About john

About John

“I grew up around music. Dad had a great collection of classical recordings, Mom loved country music, and Uncle Arthur played guitar. Since Dad was the preacher, I hung out at choir practice and listened as the director took the music apart and put it back together.”

“I picked out melodies on the piano but the accordion became my first real instrument when I took lessons from Mr. Turner. I loved having the chords in one hand and the melody in the other.”

“For my eleventh birthday, I bought myself a plastic ukulele at the local drug store. I learned all the chords in the instruction booklet and began translating music from the accordion to the fretboard. I was an arranger.”

“I was thirteen when I discovered Chet Atkins. I thought it was impossible for anyone to play like that. Then I thought again… and started playing along with his recordings.”

“I joined The Surfriders (my first band) when I was a sophomore in high school. Gene, Barry and I landed our first gig after one rehearsal so I learned all those Hawaiian tunes on stage. I drank coffee to stay up past my bedtime.”

“I went to college and discovered that music professors didn’t appreciate the guitar… so I majored in physics and mathematics. On the extra-curricular side, I met and fell in love with Becky.”

“I earned a Ph.D in physics but after two years in the research labs at Texas Instruments, the guitar caught up with me. So I left my real job and started teaching at Frets & Strings in Dallas. Darryl Saffer moved me through the basics of classical guitar and I learned from players including Robert Guthrie, Christopher Parkening and Pepe Romero.”

“I’ve always said I met Chet Atkins twice. The first time was through his recordings and the second was at a rehearsal with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Chet and I hit if off and started working on projects together. I was thirteen again… only smarter.”

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John’s music has been recorded by Chet Akins, Jerry Reed, Tommy Emmanuel, the Romero Family and James Galway. His Gorilla Song (co-written with his son Jay) is an international hit with recordings by Raffi and XUXA. John’s work has won a Grammy and two Emmy nominations. He earned his PhD in physics from Texas Christian University in 1968.

John’s Scrapbook

That’s me performing Chet’s “Blue Echo” on my Gretsch 6120. The necktie, hair and thumbpick are real.	Chet and I share a Grammy grin after “The Entertainer” won “Country Instrumental of the Year.”
Chet took Lenny and I over to meet Les Paul. First we picked … then we grinned.	Jerry wouldn’t show me how to play his tunes…but he would tell me when I was wrong.
Chet and I swap tunes and stories in his RCA office.	Chet helps me learn to perform under pressure. I’m playing my Hascal Haile classical while Chet backs me up on a custom axe from his personal collection.
Chet, Elizabeth Pearson, Will Mason and I take a break after recording the soundtrack for “Get Started on Guitar,” our instructional video.	Kirk Sand, Chet and I check out the prototypes of Kirk’s electric nylon-string guitars.
Chet caught me off guard when he awarded me the first honorary CGP degree at the 1996 Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention in Nashville	Chet gives last minute instructions to our 100-guitar marching band at the groundbreaking for the new Country Music Hall of Fame.
Tommy Emmanuel and I double up at Mark Hanson’s Accent on Music Seminar 2004.	I felt honored to be inducted into the National Thumb Pickers Hall of Fame for a second time in August of 2004.