Tommy Emmanuel (The Southern Star Band)

Name: Tommy Emmanuel
Born: 31st May, 1955 (Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Australia)

Profile: He is an Australian multi-talented musician, composer and guitarist. He is well known for his works as the lead guitarist of "The Southern Star Band" and "Dragon". Throughout his career he has played with many notable artists including Chet Atkins, Eric Clapton, Sir George Martin, Air Supply, John Denver, Les Paul and Doc Watson.

History: He received his first guitar at the age of 4 - being taught by his mother to accompany her playing lap steel guitar. At the age of 7 he heard Chet Atkins on the radio. He vividly remembers this moment and says it greatly inspired him.

By the age of 9, he was a working professional musician. Recognizing the musical talents of Tommy and his brother Phil, their father created a family band, sold the family home and took his family on the road. With the family living in two station wagons, much of Emmanuel's childhood was spent touring Australia with his family, playing rhythm guitar.

After his father died in 1966, the family settled in Parkes. Tommy eventually moved to Sydney where he came to be noticed nationally when he won a string of talent contests in his teen years. By the late 70's, he was playing drums with his brother Phil in the group "Goldrush" as well doing session work on numerous albums and jingles. He gained further prominence in the late 1970's as the lead guitarist in "The Southern Star Band", the backing group for vocalist Doug Parkinson. During the early 80's, he joined the reformed lineup of leading 70's rock group "Dragon", touring widely with them, including a 1987 tour with Tina Turner. He left the group to embark on a solo career.

In 1994, he became a member of the "John Farnham Band". Australian music veteran John Farnham invited him to play guitar next to Stuart Fraser from "Noiseworks" for the Concert For Rwanda.

In 2000, Tommy and his brother Phil performed live in Sydney at the closing ceremony of the Summer Olympics Games. The event was televised worldwide with an estimated 2.85 billion viewers. When performing together the pair will sometimes share and play just one guitar with each having one hand free.

Recently, having been deeply touched by the tragic 2010 Haiti earthquake, Emmanuel announced that he would be auctioning off three guitars, that he personally played and owned, on eBay, in order to raise money to donate to UNICEF in Haiti.

While Emmanuel has never had formal music training, his playing ability has won him fans from all over the world. He is known to play percussion parts on the body of his guitar. As a solo performer he never plays to a set list and uses a minimum of effects. He usually completes recordings in one take.

Influences: Chet Atkins

Axology: Maton EBG808 custom (fitted with a pickup and an internal condenser microphone - named Mouse) and TE1 Maton dreadnought acoustic guitar

Signature song(s): Gameshow Rag/Cannonball Rag - Tommy Emmanuel (The Mystery, 2006) and Sukiyaki - Tommy Emmanuel (Center Stage, 2008)

Link(s):

http://www.tommyemmanuel.com (Official website)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lbvSBNLLoo

- Eric Clapton, Chet Atkins, Les Paul, and Joe Satriani all say that he is the best they have ever heard which is a testament to his extraordinary abilities.