Hendrix, Clapton, Keaggy: forgotten guitar legend plays Brixton
The legendary Phil Keaggy plays Brixton Sunday night.
Hiding in the shadows of rock and roll’s guitar greats, like a bursting blast of light for those who find him, and a legend to those who always knew him, is one of the more gifted giants who simply slipped away from common knowledge. Regardless of whether his name is spoken across the dinner table, he remains in rank with the upper echelon of players like Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Bloomfield, Duane Allman, or Stevie Ray Vaughn. He is Phil Keaggy, he’s a guitar genius, an unknown legend, and he can’t read a lick of music!
“I can’t read a note,” he says. “I can’t even read tablature; but I can read my fret board. I can close my eyes and play by faith, and not by sight.”
Phil Keaggy, now at age 61, co-founded one of the first Christian-rock groups all the way back in 1968; in the form of an Ohio-based power trio called the Glass Harp. Together with John Sferra (drums, vocals) and Daniel Pecchio (bass, flute, vocals), the band carved out a solid name for themselves in the early 70s. They recorded 3 studio albums between 1970-72, blending delicate and tear-jerking melodies based around beautiful song and Keaggy’s acoustic guitar skill, with face-melting electric rock n’ roll that was nothing short of mind-blowing. Keaggy’s dynamic playing was and is distinctive for its seamless quality. His fingers travel the entire body of the guitar with such sweet fluidity it makes melted butter jealous.
In common with the 3 Jimi Hendrix Experience studio albums, Keaggy’s playing on the 3 Glass Harp records is relatively subdued in comparison to the unbound energy which unleashes from his soul in live performance. In fact, Glass Harp’s live shows are the stuff of legend, often culminating in a 29 minute long medley woven into an epic journey – as preserved on their Live at Carnegie Hall album from 1972, which captured an opening set for The Kinks to astonished reaction from the audience. They were what you might call a “mean” Christian band; no literal connotation, of course. And speaking of audience, mythical legend claims that in awe of Keaggy’s prowess, both Hendrix and Claption once took their hats off to him as the greatest guitarist in the world.
Keaggy with Paul McCartney.
At the height of Glass Harp’s budding fame, Keaggy bowed out. In the wake of a spiritual rebirth, the guitarist’s journey bred the yearning for a different musical path. His newly-wed wife and belief in Jesus became the crux of his reassessed focus, and he wished to praise the gospel more deeply in his playing.
Keaggy recalls a funny story in which he remembers seeing an interview with Ted Nugent sometime after his departure from Glass Harp. Nugent mentioned him in the interview, communicating something along the lines of how Keaggy had gotten into religion and he hadn’t heard of him since. In fact, Keaggy had not gone away at all, he just slowed down the pace while embracing the calm of his faith and family.
“I turned into more of a gentle melody man,” he says, “even though I could still rock hard on the guitar!”
In fact, he pursued a prolific solo career in the decades following the breakup of the trio, has since made over 50 records, has received several awards and Grammy nominations, has been frequently listed as one of the world’s top-three finger-style/finger-picking guitarists by Guitar Player Magazine’s readers’ polls, and continues to actively record and perform today. As well, Glass Harp reunited 9 years after his departure, with the result of performing together about 3 times a year to this day.
Phil Keaggy.
To be sure, Keaggy can still rock (as was demonstrated to me during an interview), and he is still one of the all-time greats.
“I don’t see myself as great,” he says, “because I know of too many greats. I’m a grateful musician, I’m glad my fingers work great.”
Phil Keaggy will be making a solo acoustic appearance at Brixton this Sunday, Apr. 1 on the Redondo Beach pier. Just him and his guitar with some loop pedals, Keller Williams style. Doors open at 6 PM, with supporting performances from Nick Sherwin and Whitney Steele beginning at 7. Tickets are $15. The reality is, if this were a Jeff Beck show, or even Peter Frampton, throngs of fans would flock robotically toward the stage… That’s exactly what this should be. See you there.