December 3, 2024 • 11 mins
Australian guitarist and Grammy Award winner Tommy Emmanuel calls in from Nashville to talk about collaborating with Johnny Cash's son, being on tour with Tina Turner in Amsterdam and his friendship with Steve Vai.
Tommy Emmanuel performing at The Riverside Theatre May 29.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Tommy Emmanuel is going to be live in concert at
the Riverside Theater Thursday, May the twenty ninth. Tickets are
available through ticket Tek. He's joining us now from Nashville, Tennessee.
Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Been a long time since in rock and roll.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Hey, indeed it has. You know, it's great to hear
that track again.
Speaker 4 (00:18):
Yeah, yeah, and yeah, Alan Mansfield, who wrote most of
that song with Mark Hunter, had passed away just recently.
And yeah, yeah, but the band that that band was
so great and I had I had quite a few
years there of.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Great tours and gigs and seeing the world. You know,
I had a birthday in Paris and then the next
next birthday was somewhere really weird, like Hong Kong, and
you know, it was just like all over the world.
It was great.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yeah, a great vocal from Mark Hunter there. But Todd
Hunter and his wife Johanna wrote a song Coodn't I
There was some great tunes.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
They certainly, they certainly could write, There's no doubt about that.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Yeah, it's good to hear boys.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Man. Actually, when we were on tour with Tina Turner
in eighty seven, eighty seven, yes, we had three that
we had three days off in Amsterdam, and we're studying
in this hotel and Todd and Joanna were next door
to me in the next room, and all I heard
all day was don't, don't don't. They don't, don't, don't.
(01:28):
They were writing. They were writing Age of Reason.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Oh wow, cool lay on.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
A three day layoff.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
That is awesome for some other like we know pretty well.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Yeah, well, speaking of great shows, your show is going
to be great. I'm intrigued. It's called the CGP Live
in Concert Show. Tell us the story behind c GP.
I was wondering if it stood for clever guitar person.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Now it's corny guitar player.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
As well.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Listen, in my show, there will be a few songs
between the jokes.
Speaker 5 (02:21):
There is a story though it.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, yeah, well, chet Atkins, the great Man, invented this thing.
He basically spent back in the eighties. He he made
a statement that you know, people go to to a
college or a university for three years and study, and
you will listen, then they get letters after their names,
(02:45):
you know, PSC and all that stuff, and he said,
and we spend we spend our whole life trying to
make the world a better place with our music and
give people a good time and bring people together with
music them and we get we really get nothing but
Applaus to show for it, you know. And he said,
you know, so somebody who does that deserves to have
(03:09):
some kind of thing. And anyway, so I saw the
original CGP idea and it was on the wall at
at Chet's house, and I saw that there were fifty
signatures on it, and it was the governor of every
state in America signed up on it. And so a
(03:33):
few of us have this award. The first The first
guy was Jerry Reid, Yes, and then and then there
was John Knowles, Steve Warrener and myself and I was
the last one.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
And I'm the youngest one, the baby.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Yeah that's me. Yeah, there's anyway.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Another couple of initial should be after your name since
last spoke, and that is g W Winner.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Congratulations, Tom, congratulations, don't forget O.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I M on the end. Yeah I did that.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
It was the acoustic version of Johnny Cash's Fallsom Prison Blues.
That must have been a big night for you.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Well it was pretty I'm you know, like, this is
what I love about being in the music business. Anything
is possible, anything is possible and anything can can happen.
But you know, I got a call from Johnny Cash's son,
John Carter, and and he said, there's this stand out here,
a girl and two guys and the and I knew
(04:46):
them because they were my opening app went in Prague
about ten years ago. Anyway. So he said, they're doing my, My,
My Daddy's song and no one's playing the melody, and
do you think you could come out and do that?
And I said, I'm sure, good yea. So it was,
(05:08):
and it was like it was miraculous chiming because I
had just got home from a tour and I had
to head out again the next night, and so I
raced out to Hendersonville where it lives and where Johnny
Cash's house and studio and that is. And I was
there all of forty five minutes. I listened to their
(05:30):
arrangement and then I played played the melody and I
did two passes. I played a couple of licks, and they.
Speaker 6 (05:39):
Videoed a bit of me playing while they were recording me,
and then we all got a photo and I left
and I didn't think any more about it, you know,
And about three months later, my manager rang me and
said guess what, We've got a nomination for this because.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
They put because I came out and took the melody,
they put my name on it as well as there,
which was very nice of them. And so it was
just like, you know, it's just one of those things
that happened. And then something told me, you know, because
I wasn't going to go to the Grammys, but my
manager said, well, do you want to go or not?
(06:16):
And I just I just said yes, I want to go,
and he's just you know, and so I did, and
I'll just never forget I'm in the audience and miss
miss Patty Austin, one of my favorite singers, was was
hosting that segment and she sang out and it's false
and prison blues like that, and I can hardly believe
(06:38):
my ears. And everybody screamed and ran around like like
chickens with their heads got off. Glad you went.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
You almost didn't. Guy, You know what would be a
dream show for me?
Speaker 1 (06:50):
You joining Text Perkins on the Man on the Man
in Black, You on the guitar text doing the Johnny.
Speaker 7 (06:56):
Cash if you've got the time, yeah right by Now
you've got an uploming live album coming out in March
as well as the tour.
Speaker 5 (07:07):
This is live at the Sydney Opera House.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
As I mean, I've never been a performer, but I imagine
if you are, the Sydney Opera House would just be
the you know, the the pivotal moment for live performance.
Do you love performing there?
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Really? I do? I mean I like playing anywhere that
The Opera House was always a goal of mine when
I was I was young, and you know, I'll never
forget going there to see certain artists and all that
sort of stuff. And I thought, oh, man, sitting in
my feet, going, oh, wouldn't it be great and be
(07:42):
up there, you know, and and you know, like anything else,
you know, we we Aussie battlers. We we stick at
it and and we we don't quit until we get
it right. And I'll just never forget the first few
times I played there and they did a total refurbishing
of the place and made the sound. The sound in
(08:05):
there suddenly became as good as the venue, you know, right,
And so we decided because it was in the old
days there were ware there was way too much echoing. Yeah, yeah, well,
and I understand that because that halls like that are
built for orchestras and singers, you know, and and so
(08:29):
nowadays you can have a young fellow with these cigar
box up there snaking the plant as loud as you want,
and it sounds great.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Sounds good, sound of that. I love that respecting between museos,
especially guitarists. And we caught up with Steve I, one
of the one of the most outlet men on the planet.
He had this to say about you earlier this year
on ninety six am. Also, yeah, genius.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
He is an absolutely brilliant player. Yeah. One of the
questions I get asked all the time is who's the
best guitar player in the world, which is kind of
a silly question, you know. I usually go off and
wax on about well, there's no best, you know, there's
a there's only opinions, and there's now I just say
Tommy Manuel, yeah, woah man, all those chicks of me. Yeah,
(09:25):
he's a very dear friend. He's a very dear friend
of mine. And human human Jotriani always always are always
waxing about me, and I'm I can't believe it.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
You know, you should maybe, like you know, the Three
Tenors used to do, we could get the three three,
I'll never forget.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Jean and I pray together one and and we we
called Steve on the phone and Joe said, listen, I'm
thinking we should do this G three thing and we'll
get Tommy and we'll all play at Kussie. And I
can hear Steve ya saying no, no, the hell with
(10:16):
that idea.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
No, actually it's a bad idea.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Keep up with sach. Just speaking about guitars, guitar nerds
are known. Many of them love to come to your gigs.
What's it like having a certain percentage of the audience
staring at your hands for two hours? Because I know
what happens, I've seen.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
It, So I always say to them it doesn't matter
where you're sitting and how close you it's not going
to help.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
True, So true.
Speaker 5 (10:44):
Well, Tommy, it's really lovely to catch up with you.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
We'll afford to having your town at the Riverside Theater
for the Tommy Emmanuel CGP Live in Concert show. Tickets
are available through ticket Tech. Have a lovely Christmas and
New Year, and we'll a you in Mike.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Good to talk to you man, Thank you so much
for you too, and happy Christmas.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Every month just see you at the gig, might all
the best
Tommy Emmanuel is going to be live in concert at
the Riverside Theater Thursday, May the twenty ninth. Tickets are
available through ticket Tek. He's joining us now from Nashville, Tennessee.
Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Been a long time since in rock and roll.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Hey, indeed it has. You know, it's great to hear
that track again.
Speaker 4 (00:18):
Yeah, yeah, and yeah, Alan Mansfield, who wrote most of
that song with Mark Hunter, had passed away just recently.
And yeah, yeah, but the band that that band was
so great and I had I had quite a few
years there of.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Great tours and gigs and seeing the world. You know,
I had a birthday in Paris and then the next
next birthday was somewhere really weird, like Hong Kong, and
you know, it was just like all over the world.
It was great.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yeah, a great vocal from Mark Hunter there. But Todd
Hunter and his wife Johanna wrote a song Coodn't I
There was some great tunes.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
They certainly, they certainly could write, There's no doubt about that.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Yeah, it's good to hear boys.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Man. Actually, when we were on tour with Tina Turner
in eighty seven, eighty seven, yes, we had three that
we had three days off in Amsterdam, and we're studying
in this hotel and Todd and Joanna were next door
to me in the next room, and all I heard
all day was don't, don't don't. They don't, don't, don't.
(01:28):
They were writing. They were writing Age of Reason.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Oh wow, cool lay on.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
A three day layoff.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
That is awesome for some other like we know pretty well.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Yeah, well, speaking of great shows, your show is going
to be great. I'm intrigued. It's called the CGP Live
in Concert Show. Tell us the story behind c GP.
I was wondering if it stood for clever guitar person.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Now it's corny guitar player.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
As well.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Listen, in my show, there will be a few songs
between the jokes.
Speaker 5 (02:21):
There is a story though it.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, yeah, well, chet Atkins, the great Man, invented this thing.
He basically spent back in the eighties. He he made
a statement that you know, people go to to a
college or a university for three years and study, and
you will listen, then they get letters after their names,
(02:45):
you know, PSC and all that stuff, and he said,
and we spend we spend our whole life trying to
make the world a better place with our music and
give people a good time and bring people together with
music them and we get we really get nothing but
Applaus to show for it, you know. And he said,
you know, so somebody who does that deserves to have
(03:09):
some kind of thing. And anyway, so I saw the
original CGP idea and it was on the wall at
at Chet's house, and I saw that there were fifty
signatures on it, and it was the governor of every
state in America signed up on it. And so a
(03:33):
few of us have this award. The first The first
guy was Jerry Reid, Yes, and then and then there
was John Knowles, Steve Warrener and myself and I was
the last one.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
And I'm the youngest one, the baby.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Yeah that's me. Yeah, there's anyway.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Another couple of initial should be after your name since
last spoke, and that is g W Winner.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Congratulations, Tom, congratulations, don't forget O.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I M on the end. Yeah I did that.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
It was the acoustic version of Johnny Cash's Fallsom Prison Blues.
That must have been a big night for you.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Well it was pretty I'm you know, like, this is
what I love about being in the music business. Anything
is possible, anything is possible and anything can can happen.
But you know, I got a call from Johnny Cash's son,
John Carter, and and he said, there's this stand out here,
a girl and two guys and the and I knew
(04:46):
them because they were my opening app went in Prague
about ten years ago. Anyway. So he said, they're doing my, My,
My Daddy's song and no one's playing the melody, and
do you think you could come out and do that?
And I said, I'm sure, good yea. So it was,
(05:08):
and it was like it was miraculous chiming because I
had just got home from a tour and I had
to head out again the next night, and so I
raced out to Hendersonville where it lives and where Johnny
Cash's house and studio and that is. And I was
there all of forty five minutes. I listened to their
(05:30):
arrangement and then I played played the melody and I
did two passes. I played a couple of licks, and they.
Speaker 6 (05:39):
Videoed a bit of me playing while they were recording me,
and then we all got a photo and I left
and I didn't think any more about it, you know,
And about three months later, my manager rang me and
said guess what, We've got a nomination for this because.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
They put because I came out and took the melody,
they put my name on it as well as there,
which was very nice of them. And so it was
just like, you know, it's just one of those things
that happened. And then something told me, you know, because
I wasn't going to go to the Grammys, but my
manager said, well, do you want to go or not?
(06:16):
And I just I just said yes, I want to go,
and he's just you know, and so I did, and
I'll just never forget I'm in the audience and miss
miss Patty Austin, one of my favorite singers, was was
hosting that segment and she sang out and it's false
and prison blues like that, and I can hardly believe
(06:38):
my ears. And everybody screamed and ran around like like
chickens with their heads got off. Glad you went.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
You almost didn't. Guy, You know what would be a
dream show for me?
Speaker 1 (06:50):
You joining Text Perkins on the Man on the Man
in Black, You on the guitar text doing the Johnny.
Speaker 7 (06:56):
Cash if you've got the time, yeah right by Now
you've got an uploming live album coming out in March
as well as the tour.
Speaker 5 (07:07):
This is live at the Sydney Opera House.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
As I mean, I've never been a performer, but I imagine
if you are, the Sydney Opera House would just be
the you know, the the pivotal moment for live performance.
Do you love performing there?
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Really? I do? I mean I like playing anywhere that
The Opera House was always a goal of mine when
I was I was young, and you know, I'll never
forget going there to see certain artists and all that
sort of stuff. And I thought, oh, man, sitting in
my feet, going, oh, wouldn't it be great and be
(07:42):
up there, you know, and and you know, like anything else,
you know, we we Aussie battlers. We we stick at
it and and we we don't quit until we get
it right. And I'll just never forget the first few
times I played there and they did a total refurbishing
of the place and made the sound. The sound in
(08:05):
there suddenly became as good as the venue, you know, right,
And so we decided because it was in the old
days there were ware there was way too much echoing. Yeah, yeah, well,
and I understand that because that halls like that are
built for orchestras and singers, you know, and and so
(08:29):
nowadays you can have a young fellow with these cigar
box up there snaking the plant as loud as you want,
and it sounds great.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Sounds good, sound of that. I love that respecting between museos,
especially guitarists. And we caught up with Steve I, one
of the one of the most outlet men on the planet.
He had this to say about you earlier this year
on ninety six am. Also, yeah, genius.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
He is an absolutely brilliant player. Yeah. One of the
questions I get asked all the time is who's the
best guitar player in the world, which is kind of
a silly question, you know. I usually go off and
wax on about well, there's no best, you know, there's
a there's only opinions, and there's now I just say
Tommy Manuel, yeah, woah man, all those chicks of me. Yeah,
(09:25):
he's a very dear friend. He's a very dear friend
of mine. And human human Jotriani always always are always
waxing about me, and I'm I can't believe it.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
You know, you should maybe, like you know, the Three
Tenors used to do, we could get the three three,
I'll never forget.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Jean and I pray together one and and we we
called Steve on the phone and Joe said, listen, I'm
thinking we should do this G three thing and we'll
get Tommy and we'll all play at Kussie. And I
can hear Steve ya saying no, no, the hell with
(10:16):
that idea.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
No, actually it's a bad idea.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Keep up with sach. Just speaking about guitars, guitar nerds
are known. Many of them love to come to your gigs.
What's it like having a certain percentage of the audience
staring at your hands for two hours? Because I know
what happens, I've seen.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
It, So I always say to them it doesn't matter
where you're sitting and how close you it's not going
to help.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
True, So true.
Speaker 5 (10:44):
Well, Tommy, it's really lovely to catch up with you.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
We'll afford to having your town at the Riverside Theater
for the Tommy Emmanuel CGP Live in Concert show. Tickets
are available through ticket Tech. Have a lovely Christmas and
New Year, and we'll a you in Mike.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Good to talk to you man, Thank you so much
for you too, and happy Christmas.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Every month just see you at the gig, might all
the best
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