Rudy Atwood

==Early years==
Atwood was born in 1912 in [[Marion, Illinois]], to a Baptist family. When he was 10 years old, he began taking piano lessons, which he enjoyed greatly. Atwood wrote in his autobiography, ''The Rudy Atwood Story'', that he needed no encouragement from his parents to practice for hours, scarcely stopping for dinner.<ref name=auto>{{cite book|first=Rudy|last=Atwood|title=The Rudy Atwood Story|publisher=Revell|year=1970|location=Old Tappan, New Jersey|oclc=90745|pages=15–16}}</ref> Also that year, he responded to a [[revival meeting]] [[altar call]] at the Baptist church that the Atwoods attended, becoming a [[born again Christian|born-again Christian]], shortly before the family moved to California.<ref name=auto /> At age&nbsp;14, Atwood started playing the piano at a church in Pasadena and became interested in studying the music of his favorite composer, [[J. S. Bach]]. In later years he attributed his hymn-playing technique to the influence of Bach and the study of classical music.<ref name=Gentry />

As a 17-year-old in 1929, he began playing the piano regularly for [[Paul Rader (evangelist)|Paul Rader]] when the Chicago [[Evangelism|evangelist]] started a Tabernacle in Los Angeles. It was the first time young Atwood had the thrill of playing a [[concert grand piano]].<ref name=Rader>Atwood, p. 23-24.</ref> It was also the first experience he had playing on a live radio broadcast, accompanying the singers.<ref name=Rader /> In 1933, he began playing the piano for the radio broadcasts on [[KWKW|KFAC]] of the then-new Country Church of Hollywood, which had as its theme song "[[The Church in the Wildwood]]".<ref name=Atwood29>Atwood, pp. 29-31.</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Bill|last=Thompson|title=Country Church of Hollywood|url=http://thompsonian.info/Country_Church_Of_Hollywood-FINAL.html|access-date=February 11, 2021}}</ref> It was then, said Atwood, that he realized gospel radio music was his life's calling.<ref name=Atwood29 /> Atwood was often called upon to preach at the Country Church and he was eventually ordained by the church's board.<ref>Atwood, p. 38.</ref> It was also there that he met his future wife, Grace. Atwood continued playing piano at the Country Church of Hollywood until 1938. Among the vocal soloists he accompanied was [[Wilbur Nelson]].

Through these experiences and practice, Atwood developed his skill in improvisation, writing: "As I look back now, I really can't tell when I found the ability to improvise. I suppose it was in those [high school] days that I began to experiment, playing the bass in octaves and filling in the chords of the right hand. It was in those first efforts when I came up with the right harmonies, and the runs began to fall into place".<ref name=Gentry />