you and me , that we may live eternally through Him , there is a peace we can share ”, emphasis on Him . And so that ’ s where it really began sharing my faith through music . And actually , I wrote the song “ The Answer ” a month before , which was a simple acoustic classical guitar song that went on the second Glass Harp album .
I left Glass Harp in August of ‘ 72 to pursue more of a evangelistic calling with my music . I had a real heart for kids my age to meet Jesus because I experienced such peace and purpose , because of being able to know the Lord and learn the scriptures . It was just fantastic , and it was happening simultaneously around the country . So , the timeline was I met the Lord February 1970 , left the group Glass Harp in August 70 , 1972 . I recorded the album What a Day in January ‘ 73 , which is 50 years ago this month . Also , I had become engaged to Bernadette and we married in July of 1973 . We ’ ll have our 50th anniversary coming up this Summer in July .
Phil and Bernadette , 1973
[ Bruce ] Wow . Quite a year for you .
[ Phil ] It was a remarkable year . I mean , there were a lot of struggles . I didn ’ t want to leave the band , but I really struggled with leaving because they were my band mates . And the dream of the band as a whole , as a collective was , “ We ’ re going to make it , guys - we ’ re going to keep at it .” And then the Lord beautifully interrupted my life and got me straightened out and gave me hope . He brought a beautiful lady into my life , a young girl at the time . Bernadette was 15 when I met her , and I was 19 . So , we ’ ve known each other since we were teenagers basically . But that was an exciting year too , because I discovered the Bible and I discovered that I could sing about God in my music without changing my musical style . I could be who I was . Glass Harp could rock out and do our own songs , too . Do you remember “ Do Lord ” and other songs like “ Song of Hope ”, “ Songs in the Air ” and “ Let ’ s Live Together ?”
Phil and Bernadette , 2022
But my band mates knew I was leaving , so they
Phil , 1970