Interview with Greg Phillinganes
Thursday / October 1, 2026
About Greg Phillinganes
Detroit-born keyboardist who joined Stevie Wonder's band at 18, was music director for Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson tours, and has played with Eric Clapton and Toto.
Source: The Sessions Panel on YouTube
These answers are taken from GREG PHILLINGANES - Keyboardist, singer, songwriter, musical director -ARTIST SERIES on The Sessions Panel's YouTube channel. You! Backstage did not conduct this interview.
When did you start playing music?
The legend, as my mother has explained to me, and now that I have twin two-year-olds I'm starting to think, did I really start at the age they are now? But the legend is that I started playing by ear, and at around 6 I started taking formal lessons with a private teacher that would come to the house weekly and do elementary stuff. After a few years I moved on to a more intermediate teacher that I started taking advantage of, because I thought I was hot snot and I didn't need to listen to her that much.
So my mom said, we're not having any more of that, and she connected me with a ruthlessly hard instructor whose name was Misha Kotler, and he was the pianist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He didn't take any mess. He could crack a pane of glass with his finger. I left his place many times in tears, because he provided the discipline that I needed as far as classical studies. With Mr. Kotler there was no wiggle room, and he was very specific about the most effective ways to practice.
What do you enjoy most about making music?
Put some serious time into knowing your craft. There were a lot of hours, a lot of sessions, but they were, for the most part, just so enjoyable. It's just so much fun. I was living in a time where the way you got your work was through one of a few main answering services. You'd give them your home number, because we didn't have cells, and you'd get this call: so-and-so wants to know if you're available for a 10 o'clock on Wednesday, double session. Okay, done. That's how you're booked. And this would go on and on, day after day. We just thought it would never end, until the music business collapsed. That training ground was just invaluable, and it basically doesn't exist now.
What was a great moment for you as a musician?
In the car with Stevie on the way back to the studio, he turns around and says, so how does it feel to be a member of Wonderlove? I remember hearing about how he's a practical joker, so I said, are you serious? Of course. Oh, well then, would you mind telling my mom? Because I figured you wouldn't lie to Mom. So we get to the studio, I dial the house, give him the phone, and the first voice she hears is Stevie Wonder's, telling her that he wants her son to join his band and he's gonna take care of me. And he gives the phone back to me.
This happened April 2nd, 1975. It was a month before I turned 19, and a month before he turned 25. He was working on Songs in the Key of Life. Just let that marinate.
How did your career as a musician unfold?
A large contributing factor to my being able to go as far as I have was I was working in the golden age of making records, where you actually got together with a bunch of other guys, you went to a specific place called a studio, you worked with a specific person called a producer who worked with the artist, and you honed the craft of making records for all different kinds of artists and genres.
Before Michael, my first MD job was with Lionel Richie, back in '83, I believe, or '82. That was a training ground, and it was his first solo tour. So we go from Lionel's first solo tour to Michael's, and I was ready for it. There's a great element of trust and mutual respect that we developed over the years of working together, Michael and I, because I first started working with him and his brothers on the Destiny album, doing rhythm arrangements. So that's how far back that goes.
What advice do you have for new musicians?
If you have a really strong dream or desire to be part of this industry in any way, not just an artist, not just in front of the mic on stage, there's plenty of opportunities in production, administrative, legal, engineering, sound design, lighting. But if you have any desire at all, do it because you love it, not because you think you're gonna make a lot of money from it. Realize that you have a dream for a reason, and God gave it to you, and He will bring it to pass, but you have to be patient and you have to trust Him. And if you play an instrument, learn that instrument. Develop your craft.
It doesn't usually happen fast. It takes time. A lot of people like to say music is my life. Well, that's cute, but the reality is the life that you live is infused in your music. So just keep living, and as you go from experience to experience, that will affect your musicianship. And most importantly, as Nadia Boulanger said to Quincy Jones, you are never more of a musician than you are a human being.
What has been your greatest accomplishment as a musician?
I had the great honor of being music director for the Grammy special honoring [Stevie Wonder]. All these artists came on: Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, Janelle Monae, Jennifer Hudson, everybody. And it was just beautifully done and heartfelt. Lady Gaga killed. Tony Bennett, please. And the bonus for me was I won an Emmy for it.
Has your career as a musician progressed the way you expected?
It was just in there and it was undeniable, but I never ever thought on my own that it would actually happen. And when God opens the door and it actually happens, it's like, whoa. You're just not ready for it. Which is why saying be prepared is an understatement. You never know when your dream is actually gonna happen, so you want to work as hard as you can toward it.
Now I'm in this interesting status called legend. These kids are looking at me like I look at people like Herbie. I went to my buddy Herbie Hancock's house yesterday to personally wish him happy birthday, and I played my version of Happy Birthday on his Fazioli. Experiences like that keep me refreshed, and hopefully help me stay relevant or current.
Who is your favorite musician, and why?
I became completely enamored with and captivated by Stevie. I just had this spiritual connection to him that I couldn't explain, but it was so strong that I remember telling friends of mine in high school that I would eventually play with him.
I'm sitting there on pins and needles waiting for the inspiration of my life to walk through the elevator door, and eventually he does. Single greatest handshake. We talked a while and played a little bit, and he played one of his unreleased tunes for me at the time, and he wanted to see how quickly I learned it. I still remember what the song was. It turned out to be a song called Spring High that he eventually gave to Ramsey Lewis. The creative writing genius of Stevie Wonder is unbelievable.
Describe your style.
The sound that I'm told I've developed, people recognize it, and it's part of a sound that a lot of these younger artists are trying to emulate or trying to recreate. So in their eyes I'm a conduit to that. With the respect of these kids, like Bruno Mars, who had me play a solo on one of his songs for his album 24K Magic, that was just as big of a deal for me, because I love him, I love his music, and he's a lovely guy. It's a wonderful thing to be able to share with the new crop as well.
Tell me something I may not know from reading your credits.
We were working on the Bad album, and every once in a while Michael would be talking to me and he'd go, "You like to perform, don't you?" I go, yeah. "You enjoy the live performance, right?" I go, yeah. "You like audiences?" I said, yeah, I really enjoy it. Why are you asking? And then I went, oh, you want me to do the tour. He never really flat-out asked me. He'd just skirt around it.
Everybody says, oh, he must have been such a perfectionist. Well, so am I. And it's because of the discipline of working on the craft of making records, and being an MD as well.
Greg Phillinganes's Full Biography
Greg Phillinganes was born on 12 May 1956 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for Weird Science (1985), Bullet Train (2022) and Bulworth (1998).