Biography of Chet Atkins

"Mr. Nashville himself" is how Dale Evans referred to Chet Atkins at one of the awards shows in the late '60s. For two reasons is the nickname accurate: it pays great respect to the most famous and perhaps most influential guitar-picker the business has known, and it shows how much Atkins, among many others in the music business, changed the tastes in country music with the "Nashville sound," a middle-of-the-road style that ruled from the mid-'50s through the '60s (a style that music writer Chet Flippo says would be called "Country Lite" if it were a beer). This much is sure: the "sound" proved commercial and drew to country music (or to country-pop) millions of listeners who otherwise would have stayed away.There's no controversy about Atkins the guitar player. He transformed Travis-picking into a high art, playing hardcore country and jazz and blues and classical and whatever genre you want, as it had never been played before. He's played with them all, from Mother Maybelle Carter's band in the late '40s to a recent album with Jerry Reed, and a Who's Who of country giants in between. And along the way, he garnered Instrumentalist of the Year Awards as often as he changed guitar strings. As vice-president of RCA Records, a position he held until 1979 when he got back to his real love -- music. Atkins discovered or guided the careers of Hank Locklin, Jerry Reed, Jim Reeves, Don Gibson, Waylon Jennings, Bobby Bare, the Everly Brothers, and scores of other stars.The best thing to do with Mr. Chester Atkins is to listen to one of the more than 100 albums he's recorded over a long and artistically productive career. Everyone is bound to discover some bit of beauty among those 1000 or so tracks. He's one of the greatest ever to grace country music. ~ David Vinopal