Philip Phillips

“THE SINGING PILGRIM,” as Mr. Phillips was generally called and familiarly known, was born August 13, 1834, in Chautauqua County, N. Y. He was a ” boy on a farm ” in early life ; but he had a talent for music and a good tenor voice for performing it. Mr. Phillips began teaching singing school at the age of nineteen, and met with great success. In 1858, while teaching singing classes in Marion, Ohio, he met the lady of his choice in the person of Miss Olive M. Clark. They were married the following year. He began his active business life in 1860, the year after his marriage, when he formed a partnership with Wm. Sumner & Co., under the firm name of Philip Phillips & Co., for the sale of pianos and organs and the publication of Sunday-school singing books, at Cincinnati, O. In the sale of instruments he was remarkably successful, though in competition with a number of well-established firms. Mr. Phillips frequently introduced himself into a village or city by placing a melodeon in some vehicle and locating himself and outfit on some prominent street-corner, and then begin to sing and play. It is needless to say that his marvelous voice would draw the crowds, and under its magic charm they would buy his books and give him orders for instruments. Indeed his great success in this direction, with a very limited financial capital, was one of the inducements which led Wm. Sumner & Co., ah^eady occupying several states with sewing-machine agencies, with headquarters at Cincinnati, to aid him with all the capital he might need for his business, and let him have the greater portion of the magnificent room they were occupying in Pike’s former Opera House, for the display and sale of his wares. In the composition and sale of Sunday-school song books Mr. Phillips had, at that time, but few competitors; the principal one being W. B. Bradbury, although Horace Waters, of New York, and a few others were in the field, but not occupying it. But Mr. Phillips and Mr. Bradbury were friends rather than competitors, and this friendship continued unbroken through life.

The first book issued by him was ” Early Blossoms,” which was followed by ” Musical Leaves.” This was published in three parts and afterwards consolidated into one volume. The sales of this book aggregated about three-quarters of a million copies, and was probably the most popular of all his books in the West.

The burning of Pike’s Opera House, in 1865, destroyed the entire stock of Philip Phillips & Co., and although with the insurance received the stock was partly replenished and the business transferred to another location in the city, yet they did not recover the lost trade, and in 1867 Mr. Phillips transferred his headquarters to New York City, where they remained until his death. When he left for New York he had about ready for publication his ” Singing Pilgrim,” and shortly after his arrival in the city he issued the book. It proved immensely popular in every section of the United States, but more especially in the East, while it out rivalled its successful predecessor in the West. Subsequently he edited or published the following and in the order here given, viz. : ” Song Life,” ” Song Sermons,” ” New Hymn and Tune Book,” ” Hallowed Songs,” ” American Sacred Songster,” ” Home Songs,” ” Temperance Songs,” ” Standard Gems,” ” Colonial Singer,” ” International Song Service,” and ” Our New Hymnal,” of which the ” American Sacred Songster,” issued in Great Britain, attained a sale of over one million. By the year 1868 the story of his success and popularity as a singer and composer had reached foreign countries, and in that year the London Sunday School Association invited him to give one hundred evenings of sacred song in that city and the United Kingdom, for which they agreed to give him a liberal compensation. He accepted it, made the tour, and returned to his native country with additional laurels. A few years later, on invitation, he made another similar visit and was everywhere received with unbounded enthusiasm.

In 18Y5 an urgent invitation, accompanied with a pledge of a handsome remuneration for his services, besides an ample sum for expenses of himself and family — a wife and two sons — he left San Francisco for Australia, where he conducted one hundred song services. He returned to New York in two years, singing en route at Ceylon, in India, Japan, Jerusalem, Egypt, Italy, and various places in the continent of Europe and in England, where he tarried long enough to give two hundred ” song services.” Having previously sung at numerous places between New York and San Francisco, this last trip belted the world, and the most remarkable feature of this “belting” was that he returned to New York without missing any engagement in the entire circle of song. During this trip he had numberless delightful experiences, but the opportunity which he had and embraced of singing in the ” Church of the Nativity,” in Bethlehem, he always regarded as the greatest privilege of his life.

The following is a summary of the song services which Mr. Phillips held : ” Great Britain and Ireland, 972 ; Continental Europe, 150 ; Canada and Australia, 187 ; India, Palestine and Egypt, 81 ; United States, 3,200. It is estimated that he has given in all nearly 4,000 services for benevolent purposes, exclusively, which netted for various worthy charities over $112,000.”

He was a deeply pious man, and his songs went to the hearts of his hearers with happiest effect.

Mr. Phillips’ book entitled, ” Round the World with Descriptive Songs,” is one of rare excellence.

His warm moral nature and his phenomenal voice were the two keys which opened up from time to time the avenues to his success. They led primarily to his business partnership in Cincinnati, and to his famous debut in public, in 1865, at a vast meeting held in Washington, D. C, in the interest of the Christian Commission. This meeting was presided over by Secretary Seward, was attended by President Lincoln and other distinguished men. A great singer, well known in musical circles, had been duly advertised to be present, was present and sang. Mr. Stuart, the president of the Commission, had heard Mr. Phillips sing and invited him to be present. During the meeting he invited him to sing and he responded with ” Your Mission.” The song, the singer, the cause and the audience were all en rapport and the effect was magical.

This drew out from President Lincoln, written on a scrap of program, the request for Mr. Phillips to repeat his song ” Your Mission ” ; and Mr. Phillips, having gone into the meeting a comparative stranger, went out with a name to be heralded throughout the world. The other singer, who went in with eclat, sang grandly to the head and was forgotten ; the other sang to the heart and was immortalized. His voice was the magnet that drew the masses, and his sweet moral nature the tendrils that bound them to him.

Philip Phillips died at Delaware, Ohio, June 25, 1895. He left one son.