Earl Klugh at Country Music Hall of Fame

[John Knowles]

Wow! Yesterday, Earl Klugh played a Chet Tribute as part of the Hall of Fame's Chet Atkins Exhibit. He told great stories and played beautifully. He was joined by Steve Wariner, Mark Pritcher, Bill Piburn and Ben Hall. Chet's daughter Merle was there, too. I arrived in time to watch the sound check and was offered an extra stool and guitar for the encore "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues." Earl played elegantly and set the tone for every note from every player. He really reminded me how Chet could do that.

Earl talked about seeing Chet play "Lara's Theme from Dr. Zhivago" on TV. It was the first tune Earl learned. He played a bit of it for us. For me, that moment went to the heart of the matter. Each of us remembers discovering Chet and his music and struggling to learn it. Earl said he wore the grooves off of his first album. Sound familiar?

Earl also spoke about hanging out with Chet... going to the Cracker Barrel. When moderator MicK Buck asked if Chet picked up the check, Earl came back with, "There was no check." Mark told the story of driving Chet, Earl and others to the Station Inn during CAAS. "All I could think was, drive carefully." Earl and Steve shared memories and music. Of course, I was reminded of my own moments with Chet.

It was the perfect way for me to spend a little time with Chet on the anniversary of his death.

John

[keener]

Thank you for sharing this, John.

I reckon Chet influenced every great picker. You've certainly done your share of influencing, too.

[gitzilla2000]

Sounds Fabulous! So sorry I missed that one John! What a great way to honor Chet.

[John Knowles]

I know they streamed the show. I'll let you guys know when they post a link.

Countin' down to CAAS.

John

[Tompicks]

Thanks for the post John, I sure wish I could have been there to see Earl at the CMHOF. Folks who want to read more about Earl and his experience with Chet can click this link:
http://misterguitar.us/news/earlklugh.html


See you in a few weeks.

Tom

[BobFrye]

Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urLDcaC1 ... ture=g-u-u

[RonBloor]

Just finished watching it... Great.. Thanks for posting the link and of course thanks to all who made it possible.

[Tompicks]

Thanks for posting this video, that was great.

[smokymtguitar09]

A great way to start the day on the 4th of July, watching Earl Klugh and the others jamming and having fun in honor of Chet Atkins! Thanks and Happy 4th of July to everyone. God Bless America!

[GaryL]

Thanks for posting!
GaryL