Without Chet Atkins, country music may never have crossed over into the pop charts in the '50s and '60s. Although he has recorded hundreds of solo records, Chet Atkins' largest influence came as a session musician and a record producer. During the '50s and '60s, he helped create the Nashville sound, a style of country music that owed nearly as much to pop as it did to honky tonks. And as a guitarist, he is without parallel. Atkins' style grew out of his admiration for Merle Travis, expanding Travis' signature syncopated thumb and fingers roll into new territory...

Last weeks Merle Travis article:
http://www.guitarsite.com/newsletters/000214/11.shtml

This weeks Chet Atkins article (by Robert Lee Johnson):

The Music of Chet Atkins has influenced so many guitarist that there is hardly a Guitar player alive who has not heard Chet Play his great Guitar Music. Chet Atkins is a Genius of Guitar that has taken the instrument far.

He made up his mind early, in the late 30s, that he would be a radio star, then went on to become a Recording Star. Chet Atkins is the most recorded instrumentalists of all time. Chet's first Recordings were made in 1946. He has had a recording career that has spanned over 50 years. That alone is a great accomplishment.

Chet Atkins is truly an amazing man, not just because of his Guitar Playing, but for what he has accomplished in his Music Career. Few Musicians, no matter what their educational background might be, have achieved as much as an instrumentalist, as Chet Atkins has achieved in life.

Chet never ran out of new and fresh ways to play Guitar that made people love the instrument, and the music he was playing. Most Guitar Players become stale at some point in their career. Their Guitar Music Becomes Repetitive, so their listeners become tired of hearing the same old Guitar licks in all the music the Guitarist plays. This never having become stale in his style is what caused Chet Atkins to endure for so many years. Chet Just never ran out of new Guitar Licks. That shows how creative the Genius of Guitar is.

Chet Atkins had already recorded 78 Long Play Albums when he released a CD In the early 80s titled "Stay Tuned" which sold more than his previous 78 Albums combined. On the "Stay Tuned" CD Chet had the best of the younger Guitarists playing with him. The CD was essentially an experimental music album. The "Stay Tuned" CD made by Chet and the younger guitarists made Chet known to the younger generation.

How many Guitar players do you know have recorded 78 albums? How many Guitar Players do you know would have enough good instrumentals to fill 10 CDs? Not many I'm sure. Chet is definitely different.

Chet Atkins has a good background in music. His Father taught piano and voice and worked professionally as a Gospel Singer. Chet's Genetic background is there for sure. His growing up in a musical family had to be a great influence on him in developing as a Musician and Guitar Player.

When Chet Atkins was 18 he was a staff Guitarists on a Radio Station in Knoxville Tennessee. However, I have read that by the time Chet was 15 he was playing Guitar professionally. This is true for many of the great Guitar players. Country and Jazz Guitarists Hank Garland was playing on the Grand Ole Opry when he was 15. At age 14 James Burton was playing professionally on the Louisiana Hayride; James Burton was the guitarists in the Ricky Nelson Band, and band leader for Elvis Presley in 1968 when Elvis went on his come back tour. James Burton played on many Studio sessions, backing up singers.

Chet said that he was influenced by the Finger Style Guitar of Blind Lemon Jefferson who was popular in the mid to late 20s. And Chet says that when he heard Merle Travis on Cincinnati Radio he wondered why everyone didn't throw away their flat picks and use a thumb pick the way Merle Travis was using it when he played his Genius Level Guitar.

So Chet has been a thumb picker, using his thumb and three fingers, sometimes four fingers, to play melody, harmony, rhythm and bass at the same time, being a complete band by himself. Few Guitar Players can play music that needs no accompaniment, and hold people's attention completely, the way Chet holds people in awe of his Great Guitar Work.

Few Guitar Players are Stars in and of themselves. Only Jazz Guitarists appear as the Stars with their bands, with no singer in the band. Chet Atkins is the only Country Guitar Player I know of who has toured with a pure instrumental show. Chet has done many solo performances before live audiences when he was considered the Star of the show. I worked for an Oldies Record Shop Owner who saw Chet in San Francisco. He said Chet came out alone, sit on a stool and played solo Guitar that was so full and complete you could hardly believe all that music was coming from one Guitar. That was my exact thought when I saw Chet for the first time on the Grand Ole Opry, doing a Guitar Solo, with just a slap rhythm Guitar and a Bass Player backing him up. Chet Atkins inspired me to learn to play the Guitar.

Chet always played Guitar with his thumb pick using his fingers to give the harmony, bass and rhythm. In the late 50s Chet started recording where he abandoned his regular Thumb and Finger style. He played harmony parts to go along with the melodies he was playing, and did some single string Guitar Work. However, occasionally Chet would record an album with his thumb and finger style where he played rhythm, bass, and harmony along with the melody. He never abandoned that style of Guitar completely because it was so popular. It was just that he now played many styles, instead of the style that had made him so popular in the 50s.

Chet loved Jazz, but admits that he was never a Great Jazz Player. I think Chet loved melody too much to ever be a great jazz guitarist. And too Chet had to play commercial music, backing up singers, which meant he had to get down to the basics. He had to align his thinking along lines which were not Jazz. But Chet always loved and admired the great Jazz Guitarists Like Johnny Smith and George Barnes, and no doubt many other Great Jazz Guitarists.

In Chet's early years of playing live radio shows, backing up Country Music Singers, he was fired many times for playing too much Guitar. Chet had to learn to cool it to make a living playing Guitar. Chet developed a back up style that endeared him to the commercial Country Music World when he was lead Guitarists for the Carter Sisters and Mama Maybelle. Chet toured with this group in the early 50s and came to Nashville to stay, when the Carter Sisters were signed with the Grand Ole Opry. Chet had not been successful in Nashville before he played as backup guitarists with the Carter Sisters.

Gretsch made a Guitar with Chet's name on it. The Gretsch 6120 is a Hollow Body Guitar with a Bigsby Vibrato, this was the Chet Atkins Model that was so popular for so many years, and is considered a Collectors Guitar, if you have one of the 1950s Chet Atkins Models.

After Chet recorded "Stay Tuned" in the early 80s, he recorded more CDs that have been quite Popular. He toured extensively, loving to do live performances. Chet also did much Television, having a Chet Atkins Special on Cable TV.

Chet Atkins is a Member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. The influence of Chet Atkins went far beyond Country Music, to encompass anyone who really loves Guitar, no matter what Genre of music they might play. Chet Atkins made the Guitar a respected Solo Instrument in Country and Pop Music. Because of Chet Atkins there are thousand of great Guitar players who do more than strum a few chords, or do some hot lick backups for singers.

Chet Atkins is now 75 years old. He has no doubt led a good life where he took good care of his health. Many of the Great Guitarists do not live to be 70 years old. Unfortunately a Musician's life can be very unhealthy.

There can be no doubt that Chet Atkins had his act together. He must have always been organized and disciplined, something that few Guitar Players have. Chet's Organization and Discipline paid off for him, getting him a job as a Record Producer for RCA Records, then getting him Promoted to a Vice President of RCA Records, being CEO of the Nashville Division of RCA. He is a very good role model for any young Guitar Player.

Chet Atkins not only recorded more albums than any other Guitar player, I would say that he has achieved more fame in his lifetime than any other living guitarists. Few Guitarist achieve the Stardom that Chet Atkins has attained recording Strictly Guitar Instrumentals. Chet has truly Glorified the Guitar in a way that no other Pop Type Guitarist has ever been able to do. From the 50s I would say that Les Paul and Chet Atkins are the most famous Guitarists. When Chet Atkins was near 60 years old he Recorded "Stay Tuned" which made him more famous than he had ever been in the past, and he was already a Guitar Legend when he made that recording.

By the way I read in an interview with Chet where he said he never let a day go by where he did not practice 8 hours a day, in addition to his professional Guitar Work. This shows how dedicated Chet was to the Guitar.

Chet took the Guitar to New Ground. He is truly a Guitar Genius.

Article by Robert Lee Johnson

More on Chet: CDs | TAB | Bio | Links
http://www.guitarsite.com/ChetAtkins.htm

Chet TAB: http://www.guitarsite.com/tab/A/Atkins_Chet/

Official Site: http://www.chetatkins.com/