Chet Atkins
(Guitar, Fiddle, Banjo, Occasional Singer, Record Producer, Industry Executive, Songwriter, Composer)
- Given Name: Chester Burton Atkins
- Date of Birth: June 20, 1924
- Date of Death: June 30, 2001
- Place of Birth: Luttrell, Tennessee
- Place of Death: Nashville, Tennessee
- Married: Leona Johnson
- Children: Merle W. (daughter)
Chet Atkins’ early influences were Jimmie Rodgers and Merle Travis. By the time he left high school in 1941, he was a highly proficient guitar player. He landed a job at WNOX Knoxville, with the Bill Carlisle Show, and also played with the Dixie Swingers (with whom he made his first broadcast). He also worked with Homer and Jethro at the station, before leaving after 3 years to go to WLW Cincinnati.
During 1946, he appeared on the Grand Ole Opry with Red Foley and made his first recordings on the Bullet label. He became the protege of Steve Sholes, head of Country music for RCA Victor and by 1949 was the studio guitarist for all Nashville sessions. By the next year, Chet felt settled in Nashville, when he was taken under the wings of Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters as a regular on the Grand Ole Opry.
By 1953, he had been made a consultant to RCA Victor’s Nashville Operation, and from that time, RCA Victor consistently issued instrumental albums that highlighted his playing ability. In 1955, he had his first Country hit as an instrumentalist with the No. 13 Mr. Sandman. In 1955, Gretsch Guitars asked Chet to work with company craftsmen to endorse a guitar created to his own specifications. When Sholes became head of Pop A & R in New York in 1957, Chet became full-time manager of the Nashville operation. Sholes died in 1968, and that year Chet was promoted to Vice-President of the Country Division and soon developed a reputation for spotting talent, such as Charley Pride, Waylon Jennings, Don Gibson, Connie Smith, Floyd Cramer and Bobby Bare.
He had occasional recordings on the charts and during 1970-1971 recorded five albums with Homer and Jethro as the Nashville String Band. By 1980, he was unsuccessfully urging RCA Victor to let him record a Jazz album, and finally he quit RCA Victor in 1982 and joined Columbia as a performer. He recorded albums that were a fusion of Jazz and Rock, featuring Chet on duets with some of the newer guitar artists. A subsequent album found Chet on banjo as well as guitar and over the years he has returned to his Country roots.
During his career, he has received 11 Grammy awards and in 1973 was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973, the youngest recipient of this honor. In 1993, Chet was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from NARAS.
Recordings include:
- Chet Atkins in Three Dimensions (album)
- Me and Jerry Reed (album)
- The Atkins-Travis Traveling Show (album)
- Stay Tuned (album)