Chet Atkins

Chet Atkins
Born	June 20, 1924
Origin	Luttrell, Tennessee
Died	June 30, 2001
Genre(s)	Country Classical Folk Jazz
Years active	1942 - 2001
Label(s)	RCA Records Columbia Records
Website	Official Website
Notable instrument(s)
Country Gentleman Tennessean 6120

Chester Burton "Chet" Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001) was an influential guitarist and Nashville record producer. His picking style, inspired by Merle Travis, Django Reinhardt, and Les Paul, brought him admirers both within and outside the country scene, both in the U.S.A. and internationally.

As RCA's top Nashville executive, Atkins produced records for Eddy Arnold, Don Gibson, Jim Reeves, Skeeter Davis, Connie Smith, and Waylon Jennings. He created, along with Owen Bradley, the smoother country music style known as the Nashville Sound, which expanded country music's appeal to include adult pop music fans as well. This slick brand of country music in turn stimulated a reaction among purists, resulting the Outlaw country movement centered in Austin, Texas.

Atkins recorded more than 100 albums and was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Biography

Atkins was born on June 20, 1924, in Luttrell, Tennessee, near the Clinch Mountains, and grew up with his mother and two brothers and a sister. The youngest of the children, his parents divorced when he was six. His first instrument was the ukulele, then the fiddle. When he was nine, Chet traded his brother Lowell an old pistol and some chores in exchange for a guitar. Due to a near-fatal asthma condition, Chet was a sensitive youth who made music his main focus. A self-taught musician, he became an accomplished guitarist while he was in high school.

Atkins did not have a particular style of his own until 1939 when, while living with his father in Georgia, he heard Merle Travis playing over WLW radio. This early influence dramatically shaped his finger-picking style. Atkins' style strongly resembled that of Travis; both used the right thumb to play the bass notes and the index finger to play melodies. However, Atkins used two other fingers of the right hand as well, resulting in a greater degree of complexity and flexibility of style.

Career

Early career

After dropping out of high school in 1942, Atkins landed a job at WNOX radio in Knoxville. There he played fiddle and guitar with singer Bill Carlisle and comic Archie Campbell as well as becoming a member of the station's "Dixieland Swingsters," a swing instrumental combo.

After three years, he moved to WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Merle Travis had formerly worked. Six months later he moved to Raleigh, North Carolina and worked with singing duo Johnnie and Jack before heading for Richmond, Virginia, where he performed with Sunshine Sue Workman. Atkins' shy personality worked against him, as did the fact that his sophisticated style led many to doubt he was truly "country." He was fired several times, but with his unique playing ability soon found other work.

Traveling to Chicago, Atkins auditioned and joined the band of Red Foley, who was leaving his star position at the WLS National Barn Dance to join the Grand Ole Opry. Atkins made his first appearance at the Opry in 1946 as a member of Foley's band. He also recorded an instrumental single for Nashville-based Bullet Records that year. That single, "Guitar Blues," was progressive by country standards, including a clarinet solo by Nashville dance band musician Dutch McMillan. Atkins landed a solo spot on the Opry for a while, but when that was cut he moved on to KWTO in Springfield, Missouri, where once again he was fired for not sounding country enough.

RCA Victor

The Gretsch Chet Atkins "Country Gentleman" model guitar

While working with a Western band in Denver, Colorado, Atkins came to the attention of RCA Victor. He made his first RCA solo recordings in Chicago in 1947, but they did not sell well. He also did some studio work for RCA and relocated to Knoxville again, where he worked with Homer and Jethro on WNOX's new Saturday night radio show the Tennessee Barn Dance. In 1949 he joined Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters back at KWTO. The group soon moved to Nashville in mid-1950, where Atkins began working on recording sessions and performed again on WSM and the Grand Ole Opry.

While he had not yet had a hit record, Atkins' stature was growing, and he began organizing RCA Nashville sessions. Atkins' first hit single was an instrumental version of "Mr. Sandman," followed by the Christmas song "Silver Bell"(s) which he did as a duet with Hank Snow. His albums also became more popular. In addition to recording, Atkins became a design consultant for Gretsch, who manufactured a popular Chet Atkins line of electric guitars from 1955-1980. Atkins also became manager of RCA's Nashville studio, eventually inspiring the creation of the legendary Studio B. This was the first studio built specifically for the purpose of recording on the now famous Music Row.

The Nashville Sound

Atkins took charge of RCA's Nashville division in 1957. With country music record sales suffering as a result of the success of rock and roll, Atkins and Bob Ferguson took their cue from Patsy Cline's producer, Owen Bradley, and eliminated fiddles and steel guitar as a way of making country singers appeal to pop fans. This became known as the Nashville Sound. Atkins used Elvis Presley's vocal backing group, the Jordanaires, and a pop-oriented rhythm section on hits like Jim Reeves' "Four Walls" and "He'll Have to Go;" and Don Gibson's "Oh Lonesome Me" and "Blue Blue Day." As a result, the once rare phenomenon of having a country hit "cross over" to the pop charts became more common.

Atkins also made his own records, which usually visited pop standards and jazz, in a sophisticated home studio, often recording the rhythm tracks at RCA but adding his solo parts at home. Guitarists of all styles came to admire various Atkins albums for their unique musical ideas and in some cases experimental electronic ideas. In this period he became known internationally as "Mister Guitar," also the name of one of Atkins's albums. Atkins performed by invitation at the White House for presidents Kennedy through George H. W. Bush.

Atkins's own biggest hit single came in 1965, with "Yakety Axe," an adaptation of his friend saxophonist Boots Randolph's "Yakety Sax."

Willie Nelson rebelled against the Nashville Sound and helped create the Outlaw country movement in Austin, Texas.

Now vice president of RCA's country division, Atkins brought Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Connie Smith, Bobby Bare, Dolly Parton, Jerry Reed, and John Hartford to the label in the 1960s. He took a considerable risk during the mid-1960s by signing country music's first African-American singer Charley Pride. Ironically, some of Pride's biggest fans were from the most conservative country fans, many of whom did not care for the pop stylings Atkins had added.

Meanwhile, Atkins' slick Nashville Sound and his corporate management style—insisting that performers adhere to his vision of what would work commercially whether they liked it or not—did not sit well with talents like Nelson and Jennings. In the late 60s, they would relocate to Austin, Texas and form their brand of "Outlaw country," proving that there was still a major market for "authentic" country music devoid of compromise with the pop market.

In 1969, Atkins had his last major hit single, "Country Gentleman."

Later career

In the 1970s, Atkins became increasingly stressed by his executive duties. He produced fewer records but could still turn out hits such as Perry Como's pop hit "And I Love You So." He recorded extensively with close friend and fellow picker Jerry Reed. A 1973 bout of colon cancer, however, led Atkins to redefine his role at RCA, to allow others to handle administration while he went back to his first love, the guitar, often recording with Reed or even Homer & Jethro's Jethro Burns (Atkins's brother-in-law) after Homer died in 1971. However, he continued to want to express himself outside of the country genre. In 1972 he recorded an album with the Boston Pops orchestra and continued to experiment with other forms of guitar music.

By the end of the '70s, Atkins's time had passed as a producer, and RCA sensed that its country division needed to move closer to its country roots. He first retired from his position as an RCA executive, and then began to feel stifled as an artist because RCA objected to his branching out into jazz. At the same time he grew dissatisfied and began designing guitars with Gibson. He left RCA in 1982 and signed with Columbia Records, for whom he produced a debut album in 1983.

While he was with Columbia, he showed his creativity and taste in jazz guitar, and in various other contexts. He was a masterful improviser but could also read music well, and even performed some classical guitar pieces with taste and distinction. Asked to name the ten most influential guitarists of the twentieth century, he named Django Reinhardt to the first position on the list, and placed himself at fifth position.

In later years he sometimes went back to performing on radio, appearing on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion, and even picking up a fiddle from time to time.

While he did more performing in the 1990s, his health grew frail as his colon cancer returned and worsened. He died on June 30, 2001 at his home in Nashville.

Legacy

Atkins received numerous awards, including eleven Grammy Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993), and nine Country Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year awards. Billboard Magazine awarded him their Century Award, their "highest honor for distinguished creative achievement," in December 1997.

A virtuoso instrumentalist, Atkins expanded the universe for guitarists—and lovers of guitar music—in a way no one did before. For better or worse, he was the driving force behind the creation of the Nashville Sound, which helped revive the fortunes of country music even as it removed some of the authentic southern folk qualities which many fans and artists craved.

Of his own legacy he once said:

“

Years from now, after I'm gone, someone will listen to what I've done and know I was here. They may not know or care who I was, but they'll hear my guitars speaking for me.

”

A stretch of Interstate 185 in southwest Georgia (between LaGrange and Columbus) is named "Chet Atkins Parkway."

In 2002, Atkins was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Fame. The following year, Atkins ranked #28 in CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music.

Discography

• 1952 - Chet Atkins' Gallopin' Guitar
• 1953 - Stringin' Along
• 1953 - String Dustin'*1954 - A Session with Chet Atkins
• 1955 - Stringin' Along with Chet Atkins
• 1955 - Chet Atkins in Three Dimensions
• 1955 - The Amazing Chet Atkins
• 1956 - Finger Style Guitar
• 1957 - Hi Fi in Focus
• 1958 - Chet Atkins at Home
• 1959 - Mister Guitar
• 1959 - Hum & Strum Along with Chet Atkins
• 1959 - Chet Atkins in Hollywood
• 1960 - The Other Chet Atkins
• 1960 - After the Riot at Newport
• 1961 - Teensville
• 1961 - Chet Atkins' Workshop
• 1961 - The Most Popular Guitar
• 1961 - Chet Atkins Plays Great Movie Themes
• 1961 - Christmas with Chet Atkins
• 1962 - Down Home
• 1962 - Plays Back Home Hymns
• 1962 - Caribbean Guitar
• 1963 - Our Man in Nashville
• 1963 - Teen Scene
• 1963 - Travelin'
• 1963 - The Guitar Genius
• 1964 - Guitar Country
• 1964 - Progressive Pickin'
• 1964 - Reminiscing
• 1964 - The Best of Chet Atkins
• 1964 - The Early Years of Chet Atkins & His Guitar
• 1965 - My Favorite Guitars
• 1965 - More of That Guitar Country
• 1966 - Chet Atkins Picks on the Beatles
• 1966 - From Nashville with Love
• 1966 - The Pops Goes Country
• 1966 - The Best of Chet Atkins Vol. 2
• 1966 - Music from Nashville, My Hometown
• 1967 - It's A Guitar World
• 1967 - Chet Atkins Picks the Best
• 1967 - Class Guitar
• 1967 - Chet
• 1968 - Solo Flights
• 1968 - Solid Gold 68
• 1968 - Play Guitar with Chet Atkins
• 1968 - Chet All The Way
• 1968 - Hometown Guitar
• 1969 - Relaxin' with Chet
• 1969 - Lovers Guitar
• 1969 - Solid Gold 69
• 1969 - The Nashville String Band
• 1969 - Chet Atkins Picks on the Pops
• 1970 - C.B. Atkins & C.E. Snow by Special Request
• 1970 - Yestergroovin'
• 1970 - Solid Gold 70
• 1970 - Me & Jerry (w/Jerry Reed)
• 1970 - Down Home (with the Nashville String Band)
• 1970 - Pickin' My Way
• 1970 - This Is Chet Atkins
• 1971 - Mr. Atkins, Guitar Picker
• 1971 - Chet Atkins Guitar Method Volume 1 & 2
• 1971 - For the Good Times
• 1971 - Strung Up (with the Nashville String Band)
• 1971 - Country Pickin'
• 1971 - Identified! (Nashville String Band)
• 1971 - Chet Floyd & Boots
• 1972 - Me & Chet
• 1972 - World's Greatest Melodies
• 1972 - Now & Then
• 1972 - American Salute (Boston Pops w/Chet Atkins)
• 1972 - The Bandit
• 1972 - Nashville Gold
• 1972 - Picks on the Hits
• 1972 - Finger Pickin' Good
• 1973 - Greatest Hits of the 50's w/Arthur Fiedler
• 1973 - Discover Japan
• 1973 - Superpickers
• 1973 - Alone
• 1974 - Chet Atkins Picks on Jerry Reed
• 1974 - The Atkins - Travis Traveling Show
• 1975 - The Night Atlanta Burned
• 1975 - Famous Country Music Makers
• 1975 - In Concert
• 1975 - The Golden Guitar of Chet Atkins
• 1975 - Chet Atkins Goes to the Movies
• 1975 - Teen Scene (reissue)
• 1976 - Chester & Lester
• 1976 - The Best of Chet Atkins and Friends
• 1977 - Love Letters
• 1977 - Me and My Guitar
• 1977 - Chet Floyd & Danny
• 1977 - A Legendary Performer
• 1978 - Guitar Monsters
• 1979 - And Then Came Chet
• 1979 - First Nashville Guitar Quartet
• 1980 - The Best of Chet on the Road - Live
• 1980 - Reflections
• 1981 - Country After All These Years
• 1981 - Standard Brands
• 1981 - Country Music
• 1982 - Solid Gold Guitar
• 1983 - Guitar Pickin' Man
• 1983 - Great Hits of the Past
• 1983 - Work It out with Chet Atkins C.G.P.
• 1983 - East Tennessee Christmas
• 1984 - Tennessee Guitar Man
• 1984 - A Man & His Guitar
• 1985 - Collectors Series
• 1985 - Guitar for all Seasons
• 1985 - Stay Tuned
• 1986 - 20 of the Best
• 1986 - Street Dreams
• 1987 - Sails
• 1988 - Chet Atkins, C.G.P.
• 1988 - Pickin' on Country
• 1989 - Masters of the Guitar: Together
• 1989 - Pickin' the Hits
• 1990 - Neck & Neck (with Mark Knopfler)
• 1990 - The Magic of Chet Atkins
• 1990 - Country Gems
• 1991 - The Romantic Guitar
• 1992 - Sneakin' Around
• 1992 - The RCA Years
• 1993 - The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat
• 1993 - Gallopin' Guitar
• 1993 - Jazz From The Hills
• 1994 - Simpatico (with Suzy Bogguss)
• 1994 - Read My Licks
• 1996 - The Essential Chet Atkins
• 1996 - Almost Alone
• 1997 - The Day Finger Pickers Took Over the World
• 1998 - Super Hits
• 1998 - Masters
• 2000 - Guitar Legend: The RCA Years
• 2000 - Guitar Man
• 2001 - RCA Country Legends
• 2001 - The Master and His Music
• 2002 - Chet Atkins Picks on the Grammys
• 2002 - Tribute to Bluegrass
• 2003 - The Best of Chet Atkins
• 2003 - Solo Sessions

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Cochran, Russ. Chet Atkins: Me and My Guitars. Hal Leonard; 1st edition,2003. ISBN 978-0634055652
• Jensen, Joli. The Nashville Sound: Authenticity, Commercialization, and Country Music. Vanderbilt University Press, 1998. ISBN 978-0826513144
• Russell, Rusty. Chet Atkins. Backbeat, 2002. ISBN 9780879307196

External links

• Chet Atkins Official Website. www.misterguitar.com. Retrieved September 28, 2007.
• AMG Entry for Chet Atkins. www.allmusic.com. Retrieved September 28, 2007.
• Chet Atkins' Gravesite. www.findagrave.com. Retrieved September 28, 2007.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Chet Atkins  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Chet Atkins"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.