Tommy Emmanuel

Tommy had a musical upbringing, learning guitar from a young age and playing as a drummer in a group called Goldrush with his brother Phil. He moved on from this small project to become lead guitarist in The Southern Star Band who were the backing group for vocalist Doug Parkinson at the time and Emmanuel's reputation grew further. He then moved on to tour extensively with rock group Dragon, their schedule included a spell as a support act for the legendary Tina Turner. After this varied and exciting beginnings of his music career, the foundations were set for his solo career.

His solo endeavours were successful, he has recorded over twenty albums in his characteristic finger style guitar playing. His musical talents earned him the opportunity to work alongside artists such as Chet Atkins, Air Supply, Sir George Martin, John Denver, Eric Clapton and Doc Watson to name a few. His latest album 'The Colonel and The Governor' was released in 2013 and was a collaboration with Martin Taylor.

He is one of Australia's most celebrated artists, having performed at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In June 2010 Tommy was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to music. Whilst In 2012 he was honoured on the other side of the pond due to his mastering of the "finger style" method of guitar picking. Therefore the Commonwealth of Kentucky awarded Emmanuel the Kentucky Colonel title, this is the ultimate honour awarded by the state.

Rucker founded Hootie & The Blowfish in 1986 with bandmates Mark Bryan, Jim “Soni” Sonefeld and Dean Felber. The outfit apparently came about when Bryan heard Rucker singing in the shower of the college dorms and was awestruck by his vocal prowess.

Ruckers mainstream success with Hootie & The Blowfish was the 1994 release “Cracked Rear View”, which was a staggering success. It was the best selling album of 1995 and went platinum 16 times over in the United States. The album contained the outfit’s best known tune “Only Wanna Be with You”, which peaked at Number 6 and the other hits “Hold My Hand”, “Let Her Cry” and “Time”.

After a small hiatus and an R’n’B styled debut solo album, “Back to Then” (2002), which amounted to modest success, Rucker’s solo career kicked off properly with his country release “Learn to Live” in 2008. The album achieved gold status with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and later received a platinum certification in 2009. The album’s single “History in the Making” peaked at Number 3 on the Billboard Country Chart. Three singles topped it at Number 1: "Don't Think I Don't Think About It", "It Won't Be Like This for Long" and "Alright", making Ruckers the first black man to chart a number one on the Hot Country Songs charts since 1983. He was also first black man to win the Country Music Association’s New Artist Award.

The album was released on Capitol Records, which would become Rucker’s rock in his solo career, going on to record “Charleston, SC 1966” in 2010, which included the Number 1 singles “Come Back Song” and “This”, and 2012’s “True Believers”, which got him yet another Number 1 with his cover of Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel” featuring vocals from Lady Antebellum.

Ruckers announced a Christmas album in 2014 that would feature a collaboration with Sheryl Cole on the track “Baby It’s Cold Outside”.