Chet Atkins: From Great Depression to Country Great

Chet Atkins, also known as “The Country Gentleman”, is a legend among country music enthusiasts. Born in 1924 in Nashville, Tennessee and the youngest of four children, Chet grew up poor during the Great Depression. His childhood was made even more difficult by a bad case of asthma which made it necessary for him to sleep in a straight-backed chair. This practice lasted his whole life. But during early years of adversity, something wonderful happened -- he picked up his first guitar.  At the age of nine, he traded his brother a pistol and a number of chores for his first guitar. It wasn't much to look at, but it served its purpose. So beaten up, only the first few frets could be used, with only a nail for a nut, the imperfect instrument was the start off a perfect career.

Early Ambitions
Chet became skilled at the guitar in high school. He heard Merle Travis playing on WLW radio and adopted Travis’ picking style. Chet practiced his guitar in the bathroom at school, claiming that the acoustics were better in there. As a teen, Chet bought a semi-acoustic electric guitar and an amplifier, but had to travel for miles to use them because there was no electricity in his home. Wanting to focus on his passion for guitar instead of living a conventional lifestyle, Chet dropped out of high school in 1942.

His first job out of school was working for WNOX-AM radio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Moving on, he played fiddle and guitar with the Dixieland Swingsters, the station’s house band. Three years later, following in the steps of one of his heroes, Chet got a job at WLW-AM in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Merle Travis had previously worked.

Not Truly “Country”
Chet had a hard time holding a job but it was certainly not for lack of talent. It was primarily due to his unique sound which many felt was not truly “country”.  He bounced around from one radio station to another and was fired frequently, but was able to get new jobs easily because of his incredible skill.

Chet married a woman named Leona Johnson and began playing for KWTO-AM in Springfield, Missouri in 1946. The following year, he was invited to make some recordings with RCA, but they didn’t sell as everyone expected. In 1949, he started playing with June Carter in Mother Maybelle & The Carter Sisters on KWTO.

In the 1950s, Chet became a part of the Grand Ole Opry. He also recorded his first hit singles with RCA, “Mr. Sandman” and “Silver Bell”. His record sales started increasing. He also got a job as a designer for Gretsch, who sold a line of Chet Atkins guitars for many years. Played by numerous guitar legends, the original Gretsch Chet Atkins signature model is a highly sought after vintage guitar.

Mister Guitar
Chet became the manager of RCA’s studio in Nashville which allowed him to both make and produce music.  He became widely known as “Mister Guitar”, which inspired his album with the same name. The unique style of picking with his thumb and first two fingers which made him famous became extremely popular.

Atkins played in the White House for presidents Kennedy through George H. W. Bush. In the 1960s, he was producing music for RCA, and was responsible for helping to shape the careers of Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Jerry Reed, and other renowned country artists. In 1965, his hit single “Yakety Axe” came out. He produced music heavily in the 60s, and returned to playing and performing in the 70s. In the mid-1970s, he stopped working with Gretsch and started designing guitars for Gibson. It was there that he created the Gibson Chet Atkins SST, a revolutionary instrument. The solid body acoustic/electric guitar with no sound hole is now considered one of the legendary vintage Gibson Guitars. It is the perfect acoustic guitar for live music.

A Lifetime of Awards
In his lifetime, Atkins received 14 Grammy awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He also received nine Country Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year awards. He is renowned for his broad influence in the development of modern country music. Chet was diagnosed with cancer in 1996, and died in 2001. True to his country roots, he was buried in Nashville. In 2002, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.