Phil Emmanuel

Phillip Ernest Emmanuel (6 July 1952 – 24 May 2018) was an Australian guitar player.

He was the older brother of musician Tommy Emmanuel.

Emmanuel found fame with The Trailblazers, and played with many other Australian artists including INXS, Jimmy Barnes, John Farnham, Ian Moss, composer Pete Hawkes and Slim Dusty.

He also played with many international artists such as British guitarist Hank B. Marvin and American performers Chet Atkins, Willie Nelson, Duane Eddy and Dolly Parton.

It was inaugurated in 1976 and the inductee is announced at the Country Music Awards of Australia in Tamworth in January.

The inaugural ARIA Awards took place in 1987.

The Australian Roll of Renown honours Australian and New Zealander musicians who have shaped the music industry by making a significant and lasting contribution to country music.

Emmanuel's 1992 debut album, Kakadu Sunrise, reached No. 33 on the New Zealand album charts.

In 1994, he and his brother Tommy released the album Terra Firma, which was nominated for the 1995 ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album.

In 2011, Emmanuel was inducted into the Australian Roll of Renown.

Emmanuel died suddenly of an asthma attack in Parkes, New South Wales, on 24 May 2018, aged 65.

He was honoured with a posthumous induction into the Order of Australia in 2018 with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), one of several Australian musicians to receive honours.

The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards, commonly known as ARIA Music Awards, are held to recognise excellence and innovation and achievement across all genres of Australian music.

Award nominees and winners, excluding for sales and public voted categories, are selected by the ARIA Academy comprising "judges from all sectors of the music industry - retail, radio and tv, journalists and critics, television presenters, concert promoters, agents, ARIA member record companies and past ARIA winners".