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There's a very good book called "Basic Fingerstyle Blues Guitar", available on Amazon.  It helped me immensely.

Like everything else with the instrument:  go slow, and build it up.  I usually find it easier if I know the guitar part cold before starting to add the singing.

There are certainly worse ambitions to have than sounding like George Harrison.

No need to be in awe of anything here; we're all beginners at something.  :-)

Mine either, but we must keep after it.  In this particular shape, a nice meaty "thunk" on that low E is really all you need.

Describing the difference in sound is going to get you a lot of terms like "open", "woody", "twang", "sparkle"; things that may mean something to the writer, but might not necessarily mean the same things to you.  There is a major difference in the sound and tone, but you're going to get the idea for yourself much quicker by just listening to music; certain kinds of guitars are more amenable to different kinds of music.

Now, everyone will tell you that tone is in the fingers.  That's absolutely true, but it's easier to get a given tone with a particular kind of guitar.  This is the reason that certain guitars are strongly associated with a type of music.  The kinds of music that hollowbodied guitars lend themselves to is Chet Atkins style fingerpicking (or Duane Eddy instrumentals) on the clean side, and rockabilly (and certain types of punk) on the distorted side; what is nowadays termed "roots rock." 

If I were you, I'd listen to a bunch of hollowbody artists, and compare them to the solidbody artists: Setzer, Imelda May, Tim Armstrong (Rancid), Duane Eddy for the hollows; Clapton, SRV, The Ventures, Van Halen, just about any southern rock band that ever existed for the solids.  Pickups, amps and effects account for a lot, but there's still a definite difference.

Plus you can play a hollowbody without plugging in so you don't upset the neighbors.

I guess I'm the weirdo; I've always had a trick memory for things like song lyrics, and the chords just go along with that.  My own criteria for "knowing a song" includes the lyrics, chords and rhythm, plus not having to look at the guitar.  The few occasions that I've played in public, I've made a point of making eye contact with audience members while I play.

As far as most pros using a teleprompter, I've NEVER been to a live show in which there was a telprompter in sight.  Maybe it's just the shows that I go to, but even the local bands seem to get along with a setlist taped to the monitors.

I have both a 5120 and a 5122, both heavily modded.  They do have a slender neck (front to back), which may take some getting used to.  Excellent value for the price; I personally think they're some of the best bang for the buck on the current market.  The 5120 has a deeper body then the '22 and has a deeper sound when not plugged in, but I find the 5122 more comfortable to play.  One caveat, the stock humbuckers are unlike any other pickup on a Gretsch guitar, and may not have quite the same twangyness you might be looking for.  Try to play one before you buy, so you're acquainted with the sound and feel.

It took longer for me to bond with the 5122 than the 5120, but the '22 is now my "go to" guitar for everyday playing.

Full disclosure, I also own a CVT, a Pro Jet, a Tennessee Rose and a 6120 Nashville in the Gretsch line.

Holy crap, I just realized that's about $8000 worth of guitars and mods.  I think I might have a slight Gretsch addiction.

Thanks for that clarification, jerome.

I think he's actually asking about "add" or "sus" chords, as in A sus 2, A sus 4, A add 9, or A add 13.

In this case, it means to add that scale degree to the regular triad chord.  An Add 9 would mean to add the 9th scale degree (the second, but scale degrees referencing chord tones are normally referenced by an odd number), so "add 9" is the same as "sus 2"; make your regular open A chord, and then lift the finger on the B string to get the open B (the second or 9th degree in the key of A).  Add 13 is the same as sus 4, so you would make your a shape and move the finger on the b string up one fret from c# to D (the fourth or 13th scale degree).

Staying with the open A chord as an example, if you do the sus 4, then the regular chord, then the sus 2 and back to the regular chord, you'll get a very familiar tone sequence you've heard in every James Taylor song ever recorded.

You can do the same thing with the high e string on an open D chord, and get that same folky sound.

Good luck, and hang in there.  It will all eventually make sense.

I have both a 5120 and a 5122.  They are excellent guitars for the price, good quality and excellent feel and playability.  The only nitpick I've ever heard from anyone who has one is that the stock humbuckers aren't very "Gretschy"; in that they don't have quite the bite and twang of higher end Gretsch pickups.  Hasn't stopped anyone from loving them, and I'm aware of a number of guys who play them on stage.

Please note that my black 5120 was the first really decent guitar that I bought, and it holds a warm place in my heart.  I give this guitar the sole credit for turning me into a guitar nut and Gretschophile.