McHugh, Phillip J.

American Christian music singer and songwriter, living in the Nashville area.

McHugh was a modern hymnwriter twenty-five years before that was a thing. His greatest songs, and some of his forgotten gems, have a timeless majesty that belongs to no era. Like the greatest lyrics of Watts, Wesley, Newton, or Bliss, McHugh’s greatest lyrics transcend genre.

McHugh grew up in the 1950s in Aberdeen, South Dakota. In his college years, in the 1960s, he became a touring musician. He also became a Christian.

He recorded a debut solo record, Saviour, in 1974. It’s Jesus Music; modern hymns would surface later in his development as a writer. That album was reissued in 1976 as All Glory to You.

He recorded his major-label debut the next year, in 1977. Canvas For the Sun was on Lamb & Lion records. It seems it did not make him into a superstar as a solo artist, because there was no sophomore effort with Lamb & Lion. He has recorded at least four solo projects since with an assortment of smaller labels. But starting about this point, it became clear that he was someone we would remember for his songs.