Andy McKee was one of the first people to hit it big on YouTube.
Back in 2005 when the platform took off, he was still working as a music teacher in Kansas. His friends encouraged him to upload some of his videos so he thought he’d give it a try. His crazy guitar skills impressed an audience all around the world, and suddenly, he was internet famous.
His original song, “Drifting,” is still his number one hit song with almost 60 million views and more than 38,000 comments since it was posted.
He got millions of views in the span of just a few weeks at a time when YouTube had way fewer than the 1,300,000,000 (yes, 1.3 billion) active monthly users it has today.
He earned well over 100 million views! Though this may not seem like a lot by today’s standards, it was a heck of a lot in the early days of YouTube! In any case, it was certainly enough to get him gigs all over the world and eventually got him signed to a record label. This video has withstood the test of time and is still one of his most famous.
Old and new fans are still coming to listen to the incredible guitar tapping that many have tried to master—but it’s hard work!
Even for those who don’t play guitar, it’s easy to recognize just how unique his technique is!
There’s something about the reverberations of the guitar tapping and the smooth strumming that warms your soul.
It’s hard not to wonder what his guitar teachers thought of him back when he was learning.
Did he always rebel and decide to strum however he pleased and use the body of the guitar as a drum? He was 14 when he started to play, which is a pretty rebellious age…so who knows!
The way he plays is hard to explain, but it’s generally known as finger-style guitar or slide guitar.
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It has acoustic and folky features, which makes it perfect for chilling out or putting on sad music and crying (if you’re into that).
Don’t lie, we’ve all done it. In any case, he doesn’t just strum and hold his fingers around the neck to get the right chords but uses a variety of guitar skills. All while making it look effortless.
He has inspired so many other musicians around the world and touched the hearts of many—as seen by the YouTube comments.
It must be so rewarding for him to know that the music he loves to play has been so well-loved by his fans.
Andy still publishes new music on YouTube and frequently goes on tour to perform. He has remained humble about his wild success and hasn’t let the fame get to him. As he told Bandwagon Mag:
“[Most guitar players] take inspiration and come up with their own things to go with it, ending up with something unique. People weren’t doing that stuff, especially in Kansas. I was just trying to problem-solve on how to play a song, and wound up developing my own thing.”
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And he hasn’t just stuck to the acoustic guitar, either.
As it turns out, he has also lent his talent to playing the harp guitar, a much larger but similar instrument.
Though it’s uncommonly used, the instrument has been around since the late 1700s!
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This song made Andy famous all those years ago and it still holds up today.
If you like this, be sure to follow him on Spotify and Instagram as well! We wish him many more years of success.
Be sure to watch the entire performance of the song by clicking below:
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