Chet Atkins

Born: 1924-06-20

Chester Burton "Chet" Atkins, known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician, occasional vocalist, songwriter, and record producer, who along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, among others, created the country music style that came to be known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country music's appeal to adult pop music fans. He was primarily known as a guitarist. He also played the mandolin, fiddle, banjo, and ukulele. Atkins's signature picking style was inspired by Merle Travis. Other major guitar influences were Django Reinhardt, George Barnes, Les Paul, and, later, Jerry Reed. His distinctive picking style and musicianship brought him admirers inside and outside the country scene, both in the United States and abroad. Atkins spent most of his career at RCA Victor and produced records for the Browns, Hank Snow, Porter Wagoner, Norma Jean, Dolly Parton, Dottie West, Perry Como, Floyd Cramer, Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Eddy Arnold, Don Gibson, Jim Reeves, Jerry Reed, Skeeter Davis, Waylon Jennings, and many others. Rolling Stone credited Atkins with inventing the "popwise 'Nashville sound' that rescued country music from a commercial slump," and ranked him number 21 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time." Among many other honors, Atkins received 14 Grammy Awards and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He also received nine Country Music Association awards for Instrumentalist of the Year. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. Description above from the Wikipedia article Chet Atkins, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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The Secret Policeman’s Third Ball

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Guitar

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The Winding Stream

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Big Dreams & Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story

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Released: 1964-01-01

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Neil Diamond: Under a Tennessee Moon

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The singer performs selections from his new album at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in...

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Chet Atkins: Rare Performances 1955-1975

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The much traveled Mr. Guitar is seen playing in this video collection everywhere from Nashville...

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The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

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First aired: 1962-10-01

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The Ed Sullivan Show

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The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...

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The Johnny Cash Show

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First aired: 1969-06-07

The Johnny Cash Show was an American television music variety show hosted by Johnny Cash. The...

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The Secret Policeman's Ball

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First aired: 1976-04-01

A series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human...

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Nashville 99

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First aired: 1977-04-01

Featuring Claude Atkins as Metro Nashville police lieutenant and Jerry Reed as his sidekick,...

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