Phil Leadbetter, an acclaimed American resonator guitar player died on October 14, 2021. Phil Leadbetter was born in Knoxville (Tennessee, USA) on October 14, 2021. He was one of the finest dobro players in the bluegrass scene and was voted Dobro Player Of The Year twice by the International Bluegrass Music Association. Leadbetter released many albums as a solo artist and as member of various well known bluegrass acts, including The New South and Grasstowne. Phil Leadbetter curated and appeared on Masters of Slide: The Spider Sessions, a collection of master slide guitar players.

Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Leadbetter began playing the resonator guitar at age 12. He was a 1980 graduate of Gibbs High School in Corryton, Tennessee.

In April 2011, Leadbetter was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, a form of cancer that attacks the lymph nodes. After return of cancer two more times, Leadbetter was diagnosed for a fifth time in June 2019, and in September 2019 became a five-time survivor on the new drug Opdivo. This is the same drug that Leadbetter had been given during clinical trials.

Leadbetter died in October 2021, after having contracted COVID-19