Al Petteway was an American

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

ist known primarily for his acoustic fingerstyle work both as a soloist and with well-known folk artists such as Amy White,

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter whose career spans more than sixty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Jethro Burns Jethro is a male given name meaning "excellence". It is derived from the Hebrew word ''Yithrô''. People named Jethro * Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns (1920–1989), mandolin player in satirical country music duo Homer and Jethro * Jethro Frankli ...

, Jonathan Edwards,

Cheryl Wheeler Cheryl Wheeler (born July 10, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter of contemporary folk music. She has recorded thirteen folk albums to date and has toured extensively throughout the United States since the mid-1970s. Heralded as a “folk l ...

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, Bonnie Rideout, Maggie Sansone and many others. His own compositions rely heavily on

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

and

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

n influences and he is known for his use of DADGAD tuning.

Biography

Petteway's music has been featured on

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and on

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television specials by

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV or the Nati ...

, most notably '' The National Parks: America's Best Idea'' (2009). His recordings, music books, and instructional videotapes have gained him a large following of devoted fans around the globe. His playing is featured on more than sixty recordings by some of the world's best known folk and Celtic musicians. Since 1996, he performed exclusively with his wife, Amy White. They were Artists in Residence at The Kennedy Center and at Warren Wilson College. Petteway was the Guitar Week coordinator for the world-famous "Swannanoa Gathering" music camp at Warren Wilson College near Asheville, N.C. In 2005, Al Petteway's rendition of "The Thornbirds" appeared on the Grammy Award-winning compilation of solo guitar renditions of Henry Mancini compositions titled '' Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar''. Before that he and Amy were awarded an Indie award for their duo guitar album ''Gratitude''. Al Petteway was awarded 45 "Wammies" by the Washington Area Music Association including the top honors of "Artist of the Year" and "Musician of the Year". He was the recipient of two Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards for Music Composition and performed at the Vice President's House and The White House during the Clinton administration. In 2012, he was given the "Master Music Makers" award by Warren Wilson College and the Swannanoa Gathering. Petteway lived with his wife Amy White near

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

. He died on 25 September 2023.

Discography

*1992: ''Whispering Stones'' (Maggie's Music) *1993: ''The Waters and the Wild'' (Maggie's Music) *1995: ''Midsummer Moon'' (Maggie's Music) *1996: ''A Scottish Christmas'' (Maggie's Music) *1997: ''Caledon Wood'' (Maggie's Music) *1999: ''Racing Hearts'' (Fairewood Records) *2001: ''Gratitude'' (Solid Air Records) *2003: ''Shades of Blue'' (Solid Air Records) *2003: ''A Midnight Clear'' (Dorian Records) *2004: ''Celtic, Blues and Beyond'' DVD, Book, Cd (Warner Bros./Solid Air Records) *2004: ''Acoustic Journey'' (Maggie's Music) *2005: ''Land of the Sky'' (Maggie's Music) *2006: ''Winter Tidings'' (Maggie's Music) *2008: ''Dream Guitars, Vol. I – The Golden Age of Lutherie'' (Dream Guitars, Inc.) *2010: "High in the Blue Ridge" (Fairewood Studios) *2012: "It's Only The Blues" (Fairewood Studios) *2012: "Home, Sweet Home -Songs of Love, Loss and Belonging" (Fairewood Studios) *2014: "Mountain Guitar" (Fairewood Studios) *2015: "Dream Guitars, Vol II – Hand Picked" (Dream Guitars, Inc.) *2018: "The Collector’s Passion" (Fairewood Studios) Al Petteway Instructional DVDs: *Blues Guitar Arrangements in DADGAD Tuning *Appalachian Fingerstyle in DADGAD Tuning (Vol. I & II) *Celtic Instrumentals For Fingerstyle Guitar Vol. I (DADGAD) *Celtic Instrumentals For Fingerstyle Guitar Vol. II (Alternate Tunings) *Celtic, Blues & Beyond *DADGAD Guitar Solos (with Doug Smith & Lawrence Juber) *Acoustic Blues Solos (with Kenny Sultan & Mike Dowling) *Al Petteway Music Folio and Instructional CDs From Solid Air Records/Alfred Publications: *Celtic, Blues & Beyond – Al Petteway *Acoustic Blues Solos – Al Petteway, Kenny Sultan, Mike Dowling *DADGAD Guitar Solos – Al Petteway, Doug Smith, Lawrence Juber *Pink Guitar – The Music of Henry Mancini Music Books from Mel Bay Publications: *MBGU Fingerstyle Curriculum: Contemporary Solos (Book/CD Set) Al Petteway Music Books: *The Waters and The Wild *Whispering Stones *Midsummer Moon *Caledon Wood *A Scottish Christmas for Guitar *Al Petteway Music Books Available as PDF's *It's Only The Blues *Dream Guitars, Vol. I *Dream Guitars, Vol. II *The Collector's Passion

References

External links

Homepage Al Petteway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petteway, Al Living people American folk guitarists American male guitarists American fingerstyle guitarists Grammy Award winners Year of birth missing (living people)