“It’s opened a lot of doors for me that never would have opened. It’s allowed me to go places that I never would have gone otherwise,” he said.

On May 15, Putnam will be inducted into the Dakota Musicians Association Hall of Fame in Aberdeen, S.D.

“This kind of came as a gift,” he said. “It’s quite an honor.”

A frequent performer around the Minot area for many years, Putnam joins a number of Minot-area musicians -many of them friends – who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Another will be inducted with him in May. Carl Kannianen of Stanley also is being honored.

Submitted Photo Gene Putnam, shown in this CD insert photo by Hope Suckut, holds one of several styles of guitars he plays.

Putnam, 66, was raised in a musical family. His grandfather played the piano, banjo, fiddle, mandolin and guitar and was the song leader in his church in Alsen. Putnam’s father played guitar and his mother played bass. They performed gospel music throughout the Upper Midwest for more than 50 years.

Putnam started playing ukulele at age 10, but when he was about 13, his father taught him to play his Gibson J-45 Cherry Sunburst acoustic guitar.

“He got me started. Took some encouragement, but eventually I really started enjoying playing it and never looked back,” Putnam said.

His parents performed on the live television show of a local evangelist in Fargo-Moorhead, where the family was living, and one day Putnam’s father took him along. It was the first experience playing for an audience for the nervous young teen.

His two sisters played piano and sang, and the family often performed together at churches, camps, schools and events. Active in his church youth group, Putnam regularly played at various youth events.

His father passed down his love for the music of Chet Atkins, and Atkins remains Putnam’s favorite guitarist. It was because of his desire as a teen to emulate Atkins’ finger-style that he abandoned the straight pick and put on a thumb pick. He learned by listening to recordings and watching country music on television.

Putnam learned the song “First Born,” which he later recorded on one of his CDs, in the early 1990s by listening to a cassette tape of Atkins and Jerry Reed.

“I became rather infatuated with this particular song. And the way I learn is by listening. I wanted to learn the song but it seemed out of my grasp for my skill level. But I worked on it for weeks, and I would just play it. I had a cassette tape and had a cassette player, and I would just play short segments of the song over and over again until I worked my way through the entire song and learned it,” he said. “I literally wore the tape out. I threw the cassette away because the tape had gotten all worn out.”

Technology since has advanced from cassette tapes, and Putnam now has a YouTube channel and is on Facebook as Gene Putnam Guitarist.

“It’s easier to have friends around the world who enjoy the same kind of music that I play. I have guitarist friends in Norway, Australia, Germany, just numerous countries around the world, whom I’ve never met and probably will never meet. But we got connected through this Chet Atkins Appreciation Society, and then we got connected via Facebook. We exchange YouTube videos of songs that we play,” he said. “It’s fun for me and it’s also educational.”

His favorite living guitar players are Tommy Emmanuel of Australia and Doyle Dykes from the United States. Like Putnam, both play finger-style.

Putnam plays both guitar and bass on his church praise team. He has performed with his wife of 47 years, Cynthia, and Tim Klimpel at Norsk Hostfest. Putnam has performed at corporate events, restaurants, churches, senior centers, weddings, private parties, grand openings, open houses, North Dakota State Fair, Frozen Fingers Festival and other regional festivals.

The Minot Council on the Arts, which brought him into the schools, and Minot Arts in the Park have opened many doors for him, Putnam said.

However, volunteering their musical talents at nursing homes is one of Gene and Cynthia Putnam’s favorite ways to entertain. Putnam describes his musical style as easy listening. Many are familiar, older tunes that resonate with the older folks, especially the hymns.

“It soothes them. It warms their heart. It comforts them,” he said. “I go there with the intention of bringing some joy, bringing some hope, bringing some comfort to those people.”

Putnam watches nursing home or memory care staff bring in residents in wheelchairs as he sets up for a show. The residents may look asleep or unaware, but once the music starts, they’re not only alert but they’re singing along.

“That’s how powerful music is,” he said. “It just amazes me and it humbles me when that happens because it’s not something I’m doing. It’s something that the music is doing. I’m just there, watching it happen.

Putnam has shared his experiences in performing music with his own three children. The family often performed together in the past, making a family CD in the early 1990s.

Daughter Angela now is part of a local church worship team. Daughter Alysia and son, Brock, live in Washington state, where she teaches piano and is part of her church worship team and he is worship leader in his church.

Putnam also has accompanied his wife and her four sisters – the Zorns from Bottineau – at various events in years past. He still accompanies them today, although less often.

When not playing music, Putnam often is listening to music.

“If it’s not playing on a device, it’s playing in my head. It’s one of those things – I can’t shut it off,” he said. Music often is in the background in his office at SRT in Minot, where is a product manager. He looks to retire in April after 23 years with SRT.

Putnam appreciates his employer for allowing him to use a portion of his work time when necessary to serve the community in taking his music to schools or nursing homes. He also credits the support of his wife, whom he says has accumulated countless hours of listening to him practice. He is grateful for the support of other musicians, particularly Jerry Schlag of Minot, a DMA Hall of Famer who nominated Putnam for the honor.

“I think I picked a topnotch candidate,” said Schlag, who nominated Putnam not so much from having worked with him but from simply hearing him play and admiring his musicianship.

“Definitely, he’s one of my top choices,” Schlag said. “He plays a real nice guitar – that’s all I can say.”