Tommy Emmanuel’s Story: From Australia to Chet Atkins’ Protégé
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 13 October 2025
⏱️ 12 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, Tommy Emmanuel grew up in Australia with a guitar in his hands and a dream in his heart. Inspired by country guitar legend Chet Atkins, he taught himself to play with a style and energy that amazed audiences. That dream eventually led him to America, where he found a home for both his music and his talent. Here, Emmanuel reflects on how his music continues to bridge the gap between passion and perseverance—and why he believes America is the best country on Earth for musicians.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:04.0 | What I told people, I was making a podcast about Benghazi. |
| 0:08.5 | Nine times out of ten, they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes, or just asked, why? |
| 0:15.1 | Benghazi, the truth became a web of lies. |
| 0:18.5 | From prologue projects and Pushkin Industries, this is Fiasco, Benghazi. |
| 0:23.6 | What difference at this point does it make? |
| 0:26.6 | Listen to Fiasco, Benghazi, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:33.6 | You get your podcasts. And we return to our American stories. |
| 0:47.6 | Up next, a story from a man many considered to be the best acoustic guitarist in the world. |
| 0:54.3 | Interestingly, he's also a member of the Order of Australia and a Kentucky colonel. |
| 1:00.1 | We're, of course, talking about Tommy Emmanuel. |
| 1:04.0 | Here's Tommy's story of how he discovered music and himself. |
| 1:08.5 | We'll be playing his music throughout the entire piece. |
| 1:12.6 | The musician's prayer is beautiful because it says, |
| 1:17.3 | make me a hollow read from which the pith of self has been blown. |
| 1:24.6 | In other words, get rid of me and all my crap, my ego, my pride, my need for |
| 1:31.4 | acceptance or any of that, get rid of all that and just make me an open channel that the love |
| 1:37.9 | that is in this universe may flow through me through the music and it may go out to other people and really help them in their lives. |
| 1:49.0 | Looking back on my childhood, I just want to say that everything that was American was the best in the world. |
| 2:06.6 | It was the best music, the best movies, the best cars, the best clothes, the best guitars, the best everything came from this country. |
| 2:37.3 | I started playing guitar because my mother could play guitar a bit and she was trying to teach herself how to play Hawaiian music because it was very popular in the early 60s in Australia, in rural Australia, where we come from. She wanted me to play rhythm for her. |
| 2:40.6 | And she knew I had rhythm in me because when I was little, she would put my pram in front |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.