A heady term, “Greatness,” but it fits Tommy Emmanuel. Two qualities define his qualifications: The first, predictably, is his extraordinary guitar playing, his ability to produce multi-dimensional arrangements—flawlessly—on an acoustic guitar. The second is less quantifiable but just as apparent: his joy. Emmanuel’s listeners feel his unbridled delight as deeply as he does, which he says “is worth living and working for. I can’t help but play to the people with all my heart, which is overflowing with joy.”

Justly famed for reinventing songs like “Day Tripper,” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Classical Gas,” now, with The Best of Tommysongs, he brings us a collection of  richly melodic songs, rendered with joy in real time. Behind every song, there’s a story, and Emmanuel told Elmore about the genesis of “The Wide Ocean.”

“I flew all the way from the U.S. to Beijing, China. When I got to my hotel room, I got my guitar out to practice and it sounded magical to me. It wasn’t long before I started writing this song. I had taken time to watch some videos of Chinese musicians as a way of trying to get inspired and get some fresh ideas in my head. Once I had this song written, I had no title for it. I recorded it on my iPhone and sent it to my family. Rachel, my daughter, heard it and commented ‘it sounds like the wide ocean.’ An amazing thing to say for a 4-year-old. I was so moved by her words that it became the title.”

Learn more about Tommy Emmanuel HERE

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