2012-08-11

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== Chet Atkins - The Most Amazing Country Music Guitarist Ever ==

Steve Sholes, RCA Victor's director of country and western music, was greatly impressed by Chet's guitar playing and put him to work instantly. Chet was showcased on nearly just about every recording session from 1949! Mother Maybelle and the Carter Family Sisters hired him a year later as a regular on the Grand Ole Opry signaling that Chet Atkins had officially arrived in Nashville. Through that time, Chet's guitar playing wound up on records by Hank Williams, The Louvin Brothers, The Carlisles, Kitty Wells and many others. When Sholes could not make the sessions because of various business obligations, Chet was permitted to oversee the production of the recordings himself.

By the mid-50s, Chet was recording 30 performers every year as well as producing his own guitar records for RCA. He also started compilling his first collection of country guitar tabs. His 1954 debut album, "Chet Atkins and His Galloping Guitar" created his hit instrumental rendition of "Mister Sandman" and integrated his now classic "Country Gentleman" guitar. A signature Gretsch guitar was designed bearing Chet's title and it at some point became a massive seller in the early 60's when George Harrison made it his guitar of choice with The Beatles. Chet played on Elvis Presley's historic RCA debut "Heartbreak Hotel" in 1956 and supplied the famous tremoloed electric guitar part on The Everly Brothers "All I Have to Do Is Dream". If a country tune had been recorded in Nashville during the mid 50s to mid 60s,beijing escorts, there's a good likelihood Chet Atkins played on it or produced it. It is during this time that Chet commenced to be known as "Mister Guitar".

Chet was promoted to Supervisor of Operations at RCA Victor in 1957 and instantly convinced the company to build it's own office and studio. The end result, Studio B, became the first long standing record company office on the now well-known "Music Row" in Nashville. It is there that Chet began to craft "The Nashville Sound". With his savvy approach to producing recordings making use of strings,My Favourite Middle Earth Locations in New Zealand - Top 3 Lord of the Rings Loc, layered background vocals, and pop style arrangements, Chet is generally credited with saving popular country music which was in a decline at the time owing to the popularity of rock and roll. An endless string of hits poured out of Studio B by such artists as Jim Reeves, Hank Locklin, Roger Miller, Hank Snow, and George Hamilton.

For the duration of the 70s Chet began to concentrate a lot more on performing and embarked on various collaborative recordings with Lenny Breau,escort beijing, Jerry Reed, Hank Snow, Les Paul, Doc Watson, and Merle Travis - resulting in critical acclaim and many awards. Chet released his first instructional video for guitar in 1987 "Get Started On Guitar" and followed in 1996 with an advanced guitar instructional video "The Guitar of Chet Atkins" that showcases an in-depth glimpse into Chet's guitar approaches and a full step-by-step clarification of 9 of his solos. Chet Atkins died of cancer at the age of 77 on June 30th 2001 at his residence in Nashville. The music legacy he left behind is immense. His friends and followers often identified Chet as kind, humble, and real - a true "Country Gentleman". Guitarists the world over can be greatful for the incredible body of work he left behind for them to study. If any individual is deserving of the name "Mister Guitar" it is undoubtedly Chet Atkins.

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