Gammage moved to New York in the early 1980s, and formed post-punk rock band Certain General with singer Parker Dulany and B-Girls drummer Marcy Saddy.

Trouser Press said about his debut album Night Train, "Under wrought darkish Americana echoing Nick Cave's fascinations minus the melodrama… might well make Phil this generation’s Hank Williams.

After concentrating on television and film instrumental soundtrack work for several years, Gammage returned to recording with the release of four studio albums Adventures in Bluesland (2014), The American Dream (2015), Used Man For Sale (2016), and It's All Real Good (2019), and From Nowhere to Somewhere (2021).

Gammage's singing style on these albums is often compared to American male vocalists such as Johnny Cash,[4] Roy Orbison,[5] Elvis Presley,[6][4] and Scott Walker (singer).

This is pretty amazing...."[4] Phil Gammage hosts, curates, and produces this monthly arts and culture show on the Green Kill Sessions Media Network channel on YouTube.