Marcel Dadi (; 20 August 1951 – 17 July 1996) was a Tunisian-born French virtuoso guitarist known for his finger-picking style which faithfully recreated the instrumental styles of American guitarists such as

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born in Rosewood, Kentucky, his songs' lyrics were often about the lives and the economic exploitation of Ameri ...

and

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008), known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country singer, guitarist, composer, songwriter and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Gui ...

. He became a friend of country star Chet Atkins.

Biography

Early life

Marcel Dadi was born in

Sousse Sousse, Sūsah , or Soussa (, ), is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

on 20 August 1951. Dadi, along with his immediate family, moved to

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1954. In 1961, he started playing guitar at age 10. He had joined Andre Assouline, Joseph Illouz, and Maurice Levy to form a rock instrumental band by 1964. He was inspired by the music of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

, He continued to expand his musical horizons with the influence of a guitarist, Bernard Photzer, who introduced him to the music of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

and other 1950's rockers. Photzer also taught him the rudiments of

flatpicking Flatpicking (or simply picking) is the technique of striking the strings of a guitar with a pick (also called a plectrum) held between the thumb and one or two fingers. It can be contrasted to fingerstyle guitar, which is playing with indi ...

. As a soloist with French singer-songwriter and guitarist, Hugues Aufray, Dadi began to develop his own approach to flatpicking. From 1972, he wrote instructional articles for Folk Music Review, wherein he introduced his rigorous training method, which utilizes a fingering chart, in the March 1972 issue.

Career

Dadi released several LPs and some instructional videos before his early death. His recordings featured a mix of compositions by his American heroes and original compositions of his own in a similar style. A feature of his early LPs was that they included a

tablature Tablature (or tab for short) is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering or the location of the played notes rather than musical pitches. Tablature is common for fretted stringed instruments such as the guitar, lute or vihuel ...

booklet, allowing guitarists to learn the tunes for themselves. Dadi often recorded tunes dedicated to his friends, such as "Roger Chesterfield," dedicated to Roger C. Field with whom he first went to Nashville in 1975 to visit Chet Atkins. Marcel Dadi immigrated to

Eilat Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...

(

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

) on the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

, in 1983, and lived there with his wife and young son for several years before moving back to France. In 1988,

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

, his longtime family friend, came to Eilat to visit Marcel Dadi.

Death

On 17 July 1996, en route from New York City to Paris with his band and his long time friend Serge Sloimovits, Marcel Dadi died when the Boeing 747-131 operating TWA Flight 800 exploded off the coast of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. He was returning from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

after being honored at

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...

. Marcel Dadi's body was recovered, as were those of all of the other victims. He is buried on the Mount of Olives in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Certified Guitar Player

Marcel Dadi was honoured as one of the five "Certified Guitar Players" by

.Interview de Chet Atkins
/ref>

References

External links

* Marcel DadiAllmusic * *
Biography: Marcel Dadi 1951-1996
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dadi, Marcel 1951 births 1996 deaths People from Sousse French male guitarists Jewish musicians Tunisian Jews Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1996 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Accidental deaths in New York (state) Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives 20th-century French guitarists 20th-century French male musicians Musicians killed in aviation accidents or incidents French emigrants to Israel Musicians from Val-de-Marne Sonopresse artists