Tommy Emmanuel farewells brother and fellow guitar prodigy Phil Emmanuel

Tommy Emmanuel has farewelled his fellow guitar maestro and older brother Phil Emmanuel, who passed after an asthma attack in Parkes, NSW, late last week, aged 65.

The younger Emmanuel was in Europe on tour when he got the news.

“I won’t be able to look into those green eyes again or hear that wicked laugh.

“He taught me so much right from the start, showed me how to recognize song keys, chords, harmonies, how to get a sound that worked, how to stay out of the way on stage and when to step forward when I had something to say, musically or otherwise.

“We spent so many years travelling, playing shows, setting up, packing up, sleeping in little cheap motels and pubs, all because we loved to entertain people and have fun.

“We shared everything, and he taught me about kindness, giving, listening, how to love people as they are.

“He was a walking contradiction and a dreamer, but mostly, a loving kind, concerned brother… to be continued…”

Growing up in a musical family, Phil and Tommy were considered child prodigies.

By the time he was nine, Phil was playing lead guitar in the family band, which went through name changes as The Emmanuel Quartet, The Midget Surfaries and The Trailblazers, the latter who got to make a record after winning a talent contest.

Tommy was on rhythm guitar, brother Chris on drums and sister Virginia on slide guitar. (Virginia, to whom Phil was the closest of the siblings, died on April 14, aged 69).

After the death of their father, Australian country music star Buddy Williams took them on the road.

The child welfare authorities stepped in and took them off the road, forcing them to go to regular school, Parkes High.

Emmanuel’s success as a guitar hero stemmed from the fact that his sources were diverse – from country and blues axe-pickers such as Chet Atkins and Chuck Berry to rock to classical music, such as evidenced by the Bach and Mozart pieces he played onstage.

His interest expanded to TV themes (“I’ve always wanted to make an album just on theme songs, things like the one to Get Smart were fantastic and so appropriate for guitar”) to birdcalls after one flew through a window and accompanied him as he was going through his daily regime of practice.

The practices ranged from 20 minutes to four hours a day, and usually on ‘Blue Angel’, which he built with luthier Ray Berketa of Berketa Guitars.

He recalls how Dire Straits’ first record was an important milestone in his career.

“It came in the late ‘70s after a few years of rubbish disco music – and with things like ‘Sultan of Swing’ and ‘Down The Waterline’ Mark Knopfler redefined the electric guitar.”

He toured the world, showcased at the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics, and was sought after for guitar clinics.

He made a series of acclaimed solo albums as Kakadu Sunset, Electric Guitar Player and The Miracle, as well as team-ups with Tommy as The Emmanuel Brothers with releases as Terra Firma.

Tommy and Phil were elevated to the Australasian Country Music Roll of Renown seven years ago in January 2011.

Another Emmanuel brother, Darcy, said Phil wasn’t one for chasing fame.

“He didn’t chase the limelight, it chased him – but he got away,” Darcy said.

“I had a plaque made for him once, it read: ‘The greatest lead guitarist the world has never seen.’

“I think he is probably most famous for playing ‘The Last Post’ on guitar.

“People would just shake their heads when they heard it, I’ve seen veterans cry their eyes out.”

Phil is survived by his wife Amanda and five children.