He is frequently listed as one of the top fingerstyle guitarists by Guitar Player Magazine readers' polls, but he is equally at home on electric guitar. Keaggy is noted for crowd-pleasing solo live performances where he makes extensive use of recording live layers of loops to accompany himself. To do this he uses only an acoustic guitar but is able to create electric sounds.
Keaggy began performing professionally in the late 60s with drummer John Sferra. The two friends, with the addition of bassist Dan Pecchio, formed Glass Harp in 1968.
A major turning point for the trio was winning an Ohio area's "Battle of the Bands." One of event's judges happened to be an associate of the celebrated producer Lewis Merenstein, who was alerted about the hot young threesome. At the time, Merenstein was fresh from producing albums for many successful artists including The Spencer Davis Group, Turley Richards and Van Morrison's Moondance (Merenstein produced Astral Weeks as well) and had just been voted Producer of the Year by Rolling Stone. Merenstein was persuaded to fly down from New York to see what the fuss was all about.
Upon hearing the band perform, Merenstein was so inspired 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.[1] At one point, future James Gang guitarist Joe Walsh was being considered to join New Hudson Exit (the band Phil Keaggy was in prior to the formation of Glass Harp) but the other members of the band felt Walsh's style was too dynamic.
Years later, Amboy Dukes 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 Guitar Player Magazine.
On Valentine's Day in 1970, Keaggy's mother was involved in a fatal car accident. He was heavily involved in drugs at the time, and that same day was badly hurt by an LSD trip. In the midst of this tragedy his sister Ellen took the time to tell him about finding peace in Jesus, and he converted to Christianity.
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 Love Song, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Paul Clark, and Nancy Honeytree. Keaggy returned to the studio in 1976 with Love Broke Thru which included his version of the Randy Stonehill/Keith Green/Todd Fishkind classic song of the same name, which at Keith Green's insistence was the first released recording of the song. During the summer of 1977 Keaggy went 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 also occurred in 1977, Emerging. The Phil Keaggy Band consisted of Keaggy, Lynn Nichols, Phil Madeira, Dan Cunningham and Terry Andersen. In 1978, Keaggy released his first critically acclaimed instrumental album entitled The Master and the Musician.
The Keaggy family then moved to Leawood, Kansas in August,1979. Their first daughter, Alicia, was born there in March, 1980. The Keaggys left Leawood in 1983 and settled in Costa Mesa, California. Their second daughter, Olivia, was born on Valentine's Day, 1984, and their son, Ian, was born in 1987.
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 would team up with Stonehill, drummer Joe English (who had previously played with Paul McCartney and Wings) , singer Margaret Becker, and others for the Compassion All Star Band's album One by One.
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 dominated the "Instrumental Record" category in the Dove Awards winning awards for Invention, Acoustic Sketches, Majesty and Wonder, and Lights of Madrid.
In 1989, Keaggy teamed up with Randy Stonehill, Russ Taff, Derri Daugherty, Mark Heard, Steve Taylor, Rick Cua and other musicians to create Phil Keaggy and Sunday's Child: a tribute of sorts to 1960s bands like The Beatles. 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. In the fall of 1989 the Keaggys relocated once again, leaving the sunny shores and crowded freeways of southern California behind and moved to Nashville, Tennessee where they reside currently. A few years later, Keaggy would perform at former Beatle Paul McCartney's sister-in-law's wedding. Keaggy had met Laura Eastman, sister of Linda McCartney, 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.
Keaggy followed Sunday's Child in 1990 with all-out rock album Find Me In These Fields and in 1993 with 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". Once again, an impressive list of musicians joined Keaggy for these releases, including Steve Taylor, Rick Cua, Phil Madeira, Charlie Peacock, Sam Bush, John Mark Painter of Fleming and John, Ashley Cleveland, Jimmy Abegg, and fellow 1970s Keaggy Band members Lynn Nichols and Phil Madeira. 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 B-3 organ.)
In September, Glass Harp found itself in New York's Greenwich Village recording its first album Glass Harp at Jimi Hendrix's Electric Lady Studios with Lewis Merenstein 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 Show, Johnny Carson 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 Stone or Guitar Player. Occasionally the story has the setting for the question being the Dick Cavett Show. Other versions have the question being posed to Eric Clapton. A more recent variant has Eddie Van Halen being asked the question by either David Letterman or Barbara Walters. 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!"
Glass Harp reformed around 2001 and released a new album titled "Hourglass" in 2003.
In 2004, Keaggy guest performed with the indie band Dispatch for several songs during The Last Dispatch. It was to be Dispatch's last performance together and became the largest concert in independent music history.[citation needed]
As of 2009, Keaggy continues to record and tour regularly.
The Wall
Phil Keaggy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You bolt your doors, you load your gun,
You build your wall, you aren't the only one.
You fear the night, shadows unknown,
Feel insecure, don't want to be alone.
But why, oh, why, tell me why
Why, and you cry, don't wanna die,
Do you know the reason for holding on,
For holding on, for holding on?
You bolt your doors, you load your gun,
You build your wall, you aren't the only one.
Close to the edge, is there no hope,
Over the ledge, at the end of your rope.
You fear the fall, no landing zone,
Feel insecure, don't want to be alone.
But why, oh, why, tell me why
Do you know the reason for holding on?
Why, and you cry, don't wanna die,
Do you know the reason for holding on,
For holding on, for holding on?
The Wall by Phil Keaggy is a song about fear and insecurity expressed through the metaphor of a wall. The lyrics describe a person who has built their own wall to protect themselves from the unknown and the fear of being alone. They have locked their doors and loaded their gun, but they are not alone in their fear. The lyrics suggest that many people also build walls to protect themselves from the world outside.
However, the chorus asks why this person is holding on so tightly to their fear. They don't want to die and don't want to be alone, but they don't know the reason for holding on. The repetition of this question implies that they should consider why they are so afraid and whether their wall is actually helping them.
In the second verse, the lyrics suggest that the person is so close to the edge that they feel there is no hope left. They fear the fall and being alone without a landing zone. The repetition of their fear of being alone suggests that this is the root cause of their problem.
Overall, The Wall is a poignant reflection on how many people build walls to protect themselves from the world around them, but this fear can lead to a sense of isolation and hopelessness. The repeated question in the chorus challenges the listener to consider why they are holding on so tightly to their fear and whether it is really protecting them.
Line by Line Meaning
You bolt your doors, you load your gun,
You take protective measures to keep yourself safe.
You build your wall, you aren't the only one.
You isolate yourself from others who may hurt or disappoint you.
You fear the night, shadows unknown,
You are afraid of the unknown, which you perceive as threatening.
Feel insecure, don't want to be alone.
You lack confidence in yourself and are afraid to be by yourself.
But why, oh, why, tell me why
Questioning the reason behind your actions and emotions.
Do you know the reason for holding on?
Asking if you understand why you still cling to life despite your fears.
Close to the edge, is there no hope,
You feel like you are about to reach a breaking point and that there is no way out.
Over the ledge, at the end of your rope.
You feel like you are at the very end of your ability to cope with your problems.
You fear the fall, no landing zone,
You are afraid of what may happen if you let go and allow yourself to fall deeper into despair. You feel like there is nowhere safe to land.
Feel insecure, don't want to be alone.
You are still struggling with self-doubt and a fear of being alone.
But why, oh, why, tell me why
You still do not have a clear answer to why you are holding on to life.
Do you know the reason for holding on?
You continue to question if you truly understand why you are still alive.
Contributed by Oliver T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Billy Foster
Three great guitarists: Alex Lifeson, Rick Emmett and Phil Keaggy!😁👍
Nigel
You bolt your doors, you load your gun,
You build your wall, you aren't the only one.
You fear the night, shadows unknown,
Feel insecure, don't want to be alone.
But why, oh, why, tell me why
Do you know the reason for holding on?
Why, and you cry, don't wanna die,
Do you know the reason for holding on,
For holding on, for holding on?
You bolt your doors, you load your gun,
You build your wall, you aren't the only one.
Close to the edge, is there no hope,
Over the ledge, at the end of your rope.
You fear the fall, no landing zone,
Feel insecure, don't want to be alone.
But why, oh, why, tell me why
Do you know the reason for holding on?
Why, and you cry, don't wanna die,
Do you know the reason for holding on,
For holding on, for holding on?
Billy Foster
Heard this in 1983! Still new them! Keaggy's the man!😁👍
Glenn McCarthy
What a rush!
😄
Paul Lancheros
You got really good taste in music.
How do i fallow you on FB???
Oddman out & stuff
Build the wall.