In late October 2016, I went to Nashville to become interim rector of St. B’s Episcopal Church. The first Sunday I served was All Souls Day and I chose to include in my sermon a reference to a song I had recently heard called, The Ghost of Johnny Cash. It had been written by Phil Madeira, whose nephew was (and is) the Music Director. After I sat down from preaching during the second service, the acolyte next to me leaned over and whispered, “See the guy walking in, wearing the hat? That’s Phil Madeira.”
After the service Phil came over and introduced himself saying, “I heard that the preacher mentioned my song in his sermon.” I replied, “Yes, and if you had come fifteen minutes earlier, you would have heard it yourself.” That was the beginning of my friendship with a songwriter who I already greatly admired.
I have supported a number of Phil’s projects on Kickstarter and I want to bring to your attention his latest, “The Millionth Mile,” “More Miles” and his book, Summer of Gone. Phil is a tremendous artist, performer, and song writer. His honesty and faith come through everything he does, especially the stuff that is not about religion. This project has the benefit of not only Phil’s song writing, but performances of people like Phil Keaggy, Vince Gill, Al Perkins (one of my favs!), and Emmylou Harris.
I encourage you to go and support this project! Let’s get it made! A few words from Phil about the project:
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 50 years since I was invited by Phil Keaggy to join the Phil Keaggy Band! 50 years of being a professional musician have brought many blessings, some accolades and acclaim, and have brought me to my current 18 year gig with Emmylou Harris!
I’m celebrating with a brand new record called “THE MILLIONTH MILE”, which I began recording in November of 2024. The centerpiece of the album is “Hippie Chick Singer”, a song I wrote about Emmylou and features the astounding Vince Gill on electric guitar. Other cameos include Cindy Morgan and Tommy Sims, Hot Band Alumnus Al Perkins, and of course, many of the great musicians of this town fill out the songs beautifully.
