Greg Phillinganes

Biography[edit]

Gregory Arthur Phillinganes was born in Detroit, Michigan on May 12, 1956.^[2] He began playing a neighbor's piano by ear at the age of two, beginning lessons a few years later after his mother purchased a piano for him.^[1] He took lessons from two different instructors, then from Misha Kotler, a Detroit Symphony Orchestra pianist who introduced the discipline and technique Phillinganes required. Phillinganes credits Kotler with showing him proper hand posture and for influencing him to play with "a sense of dexterity and definition".^[1]


After drummer Ricky Lawson gave Stevie Wonder a cassette of Phillinganes's instrumental renditions of his own songs, Phillinganes auditioned for Wonder's band, Wonderlove, and played with them from 1976 to 1981.^[1] The year 1978 began a three-decade-long involvement with Michael Jackson and the Jacksons for Phillinganes. He arranged the Jacksons' 1978 album Destiny and played keyboard on their follow up album Triumph album.^[3] He accompanied the Jackson family to Walt Disney World and referred to Katherine Jackson as "mom".^[4] He contributed to Michael Jackson's solo albums. He was paid as a session musician for his contributions to Jackson's best-selling Thriller,^[5] but did not receive royalties.^[4] He was the musical director for Michael Jackson's Bad and Dangerous concert tours, and the Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special. In 2022 Phillinganes was mentioned in several episodes of the podcast series Stories in the Room: Michael Jackson's Thriller Album Podcast.


In 1981, Phillinganes released his first solo album, Significant Gains.^[6] The Boston Globe reviewer Richard Cromonic noted Wonder's influence on the album, and praised the creativity of the compositions. He criticized the lyrics as being less creative, and said that Significant Gains might be too close to Wonder's sound, calling it "blatant emulation".^[7] The album was not successful, but the song "Baby, I Do Love You" was a minor R&B hit.^[8] Three years later, Phillinganes released his follow-up album Pulse, with another minor hit, a cover of Yellow Magic Orchestra's song "Behind the Mask", with additional lyrics by Michael Jackson. This single was more successful on the dance music charts.^[8] When he later joined Eric Clapton's backing band, Phillinganes introduced the tune to Clapton, who covered it on his 1986 August album. Throughout the 1980s and the early 1990s he made solo recordings and toured with Clapton, and worked as a session musician for several artists. He continued session work in later years.^[1]


Greg Phillinganes has worked and toured with musicians including Stevie Wonder, George Harrison, the Bee Gees, Donna Summer, Anita Baker, George Benson, Karen Carpenter, Eric Clapton, Donald Fagen, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Michael Jackson, Richard Marx, Paul McCartney, Al Jarreau, Quincy Jones, and Stevie Nicks.^[9][10] In 1995 he played on the Joan Armatrading album What's Inside.


Starting in 2003, Phillinganes filled in for the semi-retired David Paich on tour with the band Toto. He became a full-time member of the band by 2005, and contributed to their album Falling in Between. He continued to tour as a member of Toto until the band became inactive in 2008, and did not rejoin when Toto re-formed in 2010.^[11] In 2022 Phillinganes filled in for Toto's Dominique Xavier Taplin during the 'Dogz of Oz' tour during the Norwegian shows. Toto announced in 2024 on Facebook that he and drummer Shannon Forrest were returning to the touring lineup.^[12]


Phillinganes served as the musical director for Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour for its run from 2011 to 2014.^[3] Phillinganes was Musical Director for the 2014 Women of Soul performance at The White House with Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Ariana Grande and Jill Scott.^[13] In 2014 and 2015 he performed with Stevie Wonder again in the Songs in the Key of Life Tour, also serving "as the tour's Music Director."^[14] He toured with the European leg of David Gilmour's Rattle That Lock tour.^[15]


Phillinganes won a 2015 Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction for his role as musical director for the television special "Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life"^[16] and was music director for the 2016 Grammy Awards.^[17]