Greg Phillinganes
Adjunct Instructor
- Program:Popular Music
Greg Phillinganes is one of the world’s most sought-after keyboard artists. A Detroit native and music veteran for 50 years, he began his career in 1975 with Stevie Wonder as part of his band, Wonderlove. Since leaving Stevie in 1979, Phillinganes went on to record, perform, tour and/or write with a staggering array of Grammy Award-winning artists. A short list includes Quincy Jones, Eric Clapton, Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart, Neil Diamond, Andrea Bocelli, Herbie Hancock, Mick Jagger, Babyface, David Gilmour, John Mayer, Garth Brooks, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Steven Tyler, Jennifer Hudson, Lionel Richie, Bruno Mars, Santana and Paul McCartney. Phillinganes is an ASCAP Pop Award winner for the song “Love Will Conquer All,” which he co-wrote with Lionel Richie.
Phillinganes was the music director for Richie’s “Can’t Slow Down” tour—his first as a solo artist—as well as Michael Jackson’s “Bad” and “Dangerous” tours. He was also music director for Jackson’s 30th Anniversary Special at Madison Square Garden, Quincy Jones’ Vibe TV show, the 60th Emmy Awards and the first annual Grammy Nominations Live Concert, along with a wide range of special events including the 1999 Super Bowl Halftime Show and MusiCares’ “Person of the Year” event, both honoring Stevie Wonder. In 1991, Phillinganes toured Asia with Eric Clapton and George Harrison. In 2004, he was music director for Quincy Jones’ “We Are the Future” globally televised celebration in Rome, featuring artists from the U.S., Europe and the Middle East.
A Grammy nominee himself, Phillinganes has been a cornerstone in hundreds of Grammy-winning & nominated albums, including Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life, Quincy Jones’ Back on the Blockand Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Phillinganes was also a member of the Grammy Award winning supergroup, Toto, from 2003 to 2008. He is featured on their album and live concert DVD entitled Falling In Between.
As an event producer, his credits include the Society of Singers’ Tributes to Elton John and Natalie Cole, Michael Jordan Classic Golf Invitational, U.S. Doctors for Africa “Leadership for Health” Gala featuring 16 First Ladies of African Nations, and Quincy Jones’ 75th Birthday Celebration filmed live in Montreux, Switzerland. He was also a producer and music director for a stunning multi-artist tribute to Bill Withers at Carnegie Hall. This extraordinary event also recreated his iconic Live at Carnegie Hall album in its entirety.
Phillinganes was featured vocally as well as a sideman with jazz icon Herbie Hancock on his “Imagine Project” tour from 2010 to 2011. He was also the music director for the 2011 Grammy Awards and the In Performance at the White House celebration of Motown. He completed an 18-month stint as music director for the Cirque du Soleil/Michael Jackson “Immortal World Tour,” a second In Performance at the White House celebration honoring women of soul, as well one of the ‘ultimate sidemen’ joining Ringo Starr for the 2014 Grammys and the CBS special, “The Beatles: The Night That Changed America.”
In 2014 and 2015, Phillinganes was music director for Stevie Wonder’s exclusive “Songs in the Key of Life – The Performance” tour and won his first Emmy Award for the CBS TV Grammy Salute of the same name. He was music director for the televised tribute to John Lennon, featuring artists ranging from Steven Tyler and Sheryl Crow to Willie Nelson and Chris Stapleton.
In 2016, he served as music director for the 58th Grammy Awards featuring an all-star tribute to Lionel Richie, followed by the Gershwin Prize/Library of Congress tribute to Smokey Robinson. Later that year, Phillinganes joined David Gilmour for a European tour of a lifetime on his “Rattle That Lock” tour, playing legendary venues such as London’s Royal Albert Hall and the Colosseum of Pompei, where the spectacular Live at Pompei DVD was filmed.
The highlight of 2018 featured Phillinganes as MD for the BET special, “Q85: A Musical Celebration of Quincy Jones.” In 2019, he served as MD for another MusiCares’ “Person of the Year” event honoring Dolly Parton, as well as Opening New York’s The Shed venue with the unprecedented Soundtrack of America concert series featuring young, cutting-edge artists paying tribute to their musical heroes.
2020 was marked by a flurry of events for Phillinganes as music director, including MusiCares’ “Person of the Year” event honoring Aerosmith; arranging/producing “America The Beautiful” for Yolanda Adams’ performance at the Super Bowl; the Library Of Congress/Gershwin Prize honoring Garth Brooks on PBS; the non-televised Keep Memory Alive event honoring Neil Diamond and featuring an exclusive mini concert—the final live performance of his career; and a Grammy “Salute to Legends” TV special presenting Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards to a stellar array of artists including Chicago, Isaac Hayes, and Roberta Flack.
2022 brought Phillinganes and John Mayer together, first on the Sob Rock album and the highly anticipated tour of the same name.
In February 2023, he served as MD for MusiCares’ “Person of the Year” honoring Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy, with performances by Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Valerie Simpson, Mumford & Sons, Sheryl Crow, The Isley Brothers and Samara Joy. Following the MusiCares event was a Grammy segment as MD paying tribute to Berry Gordy in an unforgettable performance with Stevie, Smokey and Chris Stapleton. Also in 2023, Phillinganes served as music producer for the Gershwin Prize tribute to Joni Mitchell, which garnered his second Emmy Award. This phenomenal affair featured stellar performances by Annie Lennox, James Taylor, Cyndi Lauper, Herbie Hancock, Ledisi and Brandi Carlile.
2024 kicked off with Phillinganes back on the road, reuniting with Toto on their “Dogz of Oz World Tour” as well as reuniting with David Gilmour for his brief but sensational “Luck and Strange” tour.
After the honor of serving as music director for the 2025 Grammys Quincy Jones tribute, Phillinganes has returned to touring with Toto.