Chet Atkins

Chet Atkins grew up on a farm near Latrell, Tennessee, USA. In the evenings, after a grueling day’s work, the residents would gather to sing and muse. Musicality was in Chet’s blood: his grandfather and uncles could play the violin, and his father even taught music. As a child, after hearing a blind street guitarist, Chet became seriously interested in music. After learning the basics of playing guitar and violin, he began to gain experience by performing at local dance parties and concerts. Chet heard music of various styles and artists on the radio, becoming fascinated with jazz guitarists such as George Barnes and Les Paul, as well as the western swing band The Sons of the Pioneers and their guitarist Karl Farr. Having already from an early period begun on the guitar to imitate the playing of pianists, which he later realized in many arrangements of piano compositions, Chet gradually went beyond the playing of his predecessors, using more than two fingers of the right hand.

The 30s and 40s were the golden age of radio, with hundreds of radio stations across America broadcasting numerous concerts and shows, including live. As a teenager, Chet was already playing in accompaniment lineups at local radio stations, and in 1942 was hired as a full-time session musician at a major radio station in Knoxville in his home state. For the next four years, Chet’s life consisted of nothing but radio work and guitar lessons, which did not slow down the growth of his skills and reputation.

…In 1945, Jim arranged an audition for his brother at an even larger radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. There, a guitarist was needed to replace Merle Travis himself, who was so adept at fingerstyle playing that the style became associated with his name, “Travis picking.” Atkins, who had been listening to Travis on the radio since he was sixteen, won an audition, but he soon had a conflict with the station management and left the station after working there for only six months.

After working for a while as a “free” guitarist and fiddler, Atkins learned that Red Foley, star of the famous Grand Ole Opry radio show, was looking for a guitarist to replace Roy Acuff. After meeting with Foley, Chet was immediately offered a one-minute solo every Saturday night as part of a live concert broadcast nationally. However, Chet proved too good for the job he was offered. Producers and audiences wanted to hear folk and country, and Chet’s style, with a noticeable influence from guitarist Django Reinhardt, bore the mark of jazz, and he was fired again.

In 1947, Atkins received a new offer. Steve Holes, then head of the RCA Victor label, heard a recording of one of Chet’s performances on the radio. Appreciating it, he offered Chet a studio recording as a full-fledged independent artist. The recording was not a commercial success, but the ’49 instrumental compositions “Galloping on the Guitar” and “Main Street Breakdown” became popular.
“Main Street Breakdown” became popular radio staples. Settling in Nashville that same year, Chet began accompanying some of country music’s biggest names, such as Hank Williams, Eddy Arnold, and The Carter Family, on recordings. He also recorded as a solo artist, releasing his first LP on Victor in 1951. In addition, he gradually began producing most of the label’s Nashville sessions.

In 1956, RCA built its famous “Studio B” in Nashville, and Atkins was appointed one of its directors. Working as a musician, producer and executive at the same time, Atkins was at the very center of developments in country music. Over the next several years, recordings by artists such as Elvis Presley, Don Gibson, Charlie Pride, Waylon Jennings, and many others were released under his direction. His innovative methods of producing hits moved country music far away from its hillbilly roots. The new direction, dubbed the “Nashville sound,” helped solidify country music as one of the most commercially successful styles in the United States.

Throughout this period, Atkins virtually defined the sound of the guitar in country music. He eclipsed his predecessor Merle Travis with his playing, and in turn served as an inspiration for future great names such as Scotty Moore, Eddie Cochran, George Harrison, Albert Lee and others. Chet released a number of instrumental albums, songs from which even found their way onto the pop charts: “Mr. Sandman,” “Yakety Axe,” “Country Gentleman” and a number of others. At the same time, he had fruitful collaborations with musicians such as Les Paul and Lenny Breau.

In 1968, RCA named Chet vice president of its country wing for his many accomplishments, but Atkins was beginning to feel creatively bound. In 1982, he moved to the Columbia Records label, where he released a number of works with his idea “disciples” George Harrison, Mark Knopfler and Albert Lee. Over the last two decades of the century and his life, Chet recorded a number of new albums, including with his longtime collaborator Les Paul.