Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles perform in The Current studio by Bill DeVille January 27, 2019 the current live performances Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles perform 'After Paris' from their album, 'Heart Songs,' live in The Current studio. (Nate Ryan | MPR) Play/Pause Listen: Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles perform in The Current studio Download MP3 | 00:20:23 Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles perform in The Current studio 20:23 Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles - Cold, Cold Heart (Hank Williams cover) (Live at The Current) 03:01 Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles - After Paris (Live at The Current) 02:50 Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles - Lullabye (Good Night, My Angel) - (Billy Joel cover) (Live at The Current) 03:23 Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles are members of a select group of musicians that Chet Atkins declared CGP — Certified Guitar Player. "Chet always said people go to college for four years and they get letters after their names, and we devote our entire life and give it everything and sacrifice a lot to further what we're doing," Emmanuel recalls, "so he said we should have some letters after our names, too." "He said later, he was just thinking 'Country Guitar Picker'," Knowles adds with a chuckle, "but somebody guessed 'Certified Guitar Player' and [Atkins] said, 'Yeah, that could be it.'" Emmanuel and Knowles recently collaborated on an album, Heart Sounds, that just released on Jan. 11, 2019. The album contains some original compositions by the two musicians (like Knowles' "After Paris," heard in this session), but it primarily consists of instrumental arrangements of some of the duo's favorite songs. Originally, the pair came together to collaborate on Emmanuel's Christmas album. "Every time we got together, we would work on another song, and that's how the Heart Songs idea was born," Emmanuel says. In developing Heart Songs, the pair simply focused on songs they truly love. "These songs are all songs that people know, so we have to honor that, but we also want to bring something fresh, so we want to surprise them and at the same time, not overwhelm them," Knowles explains. "These songs really deserve careful treatment; we didn't choose any slouch songwriters for this piece." Listen to the complete session to hear more from Emmanuel and Knowles about their work, and even some insights into the tools of their trade. Songs Performed "Cold, Cold Heart" (Hank Williams cover) "After Paris" "Lullabye (Good Night, My Angel)" (Billy Joel cover) All music from Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles' 2019 album, Heart Sounds, available on CGP Sounds. Hosted by Bill DeVille Produced by Derrick Stevens Engineered by Johnny Vince Evans Visuals by Nate Ryan and Mary Mathis Web feature by Luke Taylor External Links Tommy Emmanuel - official site John Knowles - official site 4 Photos John Knowles and Tommy Emmanuel perform in The Current studio. (Nate Ryan | MPR) John Knowles and Tommy Emmanuel perform in The Current studio. (Nate Ryan | MPR) John Knowles and Tommy Emmanuel perform in The Current studio. (Nate Ryan | MPR) John Knowles and Tommy Emmanuel perform in The Current studio. (Nate Ryan | MPR) View 3 more photos Tweet Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. comments powered by Disqus