Chet Atkins

Chet Atkins was born on June 20, 1924 in Luttrell, Tennessee.  As a child he played the fiddle under the influence of his brother, Lowell.  Chet, however was very interested in the guitar, and began to play at the age of nine.  By the time Atkins finished high school in 1941, he was quite a talented player.  After using a variety of contacts, Atkins got his first break in music by landing a spot on the Bill Carlisle Show in Knoxville, Tennessee.  He also became part of the Dixie Swingers.  After 3 years, he moved on to work at a radio station in Cincinnati.

In 1946, Atkins made his first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, and recorded his first album for Bullet Records.  He also appeared regularly on WRVA radio in Richmond, Virginia, but he was constantly getting into trouble with executives for not playing what they wanted.  He later moved to Springfield and worked for KWTO radio.  A tape of one of his radio performances was sent to the head of RCA music. He was offered a deal, and moved to Nashville to begin recording.  Chet recorded 8 tracks for his first recording with the label.  Steve Sholes, head of RCA, was so impressed with his playing ability that he made Atkins the studio guitarist for all of the studio's sessions in 1949.

In 1950, Atkins was hired by Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters as a regular on the Grand Ole Opry, which cemented his place in the country music community.  He also worked as a consultant for RCA and played on many hit records.

In 1953, RCA began to release many of Chet's instrumental albums that showcased his immense talent.  2 years later, he scored his first big hit with Mr. Sandman and again with Silver Bell, which was a duet with Hank Snow.

By the late 50's, Chet was well known throughout the music industry for his great guitar skills.  He also designed guitars for Gibson and Gretsch, which continued to sell right through to the 90's.

In 1957, Sholes left Atkins as manager of RCA's Nashville division.  Atkins continued to perform, and he became more and more popular.  He even performed in the Whitehouse in 1961.  In 1965, he had his first top 5 hit with a remake of Boots Randolph's Yakety Sax, which Chet renamed Yakety Axe.  It became a great country hit and crossed over onto the pop charts as well.  As he continued to manage for RCA, he produced hits for many of the labels stars including Elvis Presley and Eddy Arnold.  He also discovered some great talents like Don Gibson, Floyd Cramer, Charley Pride, and Connie Smith.  Because of his "eye for talent" and consistent track record,  Atkins was promoted to vice-president of RCA's country division after Sholes passed away in 1968.

In 1969, Atkins had his last major hit entitled Country Gentleman.  He did have more smaller hits in the late 60's and into the 70's as well, but only the single Prissy made it to the top 40.

Atkins went on to work with the Nashville String Band.  They released 5 albums in 2 years.

Atkins continued to record with his label throughout the 70's.  However, he created some friction with executives when he wanted to record a jazz album.  In 1982 he left the label and signed with Columbia.  He released Work It Out With Chet Atkins in 1983.  It was during his time with the new label that he concentrated on showing that he could be an accomplished jazz musician as well.  He did return to his country roots once in a while to record duets with musicians like Jerry Reed and Mark Knopfler, but his focus was on the creativity of jazz.

Throughout his extensive career, Chet Atkins earned many awards including 11 Grammy Awards, 9 CMA Instrumentalist of the Year awards, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from NARAS.

Chet Atkins: Chet Atkins - Almost Alone Performed by Chet Atkins. For guitars. Format: instrumental solo songbook. With guitar tablature, standard notation, chord names and guitar notation legend. Instructional. Series: Hal Leonard Guitar Recorded Versions. 80 pages. 9x12 inches. Published by Hal Leonard. (HL.690158)