Phil Keaggy is an American acoustic and electric
guitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist and vocalist who has released more than 50 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the
contemporary Christian musicContemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
and mainstream markets. He is a seven-time recipient of the GMA Dove Award for Instrumental Album of the Year, and was twice nominated for a
Grammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Rock Gospel Album. He has frequently been listed as one of the world's top-three "finger-style," as well as "finger-picking," guitarists by
Guitar Player Magazine readers' polls.
Early life
Keaggy was raised in a small farmhouse in
Hubbard, OhioHubbard is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. It is formed from part of Hubbard Township, which was formed from the Connecticut Western Reserve. The population was 8,284 at the 2000 census...
with nine brothers and sisters. Keaggy went to high school in Austintown, Ohio, graduating in 1970. He is missing half of the middle finger on his right hand due to a childhood accident at age four involving a water pump. Reflecting on the incident, Keaggy says,
We lived on a farm in Hubbard, Ohio, which had a big water pump, and I was climbing up on it. As I was kneeling on top of the platform, it broke and the faucets came crashing down on my finger and cut it off. I can remember it very vividly—as if it happened yesterday, and I can see my dad running down the hill, rescuing me, and taking me to the hospital. I can recall having a white cast and bandage; it was gigantic! They tried to sew it on, but it didn't take, so I grew up with nine fingers. As a young kid, I was embarrassed about it a lot, especially when I was beginning to get into guitar. I used to be red when I'd play in front of people because I believed they were looking at my hand, which they probably weren't...Before my accident with my finger occurred, my oldest brother was killed in a car accident and two weeks afterward my younger sister had her big toe cut off. These were all really heavy things for my mom and dad to go through.
Initially, it was not the guitar that attracted Keaggy to playing music. Keaggy explains:
I asked my dad for a set of drums for my tenth birthday but he came home with a SearsSears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
SilvertoneSilvertone was the brand name used by Sears, Roebuck and Company for its line of sound equipment from 1915 to 1972. A hand-cranked phonograph was introduced under the Silvertone brand by Sears in 1915...
guitar...I had wanted a set of drums, but my folks couldn't afford them, so I got the guitar. I didn't know how to tune the guitar;. as it was when it came, that's how I thought it was supposed to be...So for about nine months I learned funny little melodies with my guitar tuned out. Finally, my brother Dave said "Here, let me show you how to tune this thing properly." I said, "Well, O.K., but I gotta learn all over again." I was disappointed...My oldest brother Dave, showed me some chords...But if I were to pinpoint one turning point...when I was in sixth or seventh grade, I met a man named Nick who worked an electronics store in California, where my family lived for awhile. One day, Nick took me to a music store loaded with all these great guitars the British groups were using and he asked me "Which one is your favorite?" I pointed out a 1962 Stratocaster and he bought it for me. He got me my first professional gig at Artesia Hall—just me and my guitar and amp...I paid him back by sweeping driveways and working in the electronics store. I had that guitar for quite a while and put a lot of time and effort into playing it.
1960s
Phil Keaggy was a member of a mid-1960s garage rock band called the Squires; one of their songs, which he co-wrote, appears on the compilation album
Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 9Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 9 is a compilation album in the Highs in the Mid-Sixties series, featuring recordings that were released in Ohio...
. In 1967 he moved on to briefly record with the band The New Hudson Exit. At one point, the band had considered
Joe WalshJoseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has been a member of three commercially successful bands, the James Gang, Barnstorm, and the Eagles, and has experienced notable success as a solo artist and prolific session musician, especially with B.B...
as its lead guitarist. Walsh would later establish himself as guitarist for the James Gang before embarking on a solo career and work with the Eagles.
In 1968, Keaggy and longtime friend drummer
John SferraJohn Sferra is a drummer, best known for his work with the band Glass Harp.In addition to being a drummer, John is also a guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, composing and singing lead on several songs for each Glass Harp album...
, along with bassist Steve Markulin, formed the band
Glass HarpGlass Harp is a Youngstown, Ohio based power trio consisting of guitarist Phil Keaggy, drummer John Sferra and bassist Daniel Pecchio.-Early years:...
. The band gigged in and around the Youngstown, Ohio, area, finding work anywhere from school dances to clubs. This incarnation of the band recorded several demos, and released the single "Where Did My World Come From?" on the United Audio label in 1969.
Markulin left the group to join his cousin Joe in another successful Youngstown band,
The Human BeinzThe Human Beinz is an American rock and roll / frat rock band from Youngstown, Ohio. Originally known as The Human Beingz, the band initially featured John "Dick" Belley , Joe "Ting" Markulin , Mel Pachuta and Gary Coates -Early career:The Beinz started in 1964 as The Premiers, launching their...
. Keaggy and Sferra then recruited bass player Daniel Pecchio. Pecchio, formerly of the band The Poppy, was also a flute player, a talent that would later be showcased on several Glass Harp's songs. Having recorded a new set of demos and signing with new management, the band set out to polish their live act and shop for a recording deal.
A major turning point for the trio was their winning of an Ohio area's "Battle of the Bands." One of the event's judges happened to be an associate of producer
Lewis MerensteinLewis Merenstein is most famous as the record producer for the Van Morrison album, Astral Weeks, and as executive producer for Moondance, Morrison's 1970 album.Astral Weeks is listed as #19 on the Rolling Stone Magazine's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003...
, whom he alerted to the threesome. Merenstein was persuaded to fly down from New York to listen to the band in concert. Upon hearing Glass Harp perform, Merenstein's enthusiastic report resulted in
Decca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
signing Glass Harp to a multi-record deal.
1970s
Reflecting on 1970, Keaggy recalls:
...the 18th year of my life was very dark; I was into drugs by now....back in '69 I was experimenting with LSD. I had done some trips and it was terrible, I thought it might enhance my creative ability in music, but it didn't. I once heard a tape of me playing when I was high and it was awful. I sang weird and I played badly. I thought I was doing such a great job, but it was a deception. People I was supposedly very close to, who were close to me, were turning on me. It seemed really strange...I was experiencing such fear...it was just...terrible...During these days I would take naps in the afternoon because I'd be so tired playing at night, staying up till 4 in the morning, getting up early and napping again in the afternoon. I'd wake up having nightmares...I had "Peace" written on my wall and I went around giving the peace sign, but I didn't experience peace in my life. I didn't know what peace really meant; it was just a cliché.
On Valentines Day in 1970, Keaggy's mother was seriously injured in an auto accident. After her death a week later, and inspired by his sister, Keaggy became a Christian.
In September,
Glass HarpGlass Harp is a Youngstown, Ohio based power trio consisting of guitarist Phil Keaggy, drummer John Sferra and bassist Daniel Pecchio.-Early years:...
found itself in New York's Greenwich Village recording its first album
Glass Harp at
Jimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
's
Electric Lady StudiosElectric Lady Studios, at 52 West 8th Street, in New York City's Greenwich Village, is a recording studio originally built by Jimi Hendrix and designed by John Storyk in 1970...
with
Lewis MerensteinLewis Merenstein is most famous as the record producer for the Van Morrison album, Astral Weeks, and as executive producer for Moondance, Morrison's 1970 album.Astral Weeks is listed as #19 on the Rolling Stone Magazine's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003...
as producer. Years later, a story would circulate widely and persistently concerning Keaggy and Hendrix. It has been said that during an episode of
The Tonight ShowThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
, Johnny CarsonJohn William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
asked Hendrix, "Who is the best guitarist in the world?" Hendrix is said to have answered, "Phil Keaggy." Another version of the story has Hendrix being asked, "Jimi, how does it feel to be the world's greatest guitar player?" To which Hendrix supposedly replied, "I don't know, you'll have to ask Phil Keaggy!" This account is sometimes attributed to a magazine interview in either
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
or
Guitar PlayerGuitar Player is a popular magazine for guitarists founded in 1967. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print since the late 1960s and during the 1980s, under editor Tom Wheeler, the publication was...
. Occasionally the story has the setting for the question being the
Dick CavettRichard Alva "Dick" Cavett is a former American television talk show host known for his conversational style and in-depth discussion of issues...
Show. Other versions have the question being posed to
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
. A more recent variant has
Eddie Van HalenEdward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
being asked the question by either
David LettermanDavid Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
or
Barbara WaltersBarbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
. Keaggy has long insisted that such stories are completely unfounded, noting that "it was impossible that Jimi Hendrix could ever have heard me...We...recorded our first album at Electric Lady Studios two weeks after his unfortunate death, so I just can’t imagine how he could’ve heard me. I think it’s just a rumor that someone’s kept alive, and it must be titillating enough to keep an interest there...So I don’t think it was said…and that’s it for that!"
At the time Glass Harp recorded their first album at Hendrix's studio in 1970, Keaggy and Sferra were nineteen years old. As for the album's content, all three members of Glass Harp were active in songwriting the band's material. Keaggy sang the majority of songs, but Pecchio and Sferra also sang lead on several numbers. One song of Keaggy's in particular, "Can You See Me," reflected his newfound Christian faith, with its reference to Jesus' death. Keaggy recalls, "It was recorded in New York City in about a week. Even though I had bronchitis and had to sing one verse at a time, it worked out. And I was even able to get in a witness for the Lord Jesus in "Can You See Me" and "Look in the Sky."
As a
Decca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
artist, the band began to open for such bands as
The KinksThe Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
,
Iron ButterflyIron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.-History:The...
,
YesYes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
,
TrafficTraffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...
,
Grand Funk RailroadGrand Funk Railroad is an American rock band that was highly popular during the 1970s. Grand Funk Railroad toured constantly to packed arenas worldwide. A popular take on the band during its heyday was that, although the critics hated them, audiences loved them...
and
ChicagoChicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
. Contrary to the tight production and song-oriented nature of Glass Harp's studio albums, their live performances demonstrated the band's ability to stretch out and expand the boundaries of their compositions. As a result, they are one of the pioneers of what would later be known as the jam rock genre, with songs many times reaching over 30 minutes in length with extended solo passages and group improvisation.
In 1971, Glass Harp released a follow up album,
Synergy. Again Keaggy's Christian faith surfaced in some of the lyrics. The guitarist notes, "That album was a real experience because I was able to sing 'The Answer,' a song I wrote right after my conversion to Christ. And with...producers and an engineer that didn't care about Jesus, I was surprised that out of 15 songs, one of the ten that got on the album was 'The Answer.' I praise Jesus for that work, because it's just a simple song of testimony." The following year the band released its third album:
It Makes Me Glad, which included a version of the old spiritual "Do Lord." "We all worked the best that we could. The group knew that it would be our last album together because I had given notice that I was going to leave. And on August 8, I did. It was a really heavy thing for everybody."
Having recorded three albums with Glass Harp, Keaggy left the band in 1972. Keaggy says, "We enjoyed playing together and we really got tight musically. But spiritually we were going different directions."
Sferra and Pecchio continued to perform together as Glass Harp, adding guitarist Tim Burks and violinist Randy Benson. The music of this new lineup took on a more progressive edge, similar to
King CrimsonKing Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
and
The Moody BluesThe Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
. While studio and live radio broadcast recordings exist from this period, they remain officially unreleased as of 2010. This incarnation of the group lasted into 1973, when Pecchio and Sferra decided to finally move on to other projects, essentially bringing Glass Harp to an end. Pecchio went on to become a founding member of the highly-popular Michael Stanley Band, while Sferra remained very much in demand as both live and studio musician, at the same time writing and producing his own music.
In 1973 Keaggy released
What A DayWhat A Day is the title of the first solo album by Phil Keaggy, released in 1973, on New Song Records.-Side one:# "That Is What The Lord Will Do For You" – 2:54# "King Of The Jews" – 2:05# "Walking With Our Lord" – 4:17...
, his first solo album. The songs were written while Keaggy was still with Glass Harp Keaggy performed all the instruments on the album. The title track remains a staple of Keaggy's concerts up to the present day.
Keaggy married his wife Bernadette in the summer of 1973. He then took a brief hiatus from recording on his own and only toured in support of other artists like
Love SongLove Song was one of the main Jesus music bands, one of the first Christian rock bands. It was founded in 1970 by Chuck Girard, Tommy Coomes, Jay Truax, and Fred Field. Additionally, the earliest members included David Ingram on keyboards, Ernie Earnshaw on drums and Jack Schaeffer on bass. It was...
,
2nd Chapter of ActsThe 2nd Chapter of Acts was a Jesus Music and early Contemporary Christian Music group composed of sisters Annie Herring and Nelly Greisen and brother Matthew Ward. They began performing in 1973 and enjoyed their period of greatest success during the 1970s...
,
Paul ClarkPaul Clark is a musician who specializes in Christian praise and worship oriented music. He was born in Kansas City and recorded his first album in 1971, Songs from the Saviour Vol 1. Its songs became one of the first signs of the growing "Jesus Movement" of the early 70's.He went on to record a...
, and
Nancy HoneytreeNancy "Honeytree" Henigbaum is an American Christian musician and one of the leaders in what was known as Jesus music.- Personal background :...
. Years later, Amboy Dukes guitarist
Ted NugentTheodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent is an American guitarist, musician, singer, author, reserve police officer, and activist. From Detroit, Michigan, he originally gained fame as the lead guitarist of The Amboy Dukes, before embarking on a lengthy solo career...
was quoted as saying "I don't know what happened to that Phil Keaggy. He could have saved the world with his guitar."
Keaggy returned to the studio in 1976 with
Love Broke ThruLove Broke Thru is the title of the second solo album by Phil Keaggy released in 1976, on NewSong Records.This album was listed as #64 in the 2001 book, CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music.-Side one:...
, an album which included his version of a song that would eventually be considered a classic in Christian Music: "Your Love Broke Through." Written by
Keith GreenKeith Gordon Green was an American gospel singer, songwriter, musician, and Contemporary Christian Music artist originally from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. Beyond his music, Green is best known for his strong devotion to Christian evangelism and challenging others to the same...
, Todd Fishkind and
Randy StonehillRandall Evan "Randy" Stonehill is an American singer-songwriter from Stockton, California, best known as one of the so-called "fathers of contemporary Christian music". His music is primarily folk rock in the style of James Taylor, but he has assayed other styles, with various albums focused on...
, the song would later be closely identified with Green, yet it was at Green's insistence that Keaggy's rendition be the first released recording. A longtime fan of C.S. Lewis, Keaggy also included an arranged version of the author's poem "As the Ruin Falls." Keaggy's album was listed as #64 in the 2001 book,
CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music.
During the summer of 1977 Keaggy went on an eighteen-city tour of the western
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with
2nd Chapter of ActsThe 2nd Chapter of Acts was a Jesus Music and early Contemporary Christian Music group composed of sisters Annie Herring and Nelly Greisen and brother Matthew Ward. They began performing in 1973 and enjoyed their period of greatest success during the 1970s...
and "a Band called David." This tour was captured in the subsequent live triple album
How the West Was One, a collection that featured concert renditions of "What a Day" and "Your Love Broke Through." That same year also saw the formation of the Phil Keaggy Band. Comprising Keaggy, guitarist
Lynn NicholsLynn Arthur Nichols is an American songwriter, producer, and musician from New York who now resides in Nashville, Tennessee.In 1977, Nichols was a member of the Phil Keaggy Band, with Phil Madeira, Terry Andersen and Dan Cunningham. The band released one album together, entitled Emerging...
, keyboardist
Phil MadeiraPhil Madeira is an American songwriter, producer, musician and singer from Nashville, Tennessee. He was raised in Barrington, Rhode Island and attended Taylor University, which he graduated from in 1975....
, bassist Dan Cunningham and drummer Terry Andersen, the Phil Keaggy Band released their lone album in 1977,
Emerging. 1977 also marked the release of the Glass Harp compilation album,
Song in the Air.
In 1978, Keaggy released his first critically acclaimed instrumental album entitled
The Master and the Musician. It would go on to become the best-selling album of his career
http://philkeaggy.com/mm_story.html. A 1989 reissue of the album included a new track, "Epilogue: Amazing Grace."
1980s
The Keaggy family then moved to
Leawood, KansasLeawood is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. The city is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri and is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 31,867.-History:...
in August,1979. Their first daughter, Alicia, was born there in March, 1980. The Keaggys left Leawood in 1983 and settled in
Costa Mesa, CaliforniaCosta Mesa is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 109,960 at the 2010 census. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and "edge" city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light...
. Their second daughter, Olivia, was born on February 14, 1984, and their son, Ian, was born on June 16, 1987.
Keaggy's record label during the early part of the decade was
Myrrh RecordsMyrrh Records, also known as Myrrh Worship, is a Christian music record label. According to Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music, the label was instrumental in developing a popular following for Contemporary Christian music as the label that first published music by Barry McGuire, 2nd Chapter of...
. 1980's
Ph'lip SidePh'lip Side is the title of an album by guitarist Phil Keaggy, released in 1980, on Sparrow Records. To date, it is the only Phil Keaggy release to feature a double-sided cover image, in order to visually convey the "acoustic" and "electric" sides of the album...
features the uptempo "Sunday School" and the gentle "Little Ones." The following year saw the release of
Town to TownTown to Town is the title of an album by guitarist Phil Keaggy, released in 1981, on Sparrow Records.-Side one:# "Wished You Were There" – 3:04# "Full Circle" – 4:23# "Life Love And You" – 4:29# "Town To Town" – 6:49-Side two:...
, noted for what has become a concert staple "Let Everything Else Go." It also included Keaggy's arrangement of "Rise Up O Men of God." This would begin a trend in which Keaggy would frequently feature a hymn on his albums. In 1982, Keaggy released
Play Thru MePlay thru Me is the title of an album by guitarist Phil Keaggy, released in 1982, on Sparrow Records.-Side one:# "Happy" – 2:48# "Carefree" – 4:41# "Nobody's Playgirl Now" – 3:39# "Cherish The Moment" – 4:59# "She Came To Stay" – 3:35...
, noted for its upbeat classic, "Morning Light" as well as the slide-guitar instrumental workout entitled "Happy."
In 1984, Keaggy and Randy Stonehill co-wrote and sang the duet "Who Will Save the Children?" for Stonehill's album
Celebrate This Heartbeat. The duet would also serve as a theme song for
Compassion InternationalCompassion International is a Christian child sponsorship organization dedicated to the long-term development of children living in poverty around the world. Compassion International, headquartered in Colorado Springs, functions in 26 countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Haiti, Kenya, and...
, a Christian child advocacy ministry. Both artists remain avid supporters of this ministry up to the present day.
The following year Nissi Records released Keaggy's next studio album,
Getting Closer. Keaggy would later re-record two of the album's songs: a rearranged version of "I Will Be There" appears on 1993's
Crimson and Blue while "Passport" received an update for the 2009 Christian Progressive Rock compilation album
CPR 3.
1986 saw the release of
Way Back Home. The album consisted of quieter acoustic numbers, including a new take on 1981's "Let Everything Else Go" and "Maker of the Universe," a ballad about the incarnation of Christ. The album also emphasized one of the prominent themes in Keaggy's music: family.
The next year Phil Keaggy released his second instrumental album,
The Wind and the Wheat. The album reflects the "New Age" instrumental sounds of the day.
The Wind and the WheatThe Wind and the Wheat is the title of a 1987 instrumental album by guitarist Phil Keaggy, released on Maranatha! Music and A&M Records simultaneously.-Side one:# "March Of The Clouds" – 5:25# "Paradise Dream" – 5:32# "The Wind And The Wheat" – 4:32...
won the guitarist his first Dove Award, an honor that he received in 1988. Also in 1988, Keaggy and Stonehill would team up with singer
Margaret BeckerMargaret Becker is an American Christian rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She has had twenty-one No. 1 Christian radio hits, won four Dove Awards, and been nominated for four Grammy Awards.-Biography:...
, former
WingsWings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
drummer
Joe EnglishJoe English is an American musician who, during the 1970s, played drums in Paul McCartney's band Wings and in the Southern Rock/Jazz group Sea Level, among others....
and others as the
Compassion All Star BandCompassion International is a Christian child sponsorship organization dedicated to the long-term development of children living in poverty around the world. Compassion International, headquartered in Colorado Springs, functions in 26 countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Haiti, Kenya, and...
. The group released a subsequent live album
One by One.
In 1989, Keaggy teamed up with
Randy StonehillRandall Evan "Randy" Stonehill is an American singer-songwriter from Stockton, California, best known as one of the so-called "fathers of contemporary Christian music". His music is primarily folk rock in the style of James Taylor, but he has assayed other styles, with various albums focused on...
, vocalist
Russ TaffRussell Taff is an American gospel singer who is originally from Farmersville, California. Taff later then moved to Arkansas where he graduated from Cutter-Morning Star High School in Hot Springs, Arkansas....
, bassist
Rick CuaRick Cua is an American Dove Award and Grammy Award-winning Christian rock singer, songwriter, bassist, author, and ordained minister...
,
Derri DaughertyDerri Daugherty is an American record producer, songwriter, guitarist and singer, best known as the lead singer and guitarist for band The Choir....
,
Mark HeardJohn Mark Heard was a record producer, folk-rock singer, and songwriter originally from Macon, Georgia, USA....
,
Steve TaylorRoland Stephen Taylor , is an American Christian singer, songwriter, record producer and film director.-Early life:Taylor, the eldest of three children, was born in Brawley, California. Taylor's father, Roland Taylor, was a Baptist minister. When Taylor was six years old, the family relocated to...
and other musicians to create
Phil Keaggy and Sunday's ChildPhil Keaggy and Sunday's Child is the title of a 1988 album by guitarist Phil Keaggy, released on Myrrh Records and A&M Records simultaneously....
.
Lynn NicholsLynn Arthur Nichols is an American songwriter, producer, and musician from New York who now resides in Nashville, Tennessee.In 1977, Nichols was a member of the Phil Keaggy Band, with Phil Madeira, Terry Andersen and Dan Cunningham. The band released one album together, entitled Emerging...
, guitarist for the 1977 Keaggy Band and producer for Keaggy's
The Master and the MusicianThe Master and the Musician is the title of the first entirely instrumental album by guitarist Phil Keaggy, released in 1978, on NewSong Records...
album, produced the
Sunday's Child project. The title track in particular recalled the sounds of the 1960s, and that, along with an album cover that resembled that of the classic image of
With The BeatlesWith The Beatles is the second studio album by the English rock group The Beatles. It was released on 22 November 1963 on Parlophone, and was recorded four months after the band's debut Please Please Me...
, has sometimes seen the Sunday's Child album referred to as a tribute album of sorts to the 1960s. Referring to the
Sunday's Child album cover, Keaggy says that the idea
was the producer’s. I actually had a different cover in mind...It was...a black and white [photograph] of my daughter Olivia sitting on a guitar case, with this Gretsch anniversary model standing up behind her against this concrete wall, and she’s got a little white flower wreath in her hair. She’s about four years old, and…I just loved that cover. So when the album came out, I wasn’t really knocked out by the Beatles thing, because it didn’t look like the Beatles to me! It was my goofy face and then these three guys in the background, one of which was Lynn Nichols, the producer. And I thought, "Oh, I don’t care for this." I wanted to have the other cover. I wanted it to say "Phil Keaggy and Sunday’s Child," and to me, that was Olivia, being as she’s my daughter. So my nephew works in a printing place, and I created this cover that had all the same photos and information inside the CD insert, but I had him make 500 of these new covers, and we took the shrink wrap off...500 CDs, and...inserted these covers that I wanted and took them on the road and sold them, and we mailed them out through the fan club, since we didn’t have a website in those days."
Reflecting on the music of the project, Keaggy says,
I feel the album, as a good collection of songs, is really listenable...I feel that folk who want to listen to an album are more interested in good songs than merely the guitar player. For Sunday's Child, not only did we resort to using vintage guitars and amps, but I resorted back to old ways of playing. The rock leads are shorter and more precise. More to the point, feisty, and a little bit more dangerous. What you get is more incisive work. It's something that fits the song rather than trying to create a song around a riff or guitar figure...What I think comes through this album is that sense of longing, of love, of suffering and in all of this there can be hope. Everyone has to find their way to God and I hope people will see Jesus in my life and this album as a guide along the way."
One track, "I've Just Begun (Again)," was first written when Keaggy was 17, and was updated for this album. In addition to his own material, Keaggy recorded two
Mark HeardJohn Mark Heard was a record producer, folk-rock singer, and songwriter originally from Macon, Georgia, USA....
songs for the album: "I Always Do" and "Everything is Alright." The recordings would appear again on subsequent tribute albums to Heard. One of the tribute albums,
Orphans of GodOrphans of God is a 2 CD compilation of songs performed by various artists in tribute to songwriter Mark Heard.Recorded and released after Heard's death in 1992, proceeds benefit the Heard Family Fund....
, was listed at #25 in the book,
CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian MusicCCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music is the title of a book, edited by Thom Granger and published in 2001 by Harvest House Publishers....
.
Also in 1989, Keaggy hit the road with Stonehill for a tour by The Keaggy/Stonehill Band, which included
Swirling EddieThe Swirling Eddies are a band that began as an anonymous spinoff from the band Daniel Amos, along with new drummer David Raven.-Career:For each Swirling Eddies release, band members adopted pseudonyms for the liner notes; "Camarillo Eddy" , "Berger Roy Al" , "Gene Pool" , "Arthur Fhardy" , "Spot"...
drummer David Raven and
Daniel AmosDaniel Amos is a rock band formed in 1974 by Terry Scott Taylor on guitars and vocals, Marty Dieckmeyer on bass guitar, Steve Baxter on guitars and Jerry Chamberlain on lead guitars. Current members include bassist Tim Chandler, guitarist Greg Flesch and drummer Ed McTaggart...
bassist
Tim ChandlerTim Chandler is a bass guitar player, best known for his work with the rock bands Daniel Amos, The Swirling Eddies and The Choir....
. In the fall of that year, the Keaggys relocated once again, leaving southern
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and moving to
Nashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
where they reside currently.
A few years later, Keaggy would perform at former Beatle
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
's sister-in-law's wedding. Keaggy had met Laura Eastman, sister of
Linda McCartneyLinda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
, while the former worked at CBN. After the wedding, Keaggy fulfilled a lifelong dream by jamming with McCartney in a bedroom at the Eastman family estate, site of the wedding.
1990s
Keaggy followed
Sunday's Child in 1990 with an all-out rock album
Find Me In These FieldsFind Me In These Fields is the title of a 1990 album by guitarist Phil Keaggy, released on A&M Records.-Track listing:All songs are by Phil Keaggy, unless otherwise noted.# "untitled" – 0:19...
. The project was produced by
Lynn NicholsLynn Arthur Nichols is an American songwriter, producer, and musician from New York who now resides in Nashville, Tennessee.In 1977, Nichols was a member of the Phil Keaggy Band, with Phil Madeira, Terry Andersen and Dan Cunningham. The band released one album together, entitled Emerging...
and garnered a Grammy award nomination.
In 1992, Keaggy released what has become a landmark acoustic instrumental album,
Beyond NatureBeyond Nature is the title of a 1991 instrumental album by guitarist Phil Keaggy.-Track listing:All songs were written by Phil Keaggy, unless otherwise noted.# "In the Light of Common Day" – 3:52# "County Down" – 5:44...
. His third instrumental project reflected a
CeltThe Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic-influence and earned the guitarist his second Dove Award in the "Instrumental Record" category. The album's title,
Beyond Nature, was derived from a quote in C.S. Lewis' book
Mere Christianity. A longtime fan of Lewis' work, Keaggy also referenced the author in several song titles ("Brother Jack", "Addison's Walk" and "County Down").
The following year saw Keaggy work with another group of talented musicians for his next project. These recording sessions reunited Keaggy with former
Glass HarpGlass Harp is a Youngstown, Ohio based power trio consisting of guitarist Phil Keaggy, drummer John Sferra and bassist Daniel Pecchio.-Early years:...
bandmate
John SferraJohn Sferra is a drummer, best known for his work with the band Glass Harp.In addition to being a drummer, John is also a guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, composing and singing lead on several songs for each Glass Harp album...
on drums. Keaggy says, "I started Crimson & Blue with a two-fold purpose: To record something more aggressive and to work with John again. We recorded all the basic tracks together and most of the leads were recorded live. It's just your basic four-piece group." Comprising the rest of the group were
Phil MadeiraPhil Madeira is an American songwriter, producer, musician and singer from Nashville, Tennessee. He was raised in Barrington, Rhode Island and attended Taylor University, which he graduated from in 1975....
, the former keyboardist of the 1977 Phil Keaggy Band, bassist
Rick CuaRick Cua is an American Dove Award and Grammy Award-winning Christian rock singer, songwriter, bassist, author, and ordained minister...
, and guitarist
Jimmy AbeggJimmy Abegg aka Jimmy A, is an American guitarist, composer, director, photographer and artist, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee....
.
Lynn NicholsLynn Arthur Nichols is an American songwriter, producer, and musician from New York who now resides in Nashville, Tennessee.In 1977, Nichols was a member of the Phil Keaggy Band, with Phil Madeira, Terry Andersen and Dan Cunningham. The band released one album together, entitled Emerging...
produced the sessions. Other guest musicians included
Sam BushSam Bush is an American bluegrass mandolin player considered an originator of the Newgrass style.- History :...
on mandolin,
John Mark PainterJohn Mark Painter is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known for his role, with his wife, singer Fleming McWilliams, in the rock and roll duo, Fleming and John....
(of
Fleming and JohnFleming and John is a musical husband and wife team, Fleming McWilliams and John Mark Painter, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.The couple met while attending Belmont College in Nashville, and immediately began collaborating on songs...
), and
Ashley ClevelandAshley Cleveland is an American singer/songwriter perhaps best known as a background vocalist and Grammy-winning gospel singer. Ashley Cleveland was born in Knoxville, Tennessee...
on backing vocals.
Charlie PeacockCharlie Peacock is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, record producer, session musician and author. While growing up in California Peacock was inspired by John Coltrane and began playing the piano. After completing his education, Peacock formed a band and began a career as a professional...
and
Steve TaylorRoland Stephen Taylor , is an American Christian singer, songwriter, record producer and film director.-Early life:Taylor, the eldest of three children, was born in Brawley, California. Taylor's father, Roland Taylor, was a Baptist minister. When Taylor was six years old, the family relocated to...
also played a prominent role in the project. The sessions resulted in the release of
Crimson and BlueCrimson and Blue is the title of a 1993 album by guitarist Phil Keaggy, released on Myrrh Records.Crimson and Blue found Phil Keaggy surrounded by old friends making new music, in an old Victorian cottage owned by Brown Bannister. The Dugout was in the middle of Music Row...
, a bluesy rock album geared to the Christian market that included a cover of
Van MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
's "When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God". "Love Divine," "I Will Be Here" and "Everywhere I Look" all received siginficant airplay. That album was released simultaneously in the mainstream market as
Blue, with a modified tracklist and some reworked songs. The most significant differences are the inclusion of three different songs (a cover of
BadfingerBadfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
's "
Baby Blue"Baby Blue" is a song recorded by the rock/pop band Badfinger for inclusion on their 1971 album, "Straight Up." The song was written by Pete Ham, produced by Todd Rundgren, and released on Apple Records....
"; "All Our Wishes"; and "The Further Adventures of...") and the exclusion of five songs from
Crimson and Blue ("Love Divine," "Reunion Of Friends," "Stone Eyes," "I Will Be There," "Nothing But The Blood.") The song "All Our Wishes" is a story about Phil and Bernadette Keaggy losing a baby. The song was written, musically, in 1967 when Keaggy was in ninth grade. The band that toured in support of the album featured Madeira on Hammond B-3 organ, Sferra on drums, and Wade Jaynes (of
Chagall GuevaraChagall Guevara was an American rock band formed in 1989 by solo artist Steve Taylor, guitarists Dave Perkins and Lynn Nichols , bassist Wade Jaynes, and drummer Mike Mead....
) on bass.
In June 1994, Phil released a heavily revised version of his 1986 album
Way Back Home. The 1994 edition featured new recordings of ten of the original album's eleven songs, including the moving classics "Maker of the Universe" and "Let Everything Else Go." The updated version also included four brand new tracks: "It Could Have Been Me," "She's A Dancer," "Father Daughter Harmony," and "The 50th." Keeping with the album's family motif, "Father Daughter Harmony" was a moving duet with daughter Alicia while "The 50th" features Keaggy's guitar playing over a reel-to-reel recording of his grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary in 1949.
1995 saw the release of a two volume compilation project:
Time: 1970-1995. The anthology featured selections from throughout Keaggy's career, including several classic instrumentals. Several unreleased tracks were featured, including a live version of "Do Lord" with Glass Harp, a live version of "Shouts of Joy" from the
Crimson and Blue tour and "We'll Meet Again," a song Phil wrote and recorded as a teenager. An alternate version of "Time" was also included as was a new solo recording of the Glass Harp song "The Answer."
Also in 1995, Keaggy was voted by
Guitar Player Magazine readers as the #2 Best Acoustic Fingerstyle Guitarist.
That same year, Phil released what has become one of his best-selling albums,
True Believer. The title track was written by producer
Alan ShacklockAlan Shacklock is an English musician, composer, arranger and recording producer who currently lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee...
and reached number one on the Christian radio charts. It also won Shacklock the EMI Songwriter of the Year award. Shacklock's production work on the album was a departure in style and sound for Keaggy; this would prove to be Keaggy's lone work with Shacklock. Years later, in reflecting on the album, Keaggy would say that
True Believer "is really the most unlike me of any album I’ve ever done, in my personal opinion. It was more of a manufactured concept: "We’re gonna make a pop album for you that’s going to launch you into the next ten years." I don’t know if it did. It’s an unusual album to listen to for me, but there are a couple of good songs on there, though."
The following year Keaggy released another critically acclaimed instrumental album,
Acoustic Sketches. Comprising mainly Keaggy originals, the album features a cover of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," and would later win Keaggy another Dove Award. A second instrumental album,
220, was also released. The album, titled after the 220 volt electric standard, featured a diverse mix of musical styles, ranging from blues to Celtic. The album's closer, "Ian's Groove," marks the recording debut of Phil's son on drums. Despite its stellar performances, as a collection of original instrumentals, the album was largely overlooked. Keaggy says, "that was a very cool album that…Christians and Christian bookstores and...the marketplace ...couldn’t make the connection, because it’s electric guitar music. So it kind of fell by the wayside." Also in 1996, Phil’s wife Bernadette published
A Deeper Shade of Grace, a moving account of the emotional and spiritual struggles she experienced in losing their first five children via early infant death, miscarriage and stillbirth. Phil wrote the forward to the book.
In January 1997, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, located in Cleveland, Ohio, opened an exhibit called "My Town." Because the exhibit focused on Cleveland’s rock and roll history, Glass Harp was invited to perform at the Museum. The band is also currently represented in the Museum’s Ohio Exhibit.
The year also saw the release of Keaggy's
On the Fly album, arguably his most ambitious instrumental project to date. Released through Canis Major Records, highlights includes the Spanish-flavored "Praise Dance," the hypnotic groove "Firewalker," and the six-part epic, "Way of the Pilgrim." Also in 1997, Phil teamed up with
Wes KingWes King , born in Winder, Georgia, is an American contemporary-Christian singer, songwriter, and musician. He is perhaps best known for his 1993 album The Robe. For a very brief period in the late 1980s, he attended Covenant College outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee...
and Out of the Grey's Scott Dente for the mostly instrumental album
Invention. The album would win a Dove Award the following year. Keaggy would then go on to sign with Word Records.
Phil Keaggy, Phil's last vocal album of the decade, came out in 1998. Lacking the slick production style of the previous vocal album,
True Believer, Phil Keaggy was a strong return to form for Keaggy in terms of recapturing his usual organic, live sound. Several songs reflected a Beatles influence, including "Days Like You," his last single to receive considerable airplay as Christian radio has been moving towards a more youth-oriented format. Keaggy also appeared as a guest singer on the Ragamuffins' "All the Way to Kingdom Come," on his friend
Rich MullinsRichard Wayne "Rich" Mullins was an American Contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter born in Richmond, Indiana. He had two sisters and two brothers....
' last original work,
The Jesus Record (which contained demo tracks recorded by Mullins just before his 1997 death, and renditions of those songs by the Ragamuffins and other artists).
1999 saw a flurry of Keaggy instrumental releases. The double album
Premium Jams is a stunning collection of previously unreleased electric instrumentals dating back to the recording sessions for
Crimson and Blue and
220. Majesty and Wonder, a
ChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
album featuring the London Festival Orchestra, includes Keaggy's take on standards such as "Oh Holy Night" as well as a three part original, "Nativity Suite."
Majesty and Wonder would also win Keaggy a Dove Award. Phil later released the four disc collection
Music to Paint By. The project was composed of
Still Life, Electric Blue,
Splash, and
Brushstrokes.
2000s
Re-Emerging, Keaggy's first album of the new millennium, came out in April 2000. The disc was a reunion of the Phil Keaggy Band in which they updated their classic 1977 album,
Emerging. With the exception of "Gentle Eyes,"
Re-Emerging retained the material from the original album and also introduced four brand new tracks: "My Auburn Lady," "Mighty Lord," "You're My Hero," and "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight."
In September, Phil released the instrumental album
Zion. Recorded exclusively on a Zion Radicaster created by master guitarmaker Ken Hoover at Zion guitars,
Zion features a mix of new songs such as "Z-Blues" and revamped versions of "Like an Island," "March of the Clouds" and the
Glass HarpGlass Harp is a Youngstown, Ohio based power trio consisting of guitarist Phil Keaggy, drummer John Sferra and bassist Daniel Pecchio.-Early years:...
classic "Whatever Life Demands."
Having performed together occasionally since 1981, in October, Keaggy,
John SferraJohn Sferra is a drummer, best known for his work with the band Glass Harp.In addition to being a drummer, John is also a guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, composing and singing lead on several songs for each Glass Harp album...
and
Daniel PecchioAndrew Daniel Pecchio is a bass guitar player, best known for his work in Glass Harp and The Michael Stanley Band.- References :...
reunited as
Glass HarpGlass Harp is a Youngstown, Ohio based power trio consisting of guitarist Phil Keaggy, drummer John Sferra and bassist Daniel Pecchio.-Early years:...
for a concert in their hometown of Youngstown, Ohio at a sold out Powers Auditorium. Joining the band for the occasion was conductor
Isaiah JacksonIsaiah Allen Jackson is an African American conductor of world renown. He has recently concluded a seven year term as conductor of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, of which he has been named Conductor Emeritus...
and members of the Youngstown Symphony. The following year saw the commercial release of the reunion concert in the form of the live album
Strings Attached. Although the album is largely devoted to the band's previous work, it also includes Glass Harp's take on several songs from Phil's solo career such as "Tender Love," "Chalice," "From the Beginning" and a solo acoustic version of "The True Believers."
October 2000 also marked the release of
Inseparable, initially available in both single and double disc format, with the single disc version eventually going out of print. The album featured "Chalice," a collaboration with
Glass HarpGlass Harp is a Youngstown, Ohio based power trio consisting of guitarist Phil Keaggy, drummer John Sferra and bassist Daniel Pecchio.-Early years:...
drummer
John SferraJohn Sferra is a drummer, best known for his work with the band Glass Harp.In addition to being a drummer, John is also a guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, composing and singing lead on several songs for each Glass Harp album...
as well as a cover of
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
's "Motor of Love." That same month, Phil released
Lights of Madrid, an album of Spanish-flavored instrumentals that included a re-recording of "Praise Dance" from 1996's
On the Fly. Lights of Madrid also contains a PDF with guitar tabliature for the album's music.
Lights of Madrid would go on to win Keaggy a Dove Award for best instrumental album.
In November, Phil released The
Uncle Duke project, a collaboration with his uncle Dave "Duke" Keaggy, with Phil setting his uncle's eclectic poetry to music.
In 2001 Keaggy released the albums
In the Quiet Hours and
Cinemascapes. Both consisted of selections from the 1999 four disc project
Music to Paint By. In the Quiet Hours showcased a new composition "As It Is In Heaven," while
Cinemascapes includes three previously unreleased songs: "The Road Home," "Lighthouse," and "For the Love." The song "Spring" was previously released on 2000's
Uncle Duke as "Interlude." The year also saw the release of
What Matters, a nine song compilation drawing mostly from the albums
Phil Keaggy and
Crimson and Blue. "Tell Me How You Feel" from
Sunday's Child is also included as is a brand new song "What Matters." The album was exclusively produced for and released through the International Bible Society.
2002 saw the release of
Hymnsongs. Primarily a collection of classic hymns, the album also includes a Keaggy original composition that is centered around the Lord's Prayer. This track, "Our Daily Bread," as well as the entire album, are dedicated to Todd Beamer, a Christian passenger of 9-11's
Flight 93United Airlines Flight 93 was United Airlines' scheduled morning transcontinental flight across the United States from Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport in California. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Boeing 757–222 aircraft operating the...
, and a fan of Keaggy's music. Describing the concept of the project, Keaggy says, "I've always loved hymns. They're great melodies that still stand on their own, and are still sung, even after centuries have passed. And those melodies are even more appreciated when you know the lyrics. The writers of the hymns were great wordsmiths; they could be so concise and so eloquent in their expression of truth. And theirs is music that speaks to every generation." Yet Keaggy's then label, Word Records, did not share his vision for the project and asked that it be an instrumental album: "it's the oddest thing...to me, hymns should be really sung. I had a conflict with it because, here I am, I can sing, and yet they didn't want me to sing...I offered--I went to management about it and it was pretty much, "No, don't do that. That's not want they want."
Hymnsongs would be Keaggy's last album with Word Records.
That same year, Phil also participated on
Randy StonehillRandall Evan "Randy" Stonehill is an American singer-songwriter from Stockton, California, best known as one of the so-called "fathers of contemporary Christian music". His music is primarily folk rock in the style of James Taylor, but he has assayed other styles, with various albums focused on...
's
Edge of the World album, singing a duet "That's the Way It Goes" as well as appearing on "We Were All So Young" with other veteran musicians such as
Larry NormanLarry David Norman was an American Christian musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer, who worked with Christian rock music...
. Additionally, Phil’s wife Bernadette published
Losing You Too Soon, an updated version of
A Deeper Shade of Grace, her 1996 book on losing her first five children through early infant death, miscarriage and stillbirth.
The next year Keaggy released
It's Personal, an album in which he set poetry by Keith Moore to music. Keaggy and Moore had previously collaborated on the song "A Little Bit of Light" that appeared on the guitarist's 1998 self-titled album. Also in 2003 Keaggy released
Special Occasions, an eclectic collection of music focusing on birthdays, weddings and graduations. The album consisted primarily of Keaggy originals and also featured a re-recording of "Here and Now" from 1986's
Way Back Home, as well as covers of
the BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
tune "When I'm 64" and
Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's "The Greatest Discovery." That same year, Sparrow Records, Phil's former record label (1980–1983, 1994–1997), released a 15 track compilation
History Makers. It features standards such as "Let Everything Else Go," "Morning Light," and "The True Believers." 2003 also saw the release of
Hourglass, the first album of new material by
Glass HarpGlass Harp is a Youngstown, Ohio based power trio consisting of guitarist Phil Keaggy, drummer John Sferra and bassist Daniel Pecchio.-Early years:...
since 1972. The album included a new recording of a rare Keaggy solo tune, "What Matters," the title track of a compilation album exclusively produced for and released through the International Bible Society in 2001.
Also in 2003, guitarist
Muriel AndersonMuriel Anderson is a composer and award-winning guitarist and harp-guitarist.-Biography:Muriel Anderson was born in Downers Grove, Illinois. Her grandfather was a saxophone player in John Phillip Sousa’s band, and her mother was a piano teacher. Her musical heritage showed early when an inspired...
released an album with Keaggy entitled
Uncut Gems. A collection primarily consisting of instrumental improvisations recorded in 2001 and 2003, the two also perform Keaggy's "Tennessee Morning" from his 1996 album
220. Guitarist
Stanley JordanStanley Jordan is an American jazz/jazz fusion guitarist and pianist, best known for his development of the tapping technique for the guitar....
appears on several songs. Portions of the album's earnings go towards Anderson's Music for Life Alliance fundraiser.
The following year,
Glass HarpGlass Harp is a Youngstown, Ohio based power trio consisting of guitarist Phil Keaggy, drummer John Sferra and bassist Daniel Pecchio.-Early years:...
released
Stark Raving Jams, a triple disc thirty-nine song collection of material spanning from 1970 to 2003. The collection focused primarily on live performances but also includes a few unreleased studio recordings. Like
Strings Attached, this Glass Harp album includes live renditions of some Keaggy solo material.
In 2004 Keaggy guest performed with the indie band
DispatchDispatch is an American indie/roots band. The band consists of Brad Corrigan , Pete Francis Heimbold , and Chad Urmston ....
for several songs during
The Last Dispatch. Phil also released two live DVDS:
Phil Keaggy in Concert: St. Charles IL, and
Philly Live!
In 2005, after thirty years of being out of print,
Glass HarpGlass Harp is a Youngstown, Ohio based power trio consisting of guitarist Phil Keaggy, drummer John Sferra and bassist Daniel Pecchio.-Early years:...
's first three studio albums were reissued on CD by Music Mill Entertainment. The albums were digitally remastered and include previously unreleased bonus tracks. In July, Keaggy also released an expanded edition of
Uncle Duke. First released in 2000, this new edition was entitled
The Uncle Duke Project and included the original album plus a bonus disc of new songs, alternate versions and an interview with Phil and his uncle.
The following year, Keaggy released
Freehand, the sequel to
Acoustic Sketches. That same year Keaggy and longtime friend
Randy StonehillRandall Evan "Randy" Stonehill is an American singer-songwriter from Stockton, California, best known as one of the so-called "fathers of contemporary Christian music". His music is primarily folk rock in the style of James Taylor, but he has assayed other styles, with various albums focused on...
released
Together Live! in both album and DVD format. In addition to including acoustic renditions of Keaggy and Stonehill's solo material, the project includes versions of their previous collaborations such as "Sunday's Child," "Who Will Save the Children?" and "That's the Way It Goes." Keaggy later guest performed on two songs of Rufus Tree's album
Dying To Live.
2006 saw Keaggy release three additional instrumental albums:
Jammed! was a one disc collection of songs featured previously on 1999's double album
Premium Jams. The album also included a new rendering of "Ode to Joy" titled "Joyphil" and "Prehistrobie K-18," a previously unreleased song that Phil wrote and recorded as a teenager. The acoustic instrumental album
RoundaboutRoundabout is the title of an acoustic instrumental album by guitarist Phil Keaggy, released in July 2006. The songs were compiled from sound check loops of guitar improvisations recorded before his concerts.-Track listing:# "Skippin' Stones"...
, is another instrumental collection. The songs are either improvisation or other riffs played over
loopsIn electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
that were recorded as part of the performance. Keaggy explains that the songs "began with me messing around at my soundchecks before the audience came in. I’d typically just come from taking a nap at a hotel, so my mind would be fresh, and I’d improvise loops that would be recorded by my soundman, Brian Persall. The loops have rhythm, lead, bass, and even percussion parts along with textures created using an EBow and placing plastic between the strings, which creates koto, banjo, and steel drum-type sounds. After I returned home, I imported all of the loops into Pro Tools and edited some sections, but no overdubs were added either after the initial recording or while in the studio. If a song was too long, I might edit some measures or repeated sections to make it a little less repetitious, or maybe move some bits around."
Phil Keaggy and guitarist Mike Pachelli released an acoustic instrumental project titled
Two of UsTwo of Us is the title of the tenth volume in Solid Air Records' "Groovemasters" series. It was recorded by guitarist Phil Keaggy and Mike Pachelli, released in 2006.-Track listing:#"Maccadocious"#"Bears Den Road"#"Westside Talkin'"#"Birds"...
. Also in 2006 Phil released a vocal album,
Dream Again. It includes his son Ian, who co-wrote, sings and plays guitar on "Why" while his daughter Alicia sings a duet with her father on "Micah 6:8". In 2006,
Glass HarpGlass Harp is a Youngstown, Ohio based power trio consisting of guitarist Phil Keaggy, drummer John Sferra and bassist Daniel Pecchio.-Early years:...
reunited for a concert to celebrate the release of their first DVD,
Circa 72. The DVD is the first official release of their 1972 PBS concert, and includes rare outtakes, home movie footage, and a commentary by the band. The year also saw the release of
Happy Valentine's Day, a limited edition compilation of various love songs that Phil had recorded over the years as well as four new tracks.
In April 2006 Keaggy launched a free
PodcastA podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
that is available through his website and
iTunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. His last edition to date is from September 2008. The Podcasts feature music and commentary from Phil as well as music from some of his favorite artists.
On October 29, 2007 Keaggy was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame by
P.O.D.Payable on Death is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. Their Christian faith is an important part of their music.They have released seven studio albums and...
guitarist
Jason TrubyJason Truby is an American musician. He began his career in 1989 when he formed the Christian metal band Living Sacrifice as its lead guitarist. Even though he was a founding member of the Arkansas-based band, he left Living Sacrifice in 1997 to spend time with his family. However, in 2003, the...
. He also released
Acoustic Cafe, an album, that with the exception of "You Have My Heart," is a collection of covers ranging from
Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
("If Not For You," "Make You Feel My Love") to
Cyndi LauperCynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
("Time After Time"). Many of the songs are duets, such as
the BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "In My Life" with Randy Stonehill and the Everly Brothers "All I Have to Do is Dream" with Jeremy Casella. Later that year Keaggy released another acoustic instrumental album:
The Song Within. Recorded using a McPherson acoustic guitar, the album revamped two Keaggy classics, with "What a Day" being transformed as "Water Day" and "Noah's Song" undergoing significant revision as "Noah's Shuffle."
2007 also marked the 30th anniversary of the landmark instrumental album, 1978's
The Master and the Musician. The album was re-released with a bonus disc of outtakes, alternate versions and a recent interview. Keaggy also toured in support of the album's anniversary with a band that featured
Glass HarpGlass Harp is a Youngstown, Ohio based power trio consisting of guitarist Phil Keaggy, drummer John Sferra and bassist Daniel Pecchio.-Early years:...
drummer
John SferraJohn Sferra is a drummer, best known for his work with the band Glass Harp.In addition to being a drummer, John is also a guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, composing and singing lead on several songs for each Glass Harp album...
. The tour was chronicled on the subsequent live DVD:
The Master & the Musician: 30 Years Later Tour. The next year Keaggy released the album
Phantasmagorical: Master and Musician 2, the sequel to his 1978 masterpiece.
In 2008, Keaggy received the Gold Level Award as the "Best Spiritual / Worship Guitarist", as voted by readers of
Acoustic Guitar Magazine.
In June 2009, Keaggy and
Randy StonehillRandall Evan "Randy" Stonehill is an American singer-songwriter from Stockton, California, best known as one of the so-called "fathers of contemporary Christian music". His music is primarily folk rock in the style of James Taylor, but he has assayed other styles, with various albums focused on...
released a new studio album titled
Mystery Highway. In support of the album, the two musicians, along with guitarist Mike Pachelli and Glass Harp's
Daniel PecchioAndrew Daniel Pecchio is a bass guitar player, best known for his work in Glass Harp and The Michael Stanley Band.- References :...
and
John SferraJohn Sferra is a drummer, best known for his work with the band Glass Harp.In addition to being a drummer, John is also a guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, composing and singing lead on several songs for each Glass Harp album...
, played several concerts as "The Keaggy-Stonehill Band." The year also saw Keaggy contribute a soaring re-recorded version of "Passport" on the album
CPR 3; a compilation of musicians from the Christian Progressive Rock (CPR) scene. The original version of "Passport" appeared on Keaggy's 1985 album
Getting Closer. In October Keaggy released an instrumental album with pianist Jeff Johnson titled
Frio Suite. After meeting each other for the first time at the beginning of the year, the two musicians stayed in touch and created the album via email, with Johnson recording in Seattle while Keaggy recorded in Nashville. December saw the release of the guitarist's third Christmas album,
Welcome Inn. Featuring mostly original compositions such as the title track,
Welcome Inn also includes the classic "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and an acoustic instrumental version of "In the Bleak Midwinter." The project also includes a new recording of "On that Day," a song co-written with Glass Harp drummer John Sferra for Keaggy's
True Believer album in 1995.
On March 27, 2010, Glass Harp released their fourth live album:
Glass Harp Live at the Beachland Ballroom 11.01.08. The ten-song project included material from Phil's solo career: "Sign Came through a Window" and "John the Revelator". The album is a recording of a benefit concert that Glass Harp headlined for Roots of American Music (www.rootsofamericanmusic.org), "an organization dedicated to the preservation, performance and education about traditional American music in our schools."
In the fall of 2010, Keaggy did some session work with former Monkees member Micky Dolenz for Dolenz's forthcoming solo album. During this same time, "The Phil Keaggy Trio" also completed their debut album, the soon to be released
Interdimensional Traveler. The album is a collaboration with keyboardist Jack Giering and Glass Harp drummer John Sferra.
In addition to recording and touring regularly, Keaggy is currently working on a record with former
Living SacrificeLiving Sacrifice is a Christian heavy metal band that formed in September 1989 in Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. The band has released seven studio albums, out of which the first three were recorded under R.E.X. Records with their original vocalist Darren Johnson as a more thrash metal and death metal...
and
P.O.D.Payable on Death is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. Their Christian faith is an important part of their music.They have released seven studio albums and...
guitarist
Jason TrubyJason Truby is an American musician. He began his career in 1989 when he formed the Christian metal band Living Sacrifice as its lead guitarist. Even though he was a founding member of the Arkansas-based band, he left Living Sacrifice in 1997 to spend time with his family. However, in 2003, the...
.
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