Tommy Emmanuel
Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond
Pushkin Industries
4.5 • 4.3K Ratings
🗓️ 10 March 2026
⏱️ 78 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Tommy Emmanuel is an Australian guitarist who has spent over six decades mastering the art of fingerstyle acoustic guitar. He's now widely regarded as one of the best acoustic players in the world.
Born in 1955, he received his first guitar at age four and he recalls that not long after he knew he wanted to dedicate his life to playing music. He left home to pursue his dream as a teenager and eventually became known for his remarkable ability to make a single guitar sound like an entire band—simultaneously playing bass, rhythm, lead, and percussion. In 1980, Tommy toured with Stevie Wonder as part of the opening act, an experience he's described as enlightening. He's since played hundreds of shows a year and collaborated with artists including Eric Clapton, Chet Atkins, and Tina Turner.
On today's episode, Justin Richmond talks to Tommy Emmanuel about his unique fingerstyle technique and how he developed the ability to make one guitar sound like multiple instruments. He tells the story of opening for Stevie Wonder in 1980 and walking in on him jamming with an early LinnDrum machine. And Tommy plays examples of his songs throughout the years, demonstrating the evolution of his remarkable approach to the acoustic guitar.
You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs from Tommy Emmanuel HERE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Pushkin. |
| 0:10.7 | The first time I saw Tommy Emanuel play, it was like rediscovering guitar all over again. |
| 0:16.0 | I was 16 visiting Salt Lake City when I stopped into a store called acoustic music. |
| 0:21.6 | At the time, I was listening heavily to guitarists like Lenny Bro and Chet Atkins. After sharing this with the guys who worked at the store, |
| 0:27.6 | they told me they had a DVD I needed to watch. They popped in a live performance of Tommy Emmanuel, |
| 0:32.6 | and I was floored. It's a key formative moment along my journey as a player and a fan. |
| 0:37.5 | So having the opportunity to sit down and have an hour-long conversation with Tommy |
| 0:41.4 | Emanuel was huge for me. |
| 0:43.5 | On today's episode, we discussed Tommy Emanuel's insane technique and how he developed the ability |
| 0:48.5 | to play multiple parts on the guitar at once. |
| 0:51.5 | He tells the story of opening for Stevie Wonder in 1980 and walking in on him jamming |
| 0:55.5 | with an early Lindrum machine and performing on the same bill as the Bee Gees in Australia |
| 1:00.6 | during the 60s when he was just a kid. |
| 1:05.5 | This is Broken Record. |
| 1:07.6 | Real musicians, real conversations. |
| 1:13.1 | This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. |
| 1:17.6 | If you love hip-hop, and I mean really love the culture beyond the beefs, playlists, and hype, |
| 1:24.2 | you need to check out The Almanac of Rap. I'm Don Will. I'm a rapper, producer, and hip hop |
| 1:29.9 | and The Almanac of Rap is a two-time Webby Award winning show where we build up a topic just to |
| 1:36.4 | break it down. If you love hip-hop conversations that actually go somewhere or sometimes don't, |
| 1:42.9 | subscribe to the Almanac of Rap on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you listen. |
| 1:48.9 | Here's my conversation with Tommy Emanuel from Amazon Music Studio 126. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Pushkin Industries, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Pushkin Industries and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.