Back in June, Grammy-nominated musician Tommy Emmanuel promised to record three songs for the Reddit community.
“Dear Reddit folks,” the Australian guitarist wrote. “I don’t normally have time for this kind of thing but as I’m home from tour, I thought it might be fun to be involved in a musical activity that could involve a lot of people and give a lot of people pleasure – and be challenging for me!”
That post in Reddit’s r/music community received over 800 comments. And on Thursday, after two months of Reddit-silence, Emmanuel delivered.
It’s not everyday a living musical legend jumps into your favorite online hangout. Emmanuel, famous for his fingerpicking style, was named Best Acoustic Guitarist in Guitar Magazine’s recent reader poll.
Users of the social news site were delighted.
“These are all just…. wow,” wrote redditor Malicious_Mallard. “Thanks for taking time out to do the requests and for seriously making my day.”
Redditor swagasaurus kept things simple: “You are a god.”
(We asked Emmanuel for comment, but didn’t hear back in time for publication).
Here are the top-voted songs.
Satisfied Mind – Jeff Buckley, written by Joe “Red” Hayes and Jack Rhodes.
Dave Brubeck — Birth of the blues medley (“Those pieces are played on piano for a reason!” Emmanuel wrote”)
Purple Haze — Jimmi Hendrix