Glass Harp are a rock band formed in Youngstown, Ohio in 1968 consisting of Phil Keaggy, drummer John Sferra and bassist Daniel Pecchio.
Phil Keaggy was a member of a mid-1960s garage rock band called the Squires; one of their songs, which he co-wrote, appears on the compilation album Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 9.
With their latest demos having found the ears of Grammy Award-winning producer Lewis Merenstein, Glass Harp began work on their first album for the Decca label in the fall of 1970.
Following the release of their 1970 debut album with guest John Cale on viola, Glass Harp soon began getting more high-profile opening spots for some of the biggest bands of the day, such as Alice Cooper, Chicago, Yes, Traffic, Humble Pie, and Grand Funk Railroad, among many others.
Contrary to the tight production and song-oriented nature of their studio albums, the band's live shows at the time demonstrated Glass Harp's ability to stretch out and expand the boundaries of their compositions.
On November 21, 1971,[4] the band played an opening spot for The Kinks at New York City's prestigious Carnegie Hall, receiving a thunderous ovation at the end of their hour-long set.
[6] On August 6, 1972 (shortly before their third studio album It Makes Me Glad was released) Phil Keaggy played his final show with Glass Harp at My Father's Place, Roslyn, New York[7] before embarking on a solo career.
With a tour of East Coast colleges and universities having already been booked for September 1972 in support of It Makes Me Glad, Sferra and Pecchio replaced Keaggy with guitarist Tim Burks.
The music of the four-piece lineup took on a more progressive edge, similar to King Crimson and The Moody Blues (while studio and live radio broadcast recordings exist[12] from this period, they remain officially unreleased as of 2012).
Well received by fans and critics alike, the album drew on various musical styles that demonstrated Glass Harp's many influences and individual talents.
[23] In 2004 the band went on a short U.S. tour in support of their triple-live album Stark Raving Jams (a collection of various live instrumental and improvisational material from throughout their career).
In 2004, guitarists Greg Martin (of the Kentucky Headhunters) and Rick Derringer joined Glass Harp on stage at the Dallas International Guitar Festival.
The album was more experimental and free-form in nature than previous Glass Harp recordings, and includes extended versions of older material bridged together by the nearly-sixteen-minute "Beachland Jam".
In addition, Daniel Pecchio and John Sferra occasionally appear with Phil Keaggy for an electric set during the guitarist's solo performances in or around Ohio.