The 5 Certified Guitar Players were the 5 best finger style guitar players, whose skill and talent were above all of the others, according to the King of Finger Style Guitar, Chet Atkins. The list is:
Tommy Emmanuel
Jerry Reed
John Knowles
Mark Knopfler
Chets band lead, Paul Yandell, was added to the list by his daughter just after his death.
Roy Clark and Glen Campbell were both considered, but Chet felt that they could develop their finger style skills farther. Willie Nelson could have made the short list, but he didn’t care.
I play finger style mostly, though I sound more like the proverbial Joyful Noise than good music.
—TK