Cheri Keaggy Returns With 'What I Know to Be True'
Dove Award-winning singer/songwriter and trailblazing worship artist Cheri Keaggy returns with What I Know To Be True June 3. Co-produced by Keaggy and GRAMMY, Dove and ASCAP Golden Note Award-winning guitarist/vocalist Phil Keaggy, What I Know To Be True features 15 songs penned by Cheri Keaggy.
“This new album marks the first time I have co-produced with my uncle, Phil Keaggy,†Cheri Keaggy says. “He has been so supportive through the years, playing on a few of my projects and inviting me to perform with him. Because these songs are so personal and close to my heart, Phil was the right person to help bring them to life.â€
“This record celebrates life’s joys and sorrows, and the seasons God walks us through,†she continues. “Three-and-a-half years ago I received a call from my sister that my father had taken his life. None of us could have imagined he would make that choice. For a long time, I couldn’t think about writing or recording again. But we grieve not without hope, and my journey has been framed through the lens of the Hope I have in Jesus.â€
“This new music is proof of how God heals broken hearts,†Keaggy adds. “A transformation has happened and continues to happen as I place my life in His hands, trusting that He is good. He is writing a bigger story.â€
“Yours To Keep,†the project’s first single and video, was co-written by Cheri Keaggy and Phil Keaggy. The guitar-driven melody, both fresh and familiar, provides the perfect setting for lyrics that remind listeners of God’s ever-present invitation to experience the fullness of His love.
What I Know To Be True also features “He Can, He Does,†a keys-backed declaration of victory which Keaggy penned after speaking at a women’s conference and reading and praying over the honest confessions which many left at the altar. The joyful “So Much More,†buoyed by Phil Keaggy’s ukulele accompaniment, is an infectious expression of praise, while "That’s What Babies Bring (Oliver’s Song)â€-composed by Keaggy as a gift to her daughter before the birth of her firstborn son-is a track she hopes will resonate with mothers and grandmothers everywhere.
The project’s emotional cornerstone, “It Hurts To Say Goodbye To You (Psalm 116:15),†is the first song Keaggy wrote after the sudden death of her father, and in turn, that she shared at his memorial service. While the pain of loss is palpable, the lyrics both celebrate the gifts of her father’s life and express the hopeful “hallelujah†of what is yet to come.
Since the release of her self-titled 1994 Sparrow Records debut, Child of the Father, Cheri Keaggy has been writing and performing songs that have helped listeners around the world give voice to their worship of God. She has released nine albums; garnered nine #1 singles; and was honored with a Dove Award in 1998 for Special Event Album of the Year for God With Us: A Celebration of Christmas Carols and Classics. Her signature songs include “My Faith Will Stay,†“Make My Life An Altar,†“Open My Heart†and “You, Oh Lord, Are My Refuge,†while her “In Remembrance Of Me†and “There Is Joy In The Lord†have been sung in churches around the globe. She has also spoken at women’s events and conferences across the country.
