Talk:Tommy Emmanuel

cgp
OK, let's talk. Let's compare this "cgp" honorific with the usage of other such honorifics on Wikipedia. Haskell Wexler, one of the most important cinematographers. In their professional work, cinematographers generally tag themselves with "asc". Wikipedia doesn't include that in Wexler -- or for that matter, any of the other cinematographer's biographies. Let's consider something more lofty. British titles such as MBE are listed that way; but the granting of those titles is a legal thing. "cgp", on the other hand, is not much more than "Chet Atkins liked your guitar playing"; it's not the same level of importance as "The Queen was impressed by you", and it's not a professional qualification, a professional certificate, or anything of that sort. At most, it's an honorary degree. We don't list George Bush's honorary degrees when we use his name first -- he's not George W. Bush, Litt.D. or whatever his happens to be. --jpgordon&#8711;&#8710;&#8711;&#8710; 21:09, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Your point is well taken, but as I point out below, the issue is somewhat different in this case. In my mind, the issue isn't how important, or revered, is the CGP designation.  It is how it relates to the person in question.  It has become part of his professional identity, essentially a stage name.  And that should be included.  A nickname like "Bobcat" is nowhere near as prestigious as an OBE, or even a BA, yet Robert Francis Goldthwait is listed as "Bobcat" Goldthwait because that is how he is professionally known.  For the same reason, Marvin Lee Aday is listed as "Meat Loaf" because that is how he is professionally known.  Tommy Emmanuel is known as "Tommy Emmanuel, c.g.p.", and should be listed as such.  And as to your point about not listing honourary degrees, you will find a number of people's entries do include them. PoliSciMaster 21:16, 5 October 2006 (UTC)


 * While the hororary title of "cgp" may be akin to being knighted by the Queen, in the music world, it carries more clout. The Queen just happened to be born into the family. Chet worked and developed a style that is often imitated all over the world. In the 60's, he became known as "Mr.Guitar". No one refuted that title. He later at least half jokingly called himself cgp or certified guitar picker, then later changed it to certified guitar player. If Chet chose to bestow the monikmer of cgp on a guitar player, it wasn't just because they were friends, or Chet "like your playing". He had to be totally inspired by a guitar player to give that out. Turns out, he gave the honor to only 4 guitar players world wide. If it were 50 or 100 it wouldn't mean nearly as much, would it? If Mr.Guitar says you are a certifed guitar player, who's to argue? Certainly not the Queen. She doesn't play anyway. So, which means more, to be "knighted" by the Queen, which that and a buck fifty will get you a cup of coffee, or to be a guitarist called certifed guitar player by Chet? My pick is Chet. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.240.201.70 (talk) 05:31, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

CGP
There has been some dispute as to whether or not the post-nominal CGP should be included in the initial line. I argue that it should be for a number of reasons. The wikipedia naming convention states that "When naming or writing an article about specific people or specific groups always use the terminology which those individuals or organizations themselves use." It was suggested that not even Chet Atkins' article had this, so why should Tommy Emmanuel's? The reasons are simple. Chet did not promote himself as "Chet Atkins, CGP" whereas Tommy Emmanuel does. It is how he is listed on his website; it is how he is credited on his CDs; and it is how he is promoted at concerts. Whether you ascribe any actual value to the CGP post-nominal or not, it has become a part of his professional identity, and is quite properly included.

It was also suggested that anyone could call themselves anything, and it shouldn't necessarily be included. True. But when that self-proclaimed name or title becomes a part of their professional identity, it should be included.PoliSciMaster 21:10, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
 * I've just come across this CGP thing. If it really is true that he calls himself "Tommy Emmanuel CGP" and wants to be known as "Tommy Emmanuel CGP", then I agree it is ok to say that.  But is he actually billed for his concerts as that?  Is he introduced on TV appearances as that?  I seriously doubt it.  However, if CGP stays, the article title itself should now become "Tommy Emmanuel CGP".  And we should say something in the article about this acronym and why it is now part of his professional name.  BTW, imo this is nothing like, say, Cassius Clay becoming Muhammad Ali.  There, he changed his entire name.  In Tommy's case, he's just added some letters to the end, which in most people's eyes would mean absolutely nothing so they, naturally, ignore it when they talk about him (if they ever knew about it to begin with).  JackofOz 02:13, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

Chet Atkins had an album called Chet Atkins, CGP. He did market the acronym and at first it was certified guitar picker, later he changed it to certifed guitar player. I can't recall anyone ever denying his claim to be a certifed guitar player, He gave the honorary as it is, title to a few hand selected guitar players that he admired. Tommy Emanuel and Jerry Reed being among them. Tommy is well within his rights to market himself as CGP, and I'm sure considers it an honor. I doubt he calls himself that, but including it on a CD cover or concert billing is perfectly fine. I don't refute the claim, who am I to second guess Chet Atkins? Or Tommy Emmanuel either for that matter. If I had been bestowed the honor from Mr. Atkins, I'd like to think I'd earned it and would honor him by using it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.240.201.70 (talk) 04:52, 11 January 2009 (UTC) CGP was also bestowed on Country artist and guitar player Steve Wariner and guitarist John Knowles, who was the first Atkins gave the honorary title to. Another guitarist is calling himself CGP, but he has no connection to Atkins and was never given the title, he gave it to himself. Wayne Faulconer named his CD: Cgp (Certifed Guitar Player), but no connection can be found between him and Chet Atkins. Listening to his music, he is a good guitarist, but not in the class of Chet, Jerry Reed or Tommy Emmanuel. Certainly not in the class of one to be called CGP. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.240.201.70 (talk) 05:18, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

Played WITH Eric Clapton?
Is it really appropriate to say that he played WITH Eric Clapton? To my knowledge he never played WITH Eric Clapton, but instead opened for him during one of Eric's overseas shows. Seems rather misleading to say that they played together.

Though there is some good material in that point. I recall Tommy mentioning once that when he opened for Eric Clapton, Eric actually came down during Tommy's set to watch him play, which is something Eric really never does (he usually waits elsewhere during the opening act and shows up right before he is set to go on). No source for this, though, so no reason to include it in the article...but it might be of some interest to anyone reading this =)

Cheers.

I think this statement might be a bit far reaching..."all say that he is the best they have ever heard which is a testament to his extraordinary abilities." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.17.158.197 (talk) 03:12, 1 December 2009 (UTC)

Having spoken to Tommy 2004, he said he had supported Eric but never confirmed a duet. Gary the Gremlin (talk) 21:47, 14 June 2019 (UTC)

substance abuse
Saying that he is a committed Christian since beating substance abuse two decades ago is false and has been removed. He IS a committed Christian and makes that very public, but he has also recently dealt with substance abuse once again. Much of his tour early this year was canceled (right up to Jan 31st when he played his first show in Elizabethtown, KY) due to him being rehabilitated from substance abuse. There is plenty of documentation about the canceled shows, but no public statements about the substance abuse from anyone official (though Tommy talked about it quite openly with everyone during his return shows in Kentucky). Please don't resubmit the false information and wait for someone to provide a source because none exists. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.89.20.93 (talk) 21:41, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Page rewrite
I did a major overhaul of the page to make it less a fan page and more encyclopedic. I hope I succeeded a bit, but it still needs work. I will try to get to citations. I won't enter into the CPG discussion, but my take on it is it's an honor bestowed by Chet and since he is gone, it won't be given again. Airproofing (talk) 17:17, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

The Awards section was added and could use more work too. He has quite a few I would guess. Airproofing (talk) 18:26, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

Can’t see any reference to Tommy and Phil Emmanuel played at the closing ceremony. Played “Back on Terra Firma.” Gary the Gremlin (talk) 16:00, 15 June 2019 (UTC)

He Cannot Play Anymore!
Last thing I ever heard of his was that he got some disease with his hand and now he can no longer play the guitar. I think this should be mentioned if it isn't already.

I do not know what it is called, but it must be pretty bad.

144.135.183.98 (talk) 07:30, 23 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Generally speaking, we try to keep articles factual. There is nothing wrong with his hand, and he is presently on tour.PoliSciMaster (talk) 12:08, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Age when began playing guitar
This one keeps getting changed back and forth. Now it's down to 4 years old. Maybe someone can find something with a citation... Airproofing (talk) 22:16, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

Language and Style
I wonder if there is a bot available that could troll through the article and change every "Tommy" to "Emmanuel." Aside from the considerable number of fanboy expressions still remaining, this is the most flagrant violation of encyclopedia style here. Sensei48 (talk) 20:46, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

Picture deletion; Why?
Newer pic stated for reason substitution for previous pic in the article. Please state when taken. Pic removed was a closeup. New pic is a full figure. Could we not have both in the article?1archie99 (talk) 16:30, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

Can we drop "issues?"
"He has heart issues" tells us nothing at all. Does he have concerns about his heart? Is he being treated for any of a number of problems? Does he have any underlying medical diagnosis which relate to heart complications? We are all big boys and girls here and we would all do well to drop the psychobabble weasel words, thank you. homebuilding Homebuilding (talk) 03:14, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

External links modified
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