ROOTS of Country Music

The Professional Work of Guitarist Chet Atkins

One of the main architects shaping the direction of modern country music, Chet Atkins maintained a reputation as a leading producer, performer and talent-spotter throughout the course of his career. During the 1950s and 1960s, he helped create the Nashville sound, a style of country music that owed nearly as much to pop as it did to honky-tonks.

Atkins's picking style brought him worldwide admirers within and outside the country scene. Atkins was most influential as a producer, but he was also a successful recording artist himself and an unparallel guitarist. Chet recorded over one hundred albums.

Among many honors, Atkins received 14 Grammy Awards as well as the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, nine Country Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year awards and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973 as the youngest inductee (age 49).

Born June 20, 1924, in Luttrell, Tenn., Atkins didn't begin his musical career by playing guitar. On the recommendation of his older brother, Lowell, he started playing the fiddle at a child. However, Chet was fascinated with the guitar and at the age of nine he acquired a guitar. Atkins' style grew out of his admiration for Merle Travis, expanding Travis' signature syncopated thumb and fingers roll into new territory.

Mr. Atkins learned his instrument rapidly, becoming an accomplished player by the time he left high school in 1941. Using a variety of contacts, he wound up performing on the Bill Carlisle Show on WNOX in Knoxville, Tennessee. Atkins worked with Homer & Jethro while he was at the radio station.

By 1946 he had moved to Cincinnati for another in a series of radio jobs and it was this same year that he made both his first recordings and his first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry. Over the next few years he moved regularly to follow new work opportunities: first to Springfield for more radio and then to Denver to perform with Shorty Thompson and His Rangers. Meanwhile, RCA had taken an interest in his recordings and was trying to track him down. While he was working in Denver they finally did and Atkins immediately moved to Nashville to record.

His first records with RCA were not particularly well-received, but the label's executives held firm in their belief of Atkin's potential. By 1949 he was the studio guitarist used for all of RCA's Nashville sessions. Also during this time he began working as a regular at the Opry, backing different members of The Carter Family.

At the onset of the 1950s Atkins focused his attention on his session work, becoming a consultant for RCA in 1953 and developing his reputation as a recording artist. His own records had been steadily growing in popularity and by 1955 he had his first hit in the form of a version of Mr. Sandman. In 1957 the manager of RCA Nashville (Steve Sholes) moved on to New York and the guitarist was appointed to take his place.

Through his production work during the late 1950s and the entirety of the 1960s, Chet played a major role in creating what came to be known as the Nashville Sound, as well as being largely responsible for establishing the Nashville area as a major music center. Atkins produced sessions for significant artists such as The Browns, Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings and Charley Pride.

In addition, he arranged the first contract for the The Everly Brothers and supervised the production of many of their hit songs. With the country music scene now beset by the onslaught of rock & roll, Atkins introduced high production values and lush string arrangements into the mix to broaden the music's pop appeal.

By 1968 Atkins had become vice-president of RCA's country division. The guitarist's subsequent recording output during the early years of the 1970s was primarily done as a member of The Nashville String Band, in collaboration with his old radio partners Homer and Jethro. In 1975, Chet recorded the album Chester and Lester, with fellow guitar celebrity Les Paul.

After more than four decades at RCA, Atkins finally jumped ship in 1982 and signed with Columbia: he had been pushing to record a jazz album, but his old label was not supportive of the idea. At Columbia, Atkins once again resumed his prolific recording career, but with the emphasis now on jazz rather than the country music that had established his reputation. He died in Nashville in 2001 following a protracted struggle with cancer.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Chet Atkins Discography:

The RCA Victor Years (1952 -1983)

GALLOPIN' GUITAR, RCA Victor LPM-3079 (1952)

STRINGIN' ALONG, RCA Victor LPM-3163 (1953)

SESSION, RCA Victor LPM-1090 (1953)

THREE DIMENSIONS, RCA Victor LPM-1179 (1955)

STRINGIN' ALONG, RCA Victor LPM-1236 (1956)

FINGER STYLE GUITAR, RCA Victor LPM-1383(1956)

HI-FI IN FOCUS, RCA Victor LPM-1577 (1957)

AT HOME, RCA Victor LPM-1744 (1958)

IN HOLLYWOOD, RCA Victor LSP-1993 (1959)

HUM & STRUM ALONG, RCA Victor LSP-2025(1959)

MR. GUITAR, RCA Victor LSP-2103 (1959)

TEENSVILLE, RCA Victor LSP-2161 (1960)

OTHER CHET ATKINS, RCA Victor LSP-2175 (1960)

WORKSHOP, RCA Victor LSP-2232 (1960)

MOST POPULAR GUITAR, RCA Victor LSP 2346 (1961)

CHRISTMAS, RCA Victor LSP-2423 (1961)

CHET AND HIS GUITAR, RCA Camden CAL-659 1961)

DOWN HOME, RCA Victor LSP-2450 (1962)

CARIBBEAN GUITAR, RCA Victor LSP-2549 (1962)

BACK HOME HYMNS, RCA Victor LSP-2601 (1962)

OUR MAN IN NASHVILLE, RCA Victor LSP-2616 (1963)

TRAVELIN', RCA Victor LSP-2678 (1963)

TEEN SCENE, RCA Victor LSP-2719 (1963)

GUITAR COUNTRY, RCA Victor LSP-2783 (1964)

POPS GOES TO COUNTRY, RCA Victor LSC 2870 (1964)

PROGRESSIVE PICKIN', RCA Victor LSP-2908 (1964)

REMINISCING…..RCA Victor LSP-2952 (1964)

MY FAVORITE GUITARS, RCA Victor LSP-3316 (1965)

MORE OF THAT GUITAR, RCA Victor LSP-3429 (1965)

PICKS ON THE BEATLES, RCA Victor LSP -3531 (1966)

FROM NASHVILLE….RCA Victor LSP-3647 (1966)

IT'S A GUITAR WORLD, RCA Victor LSP-3728 (1967)

PICKS THE BEST, RCA Victor LSP-3818 (1967)

CLASS GUITAR, RCA Victor LSP-3885 (1967)

SOLO FLIGHTS, RCA Victor LSP-3922 (1968)

HOMETOWN GUITAR, RCA Victor LSP-4017 (1968)

SOLID GOLD OF '68, RCA Victor LSP-4061 (1968)

PICKS ON THE POPS, RCA Victor LSC-3104 (1969)

LOVER'S GUITAR, RCA Victor LSP-4135 (1969)

SOLID GOLD OF '69, RCA Victor LSP-4244 (1969)

BY SPECIAL REQUEST… RCA Victor LSP-4254(1969)

NASHVILLE STRING… RCA Victor LSP-4274 (1970)

YESTERGROOVIN', RCA Victor LSP-4331 (1970)

DOWN HOME… RCA Victor LSP-4363 (1970)

ME AND JERRY….RCA Victor LSP-4396 (1970)

THIS IS CHET ATKINS, RCA Victor VPS-6030 (1970)

FOR THE GOOD TIMES, RCA Victor LSP-4464 (1971)

IDENTIFIED, RCA Victor LSP-4472 (1971)

STRUNG UP…RCA Victor LSP-4553 (1971)

PICKIN' MY WAY, RCA Victor LSP-4585 (1971)

AMERICAN SALUTE…RCA Victor LSC-3277 (1972)

BANDIT…RCA Victor LSP-4659 (1972)

ME AND CHET…RCA Victor LSP-4707 (1972)

PICKS ON THE HITS, RCA Victor LSP-4754 (1972)

WORLD'S GREATEST ..RCA Victor LSP-4771 (1972)

NOW AND THEN, RCA Victor VPSX-6079 (1972)

ALONE, RCA Victor APL1-0159 (1973)

SUPERPICKERS, RCA Victor APL1-0329 (1973)

TRAVELING SHOW...RCA Victor APL1-0479 (1974)

PICKS ON JERRY REED, RCA Victor APL1-0545 (1974)

GOES TO THE MOVIES, RCA Victor APL1-0845 (1975)

CHESTER AND LESTER, RCA Victor APL1-1167 (1975)

NIGHT ATLANTA…RCA Victor APL1-1233 (1975)

BEST OF CHET ATKINS.. RCA Victor APL1-1985 (1976)

CHET AND FLOYD AND.. RCA Victor APL1-2313 (1977)

ME AND MY GUITAR, RCA Victor APL1-2405 (1977)

LEGENDARY…RCA Victor CPL1-2503 (1977)

REFLECTIONS, RCA Victor AHL1-3701 (1978)

GUITAR MONSTERS…RCA Victor APL1-2786 (1978)

AND THEN CAME CHET, RCA Victor PL-42939 (1978)

FIRST NASHVILLE..RCA Victor AHL1-3302 (1979)

BEST OF CHET ON…RCA Victor AHL1-3515 (1980)

COUNTRY AFTER...RCA Victor AHL1-4044 (1981)

STANDARD BRANDS...RCA Victor AYL1-191 (1981)

GREAT HITS OF THE…RCA Victor AHL1-724 (1983)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------Researched, compiled and written by Richard Bell, Roots of Country Music, Jun. 10, 2009.

Chet Atkins

1955 Chet Atkins 6120 Hollowbody