelly Joe Phelps grew up in Sumner, Washington, a blue-collar farming town.

[3] Phelps concentrated on free jazz and took his cues from musicians like Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane.

[3][5] He initially gained notice for his solo lapstyle slide guitar,[6] which he played by laying the instrument flat and fretting it with a heavy steel bar.

In January 2013, he announced a hiatus from touring due to ulnar neuropathy in his right hand and arm.

[7] Phelps is featured in the 2011 book I'll Be Here in the Morning: The Songwriting Legacy of Townes Van Zandt.