Inspired by his father's recordings and the gift of an early '50s Gibson acoustic, Michael O'Dorn began playing guitar when he was about six years old. He learned to play fingerstyle listening to records repeatedly until he was able to figure out progressions and licks.

Michael's early influences included Merle Travis and Chet Atkins, and later Marcel Dadi; he would eventually meet all three of his guitar heroes. When he was in his 20's, Travis encouraged Michael to "keep pickin'" and even showed him some of his original licks. Michael recalls, "I went home and practiced 'til my fingers fell off."

Michael's diligence paid off in the form of an endorsement relationship with D'Aquisto Strings which lead to meeting Marcel Dadi at a NAMM Show. Marcel and Teddy Krause of D'Aquisto Strings arranged for Michael to perform at the 1994 Atkins Dadi guitar festival in Issoudun, France. There, Mark Pritcher, the president of the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society invited Michael to perform a concert set and teach a workshop on the music and style of Merle Travis at the annual CAAS convention in Nashville. Michael has been invited back every year since.

In 1995 Michael and Marcel Dadi were driving around Nashville when Marcel asked him to pull over at a familiar mansion on Seventeenth Avenue. To his surprise, he spent the day with Mister Guitar himself-- Chet Atkins. Chet gave Michael a theory lesson and taught him his arrangement of Mister Bojangles.

Michael O'Dorn is endorsed by:
RC Allen Guitars, CA Guitars, D'Aquisto Strings, Ultrasound Amplifiers, Aphex Systems, Fred Kelly Thumb Picks, and String Swing.