Genre: Christmas, Other, Pop/Rock
For fans of: The Beatles, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Randy Stonehill, Larry Norman, Pat Metheney, John Williams
Label: Warner Records

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An audio scrapbook of Phil Keaggy's 30-plus-year career would treat its listener to a staggering musical spectrum, the scope of which is barely imaginable. Traversing hard-edged progressive rock to the gentlest of worshipful ballads, he manages to weave his unique voice like so much thread through a musical tapestry. With each project, there are new and unexpected twists at every turn. And, says Keaggy in characteristic wit that's sharp as his chops, "It's good to twist!"

It would seem that, for Keaggy, the only constant is change. "I don't ever want to be tied down to one particular style," he says. "Variety is the spice of life." Yet wherever his musings take him, the result always bears his undeniable signature.

Keaggy first practiced that signature at the tender age of 13, when he joined his first band, The Keytones. A few years later, he would find himself fronting the venerable Glass Harp—a power rock trio in the tradition of Cream. It was during that stint that epiphanal events, including the tragic death of his mother, led him dramatically to a newfound faith in Christ. In his enthusiasm, he oft times proselytized from the stage, met and prayed with people, and did so in venues including the Whisky-A-Go-Go, or on tour with such acts as Alice Cooper, Humble Pie, or Ted Nugent. "I was desiring more than anything," he remembers, "to reach out to my generation with what I had found."

Keaggy, though, unable to reconcile the demands of his position with Glass Harp with the demands of his heart, left the band to pursue music-making of a different sort. He teamed with the legendary Love Song and 2nd Chapter of Acts bands, where his contributions gave shape to the fledgling "Jesus Music" movement that ultimately yielded the contemporary Christian music category. It was during this period that he made the seminal 1973 "What A Day" record, a milestone in the history of CCM.

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