Phil Aaberg was born in Havre and grew up in the tiny town of Chester, county seat of Liberty County. His musical talent became clear at an early age, so his mother made arrangements when he was in high school for Phil to make a bi-monthly trip to Spokane Washington to study with one of the most highly regarded piano teachers in the Pacific Northwest, Margaret Saunders Ott, and it was because of her influence that he decided to apply to Harvard. After completing his bachelors, Aaberg quickly proved himself to be a very versatile musician, studying Beethoven in Iowa under Kenneth Drake, one of the country’s best Beethoven scholars, while also playing in a blues band.
Phil eventually ended up in the Bay Area, where he became a member of the Elvin Bishop Band, famous for “Fooled Around and Fell in Love.” He toured with Bishop off and on for several years but he developed enough of a reputation that he had the opportunity to record and tour with many other big names, including Peter Gabriel, Vince Gill, and Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers. After developing a successful solo career with Windham Records, Aaberg founded Sweetgrass Records, his own production company, and has been recording his own work for more than thirty years now, including “Live from Montana,” which was a finalist for a Grammy Award. Phil moved back to Montana several years ago, and he now lives in Helena, where he still composes and records. Aaberg has been honored with countless awards through the years, and of course he deserved every one of them.
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Episode Thirty-Four - Phil Aaberg