Background

Chester Burton Atkins was born on June 20, 1924, in Luttrell, Tennessee, United States. He was the son of James J. and Ida (Sharp) Atkins.

Education

Chester attended the Mountain Hill School.

Career

Chet Atkins took up guitar at an early age but first performed on Knoxville’s WNOX as a fiddler, a sideman for Johnnie Wright and Jack Anglin, and Kitty Wells. Atkins moved on to Cincinnati’s WLW, Nashville’s WSM, and Springfield, Missouri’s KWTO, backing artists such as the Carter Sisters and Red Foley during the 1940s.

In 1950 Steve Sholes of RCA offered the guitarist his first contract. Atkins returned to Nashville and immediately became a prominent studio artist. His musical talents and friendship with Sholes led to his appointment as Sholes’s Nashville assistant in 1952. When RCA built its own studio in 1957, Atkins managed it. He played the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960; in 1961, he performed at the White House. Atkins had his first Top 5 hit in 1965 with a reworking of Boots Randolph's "Yakety Sax," retitled "Yakety Axe;" in addition to being a sizable country hit, the song crossed over to the pop charts. Atkins' role behind the scene was thriving as well. Before long, Sholes turned over RCA’s country operations to his protégé, and by 1968 Atkins was a vice-president at RCA.

The following year, Atkins had his last major hit single, "Country Gentleman." In the late '60s and early '70s, several minor hits followed, but only one song, "Prissy" (1968), made it into the Top 40. Instead, the guitarist's major musical contribution in the early part of the '70s was with Homer and Jethro. Under the name the Nashville String Band, the trio released five albums between 1970 and 1972. Following Homer's death, Atkins continued to work with Jethro. The guitarist wanted to record a jazz album, but he was met with resistance by the label.

Atkins supervised other producers, produced many of his own recordings, and signed such artists as Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Jerry Reed, and Charley Pride. As an instrumentalist and producer, Atkins broadened the country music sound to compete with the growing popularity of rock music. By shaping the Nashville Sound, he strengthened the city’s position as a recording center and helped establish its fame as Music City.

Atkins legitimized the role of the country guitar soloist throughout his career with dozens of albums showcasing his unique "galloping guitar" picking style. The Gretsch and Gibson guitar companies even brought out guitar models built to Atkins's specifications. In 1982, Atkins ended his 35-year association with RCA and signed with Columbia, releasing his first album for the label, Work It Out With Chet Atkins, in 1983. Chet continued to perform and record his albums until his death on June 29, 2001.

Achievements

• Chet Atkins is known as "Mr. Guitar" and considered the most-recorded solo instrumentalist in music history. His guitar style influenced such pop greats as Mark Knopler, George Harrison, Duane Eddy, George Benson and many other recording artists. As head of RCA Records in Nashville, he propelled an entire generation of country music stars to fame, such as Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Jim Reeves, Eddy Arnold, Charley Pride, Hank Snow, Porter Wagoner and many more artists. His guitar studio work is featured on countless recordings for so many Nashville legends.
  
  He built the famous RCA Studio B, and there he produced and recorded some of the world most popular music. Elvis Presley recorded many of his pop hits there, such as the hit "Heartbreak Hotel" which featured Chet on the lead guitar.
  
  Atkins garnered many music awards, winning nine CMA musician of the year awards and 14 Grammys. He also was a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, at that time the youngest individual to be so honored.
  
  Chet was offered numerous honorary degrees from universities, but turned them all down for his own designation as a C.G.P., "Certified Guitar Picker."

Works

More photos

• audio

  • Ain't that Good News 1964

• book

  • Mark Knopfler/Chet Atkins - Neck and Neck

    ('Neck and Neck' is the matching folio to the award-winnin...)

    1996
  • Chet Atkins Plays Back Home Hymns

    (This book of hymn arrangements as recorded by Chet Atkins...)

    1962
  • Guitar Play-Along Volume 59: Chet Atkins

    (The Guitar Play-Along Series will help you play your favo...)

    2014
  • Chet Atkins in Three Dimensions: 1

    (This tribute contains twenty-two of Chet's greatest solos...)

    1955
  • The Best of Chet Atkins

    (Learn the trademark riffs and licks behind one of the mos...)

    1964
  • Chet Atkins in Three Dimensions Volume 2

    (Mel Bay presents the much-anticipated second book in the ...)

    2004
  • Chet Atkins: Me and My Guitars

    (The book includes full-color photos of Chet and his guita...)

    2003
  • Get Started on Guitar

    (For each song you'll learn the chords, the melody, plus s...)

    2006
  • Complete Chet Atkins Guitar Method

    (This is an updated edition of Chet Atkin's famous guitar ...)

    1964
  • Chet Atkins - Contemporary Styles

    (Chet Atkins is one of guitar's living legends. In this bo...)

    1995
  • Chet Atkins: Almost Alone 1998
  • Chet Atkins - Vintage Fingerstyle 2000

Views

Jazz had always been a strong love of his, and often in his career, he was criticized by "pure" country musicians for his jazz influences. He also said on many occasions that he did not like being called a "country guitarist", insisting that he was "a guitarist, period". Although he played 'by ear' and was a masterful improviser he was able to read music and even performed some classical guitar pieces. Chet's picking style was inspired by Merle Travis, Django Reinhardt, George Barnes and Les Paul. He was admired for it across music styles and geographical borders.

Membership

Chester was a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Federation of Musicians, and Country Music Association.

Personality

Part of Chet's talent included being able to play chords and push out a melody line at the same time, using his trademark thumb and three-finger playing style, a technique he developed trying to mimic Merle Travis' thumb and one-finger style.

Physical Characteristics: Chet had spent many years battling cancers, including colon cancer in the '70s and a brain tumor in 1997.

Interests

• ham radio, photography

• Sport & Clubs

  golf

• Music & Bands

  Merle Travis, Django Reinhardt, George Barnes, Les Paul, later, Jerry Reed

Connections

On June 3, 1947, Chet married Leona Johnson. They had one child, Merle.

Father:

James Arlie Atkins

22 October 1888 - 11 March 1968

Mother:

Ida Ella Sharp Strevel

2 February 1898 - 15 December 1989

Spouse:

Leona Johnson Atkins

12 September 1924 - 21 October 2009

child:

Merle Atkins

colleague:

Bill Carlisle

December 19, 1908 – March 17, 2003

William Toliver Carlisle, better known as Bill Carlisle and Jumpin' Bill Carlisle, was an American country music singer, songwriter, comedian, and guitarist popular in the late 1940s and 1950s but who influenced the genre for more than 50 years. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

colleague:

Archie Campbell

November 7, 1914 – August 29, 1987

Archie Campbell was an American comedian, writer, and star of Hee Haw, a country-flavored network television variety show. He was also a recording artist with several hits on the RCA label in the 1960s.

colleague:

Johnnie Wright

May 13, 1914 – September 27, 2011

Johnnie Robert Wright Jr., known by his stage name Johnnie Wright, was an American country music singer-songwriter, who spent much of his career working with Jack Anglin as the popular duo Johnnie & Jack, and was also the husband of country music star Kitty Wells.

colleague:

Jack Anglin

May 13, 1916 – March 8, 1963

Jack Anglin was an American country music singer best known as a member of the Anglin Brothers, and later Johnnie & Jack with Johnnie Wright.

colleague:

Sunshine Sue

November 12, 1912 – June 13, 1979

Mary Workman, born Mary Arlene Higdon, better known by the stage name Sunshine Sue, was an American country music singer best known for her work on the Old Dominion Barn Dance radio program.

colleague:

Owen Bradley

October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998

William Owen Bradley was an American musician and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sound in country music and rockabilly.

Friend:

Jerry Reed

March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008

Jerry Reed Hubbard was an American country music singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter, as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films.

Friend:

Django Reinhardt

23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953

Jean Reinhardt, known by his stage name Django Reinhardt, was a Belgian-born Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer, regarded as one of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century. He was the first jazz talent to emerge from Europe and remains the most significant.

Friend:

Suzy Bogguss

Born on December 30, 1956

Susan Kay Bogguss is an American country music singer and songwriter. She began her career in the 1980s as a solo singer.

Friend:

Merle Robert Travis

November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983

Merle Robert Travis was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States.

Friend:

Lenny Breau

August 5, 1941 – August 12, 1984

Leonard Harold Breau was an American guitarist and music educator.

Friend:

Steve Wariner

Born on December 25, 1954

Steven Noel Wariner is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Initially a backing musician for Dottie West, he also worked with Bob Luman and Chet Atkins before beginning a solo career in the late 1970s.

Friend:

Doc Watson

March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012

Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music.

Friend:

Paul Yandell

September 6, 1935 – November 21, 2011

Paul Yandell was an American guitar player from Mayfield, Kentucky. Yandell played fingerstyle, a style he learned to play from his neighbors, influenced by Chet Atkins and Merle Travis.

Friend:

Les Paul

June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009

Lester William Polsfuss, known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his techniques served as inspiration for the Gibson Les Paul.

References

• Contemporary Authors New Revision Series: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television, and Other Fields In response to the escalating need for up-to-date information on writers, Contemporary Authors New Revision Series brings researchers the most recent data on the worlds most-popular authors.
  2010
• Guitar and the Art of Reflection: What Franz Schubert and Chet Atkins Taught Me about Playing Guitar This book is a complete answer, a discussion of just how we learn to make music, and a complete step-by-step process that you can follow.
  2013
• Play Like Chet Atkins: The Ultimate Guitar Lesson Study the trademark songs, licks, tones and techniques that made Chet Atkins a legend.
  2014