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Timeline

Timeline:

March 23rd, 1951: Phil Is Born!

Philip Tyler Keaggy is born in Hubbard, OH, the nineth of ten children.

1955: The Waterpump

As four year old Phil is climbing on a wooden waterpump to get a drink on his parents' farm, the base breaks and sends the pump crashing down on PHil's right hand, causing him to lose his right middle finger.

1961: Firsts

Phil Keaggy gets his first guitar at the age of ten. He wanted a drum set.

1966: The Squires

Phil makes his first recording as part of the Squires, along with Bob Flamisch, Jim Love and Al Frano. The band recorded two songs, "Batmobile" and "I Don't Care".

1967: New Hudson Exit

Phil records two more songs, "Waiting For Her" and "Come With Me" with a group called the New Hudson Exit. There was a 45 in mono and an acetate in stereo.

1968: Glass Harp

Phil Keaggy, John Sferra and Steve Markulin form the Glass Harp.

March 2nd, 1969: Acetate

Phil, John and Steve record an acetate.

August, 1969: Daniel Pecchio

In the fall of 1969, Daniel Pecchio replaces John Carizino who relpaced Steve Markulin on bass guitar. Glass Harp is complete.

1970: Glass Harp "Released"

Glass Harp releases their first album on Decca records.

More Information...

February 14th, 1970: Car Accident

On Valentine's Day, 1970, while Phil is on the road with Glass Harp, his mother and sister are in a car accident. Phil's mother dies a week later and the event changes Phil's life.

1971: Synergy

Glass Harp's second album, Synergy, is released on Decca Records.

September 26th, 1971: KSAN

Glass Harp performs live on KSAN-FM in San Fracisco, CA.

November, 1971: Carnegie Hall

Glass Harp opens for the Kinks at Carnegie Hall in New York. Most performers wait their entire lives to play this venue. Phil and John are only 20 years old. The show was recorded to be the band's third album, however it was decided that another studio album was needed first. The band broke up shortly after It Makes Me Glad came out and these recordings were lost for many years.

1972: It Makes Me Glad

Glass Harp releases their third album on Decca Records, It Makes Me Glad.

February 25th, 1972: Simulcast

WMMS-FM and WVIZ-TV broadcast a live simulcast of Glass Harp in concert. The WMMS broadcast was in stereo while the WVIZ broadcast was in mono.

May 29th, 1972: WMMS Again

Glass Harp performs an acoustic coffee break concert in the WMMS studios in response to the large audience they had for the Febuary simulcast.

August, 1972: The Beginning of the End...

Phil leaves Glass Harp in the fall of 1972, shortly after It Makes Me Glad comes out.

1973: What A Day

After getting married and moving to a Christian community in upstate New York, Phil records What A Day on a budget of $1800.

1973: The End...For Now

Glass Harp continued on without Phil for less than a year. Replacements were tried, but the magic wasn't there and the group officially called it quits in 1973.

July 14th, 1973: Just Married...

Phil marries Bernadette.

1976: Love Broke Thru

Phil records and releases his second solo effort, Love Broke Thru.

1977: How the West Was One

Phil does some touring with 2nd Chapter of Acts and on two west coast dates, this double CD (triple LP) was recorded and then released. Phil gets his own set, about 1/3 of the show.

1977: The Phil Keaggy Band Emerges

Phil forms The Phil Keaggy Band with others from their Christian community. They release an album, Emerging.

1978: The Master and the Musician

Still touring with the Phil Keaggy Band occasionally, Phil records the Master and the Musician as an outlet for his grief concerning he and Bernadette's loss of five babies.

1980: Ph'lip Side

Ph'lip Side is released...twice on Sparrow Records. But nobody could figure out which side of the record came first!

1981: Town To Town

Town to Town is released on Sparrow Records, typo's and all.

April, 1981: Reunion!

The first Glass Harp reunion takes place on April 10 and 11, 1981.

1982: Play Thru Me

Play Thru Me is released on Sparrow records.

1983: Underground

Underground-Private Collection Volume 1 is released. The cassette had two extra songs. Back Room Trax Volume 1 has remixes of these songs.

1985: Getting Closer

Getting Closer, Phil's true '80's effort, is released! Guitar lovers ph'liped over "Sounds".

1986: Way Back Home

Phil's most personal album, Way Back Home, is released. Included are "Let Everything Else Go", which Phil didn't think got a fair shot on Town To Town (1981), and "The Reunion" from the as-yet to be released Wind & the Wheat album. This LP has yet to make a "direct" transfer to CD, though remixes of all the songs (except "Reunion") were released in 1994.

1987: The Wind & The Wheat

Phil's second instrumental, The Wind and the Wheat is released.

1988: Phil Keaggy and Sunday's Child

The album Phil Keaggy and Sunday's Child was released on Myrrh Records with a little help from Randy Stonehill, Russ Taff, Mark Heard and Lynn Nichols.

1988: The Keaggy-Stonehill Tour

Phil goes out on tour with Randy Stonehill in the latter part of 1988 and throughout 1989.

June 22nd, 1988: Compassion All Star Band

Phil records a live concert with the Compassion All Star Band (including Randy Stonehill, Margaret Becker, Joe English, Rich Cua and John Schreiner) to benefit Compassion International. It is later released in 1989.

December 27th, 1988: Glass Harp Reunion II

There is a second Glass Harp reunion at the Akron Civic Theater in Akron, OH.

1990: Re-releases

What A Day and Love Broke Through are rereleased on a single CD and Ph'lip Side, Town to Town and Play Thru Me are rerelease as a double CD.

1990: Find Me In These Fields

The CD Find Me In These Fields is released.

1991: Beyond Nature

Phil's third instrumental album, Beyond Nature, is released.

1993: Crimson & Blue

Phil teams up with former GH bandmate John Sferra to record Crimson and Blue. A maxi-single, Revelator, is also released which contains alternate and extended versions of songs like "Doin' Nothin'" and "John the Revelator" plus a 12 minute jam with John called "The Further Adventures Of...".

1993: Tributes

Phil's song "I Always Do" from Sunday's Child appears on Strong Hand of Love: A Tribute To Mark Heard and he records "We Can Work It Out" with PFR for the Come Together: America Salutes the Beatles CD.

November 13th, 1993: Glass Harp again!

Daniel Pecchio joins Phil and John Sferra on the Crimson & Blue tour in Akron, OH at the Akron Civic Theater to form the magical sounds of Glass Harp once more....

1994: More rereleases!

The first three Glass Harp records are released on CD by Line Records. Phil also releases a remixed version of Crimson & Blue, simply titled Blue, with a few songs removed and "Baby Blue" and "The Further Adventures Of..." added. The record copmany hopes to appeal to the secular audience. Also released is a Way Back Home Remix. Since Phil was unable to obtain the rights to the original recordings, he rerecorded everything and added a few new songs to the recording. Absent is "The Reunion" which appears on the Wind And The Wheat (1987).

1995: True Believers

Phil releases True Believers. His record company and producers hoped to produce a CD that Phil's teenage daughter would love. It worked, but many of Phil's longtime fans consider it their least favorite recording.

1995: Time

Sparrow Records releases Time Volumes 1 and 2, which includ some rare tracks including "Do Lord" from the 1971 Carnegie Hall performance, an old demo, "We'll Meet Again" and a live version of "Shouts of Joy".

1996: Electric and Acoustic

Phil releases the rockin' electric instrumental, 220, and the Phil Keaggy Club first releases the book/CD package Acoustic Sketches.

1997: On The Fly

Canis Major Records, the label for the Phil Keaggy Club, releases On The Fly, a collection of songs showcasing the Parker Fly guitar.

1997: Invention

Phil teams up with Wes King and Scott Dente, both great guitarists in their own right, to release the Invention album through Sparrow records. A tour follows.

1997: Glass Harp Live!

Glass Harp's 1971 live recording is finally released! The release is celebrated by a concert at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH on April 19 and two more shows at the Akron Civic Theater in Akron, OH on May 22nd and 23rd.

1998: Self Titled

Returning to Myrrh records, Phil releases his first self-titled album, Phil Keaggy.

1998: A Christmas Gift

The first of three Christmas projects, A Christmas Gift is just Phil with a guitar synthesizer. An Angel's Christmas, released a year later on Unison, is pretty much the same thing.

1998: Getting Closer, again!

Phil's 1985 recording, Getting Closer, is finally released on CD by Canis Major Records. Included are two new songs.

1999: Unison Releases

Unison records had hoped to make Phil available in stores like K-mart in the $5.99 section. They released a series of Phil's songs called Music To Paint By. The four CDs are titled: Brushstrokes, Splash, Electric Blue and Still Life. Also released was An Angel's Christmas, a spin-off of the fan club release A Christmas Gift released a year earlier. Unison folded before any of these releases could get widespread promotion and they were only available online.

1999: Premium Jams

Recorded from the Crimson & Blue and 220 sessions, this 2 disc release by Canis Major is chuck full of jam sessions for an electric guitarist's delight.

2000: WordArtisan

Phil's record label, Word Records, created a division just for Phil and similar artists to give them more freedom. The first releases were a one disc version of Inseparable, released earlier as a limited edition double CD, and Lights of Madrid, the long-awaited Spanish style release.

2000: Fan Club Releases

2000 was the year for fan club releases. reEmerging and Underground were re-released on CD finally by Canis Major. Also released was Uncle Duke, a gift to Phil's Uncle Duke, who wrote the poems for the CD which Phil translated to music, a two disc album called Inseparable and Zion, a tribute to the maker of Zion guitars, Ken Hoover.

2000: Glass Harp Again...

Daniel Pecchio and John Sferra join Phil onstage at the Alive Festival in June 2000 and they play in Berea, OH on September 2nd before the full-scale reunion playing with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra on October 22nd at Powers Auditorium in their home town of Youngstown, OH.

2001: The Reunion Continues

Glass Harp play a number of dates throughout the year, including:

January 23rd at the Robin Hood Inn in Kent, OH
March 24th at Sip Of Seatle in Nashville, TN
March 25th at the Southwest Guitar Conference in Dallas, TX
June 22nd at the Alive Festival in Canal Fulton, OH
June 30th at Stambaugh Ballroom in Youngstown, OH (private fan meet & eat)
July 1rst at Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown, OH
November 11-12th at Canal Street Tavern in Dayton, OH
December 1rst surprise appearance backing Phil in Niles, OH

The October 22nd, 2000 show with the Youngstown Symphony is released on June 21rst as a double live CD.

October 26th, 2001: Philly Live!

A solo acoustic show at Calvary Chapel in Philadelphia, PA is recorded for future release on DVD.

November 20th, 2001: Music To Paint By Revisited...

Two more projects are released by Phil's label, WordArtisan. Cinemascapes and In The Quiet Hours both consist of material from the ill-fated Unison series, Music To Paint By. There are only five new songs between the two CDs.

2002: Continued Success

2002 begins with Glass Harp performing once again with the Youngstown Symphony...

January 20th Powers Auditorium, Youngstown, OH
May 11th Agora Theater, Cleveland, OH
June 27th Creation East, Mt. Union, PA
July 27th Creation West, George, WA
August 2nd Hookahfest, Nelson Ledges Quarry Park, Garrettesville, OH
September 14th B&B Backstage, Boardman, OH

The guys also begin work on their first studio release in 30 years.

October, 2002: Hymnsongs

While it was a busy year for Glass Harp, Phil's only album of the year was Hymnsongs, an instrumental recording of hymns.

2003: Looking Through An Hourglass

Glass Harp is busy again in 2003, playing several dates and recording and releasing a new album.

March 23 - The Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
August 2nd - Evans Amphitheater, Cain Park, Cleveland Heights, OH
August 3rd - The guys greet fans outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
October 26 - The guys celebrate their second appearance in an exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by giving a concert on the 4th Floor!

Phil is busy on his own as well, having split from his record company, he released three albums in 2003. History Makers (compilation), Freehand (Acoustic Sketches 2), and Special Occasions. He also contributed to a track on Dave Beegle's new CD and recorded with Jason Truby, new guitarist for P.O.D.

March 13th, 2004: It's Personal

Phil relaeses It's Personal. A simple acoustic guitar/vocal album, the lyrics were penned by friend Keith Moore with music written and performed by Phil.

April 18th, 2004: Glass Harp Back In Dallas

Glass Harp plays at the Southwest Guitar Show in Dallas. Both Rick Derringer and Greg Martin made appearances during GH's set.

May 27th, 2004: Management Changes

Phil signs with Nashville artist management company Blanton, Harrell, Cooke & Corzine (BHCC). He joins a long list of clients, including Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant.

June, 2004: The Jams Continue...

Glass Harp takes to the road throughout June for a mini-tour of the midwest.

June 3rd - Shank Hall, Milwaukee, WI
June 4th - Century Center, South Bend, IN
June 5th - The Intersection, Grand Rapids, MI
June 17th - The Alive Festival, Canal Fulton, OH
June 23rd - Enter/Inn, Nashville, TN
June 24th - The Dome, Lexington, KY
June 25-26 - Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH

June 3rd, 2004: Stark Raving Jams

Glass Harp follows up Hourglass with the release of a new 3 CD set of live recordings from the past 30 years, titled Stark Raving Jams.

July 26th, 2004: Neal Morse

Neal Morse (Spock's Beard) gets together with Phil in Nashville to record some guitar and vocals for Neal's upcoming release.

July 31st, 2004: The Last Dispatch

Phil is asked to perform at a farewell concert for independent band Dispatch. On July 31, 2004, there were 110,000 fans watching as Phil joined the band on four songs at the Hatch Shell in Boston, MA. He also performed at a smaller rehearsal show at the Somerville Theater on July 29.

August 1st, 2004: DVD At Long Last!

Phil's solo acoustic live DVD, Philly Live! finally begins shipping to the nearly 1,000 who pre-ordered it starting back in Feb. Included in the pre-orders is a hand written note from Phil thanking them for their patience.

October, 2004: Phil Leaves BHCC

Phil leaves his management company, Blanton and Harrell (BHCC) management at the end of October.

November 2nd, 2004: ONE is Released

Neal Morse's ONE is released, which includes Phil's vocals on "Cradle To The Grave" and "What Is Life" (limited edition only) and Phil's guitar work on "The Creation" and "The Man's Gone".

November 9th, 2004: Dispatch / All Points Bulletin

Phil's summer guest appearance at "The Final Dispatch" was released on a 2CD+DVD set. All four songs Phil played on made both the DVD and CD.

May 5th, 2005: Friendshipfest

Phil is one of many artists to take part in a landmark music festival in Marakech, Morocco. The festival is sponsored by Creation Festival founder Harry Thomas in conjunction with Moroccan officials and pairs Christian artists with Moroccan artists as an opportunity for both cultures to get to know each other. The festival took place on May 5th through 7th and Phil performed solo, with his band, and with local musicians.

June, 2005: Uncle Duke Returns

Fans have been begging for the rerelease of Phil's 2000 fan club CD Uncle Duke, some paying more than $200 for it on ebay. Now it's back, in the form of The Uncle Duke Project, which includes the original cuts, some new tunes, remixes and an interview with Uncle Duke himself!

July, 2005: Distribution and Management Changes

Phil signs on with TAG Artist Group for distribution into the Christian retail market. He'll now have a way to get his releases into stores instead of just online. He has also accquired a new manager. He has been without one since leaving Blanton, Harrell, Cooke & Corzine at the end of October 2004.

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