Ronnie McDowell Concert Last Night 5-3-12

[RandeDager]

Last night I opened with a friend of mine for Ronnie McDowell at a nearby performing arts center and after his show he came over to thank me and was quite complementary. He wanted to know who my biggest influence was because he knew he was hearing fingerstyle even in our country rock and jazz selections and it was distinctively different from what his guitarist was doing. When I mentioned that Chet Atkins was my biggest influence, his eyes lit up and he was quite profuse about how Chet had been the one to make all of Ronnie's significant connections back in 1977 after his hit song "The King is Gone" had hit the charts right after Elvis died. He told me that he met Chet when he first got to Nashville and Chet introduced him to all of the people who helped to launch his career. I was quite touched by that. I wish he had mentioned it in his show.