Information AboutPhil Keaggy |
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Phil Keaggy, born March 23 , 1951 , is a Guitar ist and Vocalist . He was raised in a small farmhouse in Hubbard, Ohio with nine brothers and sisters, and began playing guitar at age ten on a Sears Silvertone guitar. In spite of the fact he is missing half of the middle finger on his right hand due to a childhood accident involving a water pump, Keaggy is considered by many to be one of the best guitarists in the world. He is frequently listed as one of the top fingerstyle guitarists by '' Guitar Player Magazine '' readers' polls. A BRIEF HISTORY Keaggy began professionally playing music in the late 1960s with drummer John Sferra. The two longtime friends formed a band called Glass Harp . A major turning point for the trio was their winning of an Ohio area's "Battle of the Bands." One of event's judges happened to be an associate of the celebrated producer Lewis Merenstein , whom he alerted to the hot young threesome. At the time, Merenstein was fresh from producing Van Morrison 's ''Moondance'' (Merenstein did as well produce ''Astral Week'') and had just been voted Producer of the Year by Rolling Stone . Merenstein was persuaded into flying down from New York to see what the fuss was all about. Upon hearing the band perform, so inspired was Merenstein that Decca Records signed Glass Harp to a multi-record deal. A short time later, the band found itself in New York's Greenwich Village recording its first album at Jimi Hendrix ' Electric Ladyland Studio with Lewis Merenstein as producer. As a Decca Records artist, the band began to open for such artists as Iron Butterfly , Yes , Traffic , and Chicago . At one point, guitarist Joe Walsh had considered joining the band, and many years later, guitar player Ted Nugent was quoted as saying "I don't know what happened to that Phil Keaggy, he could have saved the world with his guitar" in CCM Magazine . In February 1970 , Phil's mother was involved in a fatal car accident. He was heavily involved in drugs at the time, but his sister Ellen took the time to tell him about finding peace in Jesus , and Phil began a new life as a Christian . Keaggy left Glass Harp in 1972 and released his first solo album the following year entitled ''What A Day''. Keaggy married his wife Bernadette the following summer. He then took a brief vacation from recording on his own and only toured in support of other artists like 2nd Chapter Of Acts , Paul Clark, and Nancy Honeytree . Keaggy returned in 1976 with ''Love Broke Thru'' which included his cover of the Randy Stonehill / Keith Green /Todd Fishkind song of the same name. The summer of 1977 saw Keaggy on an eighteen-city tour of the western United States with 2nd Chapter of Acts and " A Band Called David ". This was captured in the live triple album ''How the West Was One''. The only release of the Phil Keaggy Band was also occurred in 1977, ''Emerging''. In 1978 , Keaggy released his first critically acclaimed instrumental album entitled ''Master and the Musician''. The Keaggy family then moved to Kansas City, Missouri . Their first daughter, Alicia, was born soon after in March of 1980 . Their second daughter, Olivia, was born on Valentine's Day , 1984 , and in 1987 , the Keaggys celebrated the birth of their son, Ian. Keaggy was signed to the Contemporary Christian Music label Sparrow Records in the 1980s , where he released a string of albums including ''Town To Town'', ''Ph'lip Side'', and ''Play Thru Me''. In 1988 , Keaggy won his first Dove Award for his second instrumental project, ''The Wind and the Wheat''. Keaggy's second Dove Award came in 1992 for his Celtic -influenced ''Beyond Nature''. From 1998 to 2001 , Keaggy has dominated the "Instrumental Record" category in the Dove Awards winning awards for ''Invention'', ''Acoustic Sketches'', ''Majesty and Wonder'', and ''Lights of Madrid''. In . That same year, Keaggy would hit the road with Stonehill for a tour by The Keaggy/Stonehill band, which included Swirling Eddie David Raven on drums and Daniel Amos bassist Tim Chandler . A few years later, Keaggy would perform at former Beatle Paul McCartney 's sister-in-law's wedding. Afterwards, in a hotel room, Keaggy fulfilled a lifelong dream by jamming with McCartney. In 1994 , Keaggy released ''Crimson and Blue'', a bluesy rock album that included a cover of Van Morrison 's "When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God". That album was also remixed and reissued as ''Blue'', with the added Badfinger cover "Baby Blue". Keaggy enlisted his old friend John Sferra of Glass Harp for the tour that followed. (The tour also featured Wade Jaynes from Chagall Guevara on Bass and Phil Madeira on Hammond Organ .) Glass Harp reformed around 2001 and released a new album titled "Hourglass" in 2003. As of 2006, Keaggy continues to record and tour regularly. THE QUESTION: "WHO IS THE BEST GUITARIST IN THE WORLD?" Rumors have followed Keaggy for years that Jimi Hendrix had supposedly named him as his answer to the question "who is the best guitarist in the world?" while making an appearance on '' The Tonight Show ''. Sometimes, the rumor is that it was Eric Clapton , or that it was on the Dick Cavett show. A recent variant has it that it was Eddie Van Halen on Letterman who was asked the question. During live performances, Keaggy has mentioned it but thinks the rumors may not be true. However, due to the fact that many of these shows did not keep archives of all of their early shows, it is nearly impossible to either confirm or disprove the rumor completely. Some fans have claimed to have seen the show in question, but to date, no one has presented a tape or any kind of evidence to confirm it. Snopes has an article regarding the "Tonight Show" appearance . Other sources claim that Jimi Hendrix stated that Phil Keaggy was "the best up-and-coming guitarist right now" on a Dick Cavett TV show. DISCOGRAPHY
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