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Phil Keaggy is an excellent all-around
guitarist who has been a part of the CCM scene for over two decades.
Born and raised in Ohio in a Catholic family of ten, Keaggy always
loved music and spent hours listening to such singers as Johnny
Ray and Elvis Presley. He began imitating the latter as young
as age four. Keaggy was also exposed to other kinds of music and
became well versed in classical. His first guitar was a late-'50s
Gretsch Anniversary model; at age ten his father bought him a
Sears Silvertone, and by the end of fifth grade, he was playing
in front of his entire school.
Three years later, Keaggy was playing professionally with the
Squires. He and his longtime friend, drummer John Sferra, founded
Glass Harp in the late '60s when he was in the eleventh grade.
They soon became known as one of the most innovative power trios
around, even though they were never together long enough to break
through commercially. They had a contract with Decca, toured the
country several times, and had a growing base of devoted fans,
many of whom were knocked out by Keaggy's lightning-fast guitar
riffs and experimental sounds. At their pinnacle, Glass Harp was
opening for such major acts as Iron Butterfly, Yes, Traffic and
Chicago.
It was a lot of fame to be heaped upon such young musicians, and
it being the late '60s, Keaggy was exposed to and partook of his
share of drugs. His life changed dramatically on February 14,
1970. While lying in a hotel room suffering from a bad LSD trip,
his parents were involved in a head-on auto crash back in Ohio.
His mother died soon afterward, and this spawned a crisis for
Keaggy that led to his becoming a born-again Christian. In the
early '70s, Keaggy took to testifying before bewildered Glass
Harp listeners after their concerts.
He left Glass Harp in 1972 and the following year recorded his
first solo album, What a Day. He then spent many years working
with a Christian fellowship and married. Since then, Keaggy has
released well over a dozen albums earning critical acclaim for
both his virtuosity on guitar and his songwriting, which ranges
from the Beatlesque pop of Sunday's Child to more subtle intrumentals.
He occasionally gets back together with the other members of Glass
Harp for reunion concerts, and in 1998 he returned to the Word/Epic
stable with a self-titled LP. Majesty and Wonder.
This bio courtesy www.allmusic.com
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