Worship Musician Magazine February 2023 | Page 52

on . I have three sisters who have passed on , also three brothers Jimmy , Mike , and David who have passed on as well . So there ’ s four of us kids left out of ten . My sister Geri is still with us and brothers Karl and Bill , and I ’ m close to all three of them .
So the song was a song to give people hope because everyone suffers loss in this life . I just wanted to center our focus , and attention upon the Lord ’ s promise that He ’ ll never leave us or forsake us , and that He goes to prepare a place for us ~ What a day that will be ! It ’ s a joyful song ! I sang it at my sister Peg ’ s memorial . I sang it at my Dad ’ s memorial too . But now I ’ m not too keen about singing at funerals or weddings . I remember I sang at your wedding , Bruce .
[ Bruce ] You did sing ... You sang great at my wedding .
[ Phil ] Oh , thank you .
[ Bruce ] Yeah . And you did the “ Wedding March ” when Judy came down the aisle . That was significant for me . You ’ re on your Jam Man playing the “ Wedding March ”, and Judy was coming down the aisle as my bride , and I ’ m going , “ Lord , does it get any better than this ?”
[ Phil ] Oh my goodness .
[ Bruce ] That ’ s pretty cool . On the song “ What a Day ” you have a classic Keaggy electric guitar solo at the end of it . Now , most Christian records at that time , and there weren ’ t that many out there , shied away from that level of musicianship . Tell us about that solo . It was before you had your white Zion guitar . It was the Gibson Les Paul . Was that the same Les Paul
“ What a Day ” Phil Keaggy
Phil with Love Song , 1973
that you had on the Master and the Musician album cover sitting on the table ?
[ Phil ] Yes . The same guitar . The same one I played on live at Carnegie Hall , the Glass Harp and Synergy , and It Makes Me Glad . And so the next album I did after It Makes Me Glad was What a Day . All the electric guitar parts on that record are the Les Paul and all the acoustic is the Mark Whitebook that I had at the time . One of the guitars that James Taylor played before he got his Olsons was a Mark Whitebook .
[ Bruce ] Oh .
[ Phil ] And there ’ s a great story about the
Whitebook guitar . I was on tour with Glass Harp in California going up and down the coast in the Fall of ‘ 71 . And I witnessed to this fellow who was the MC , for the concert we did in San Diego , a brother named Don Abshere , and I shared my story with him . He came to tears and he asked Jesus into his heart .
[ Bruce ] Wow .
[ Phil ] And his life was completely changed . He told me the Lord completely changed his life , and he gave me that guitar as a gift . And I recorded on that guitar from the What a Day album and The Master and the Musician until the mid-eighties , at which time I got my 52 February 2023 Subscribe for Free ...