Chet Atkins

Known for ActingBorn 1924-06-20Died 2001-06-30Luttrell, Tennessee, USA

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.Read more

Movies & web series

Opry Video Classics: Hall of Fame

Chet Atkins: A Life in Music

Nashville 99

Neil Diamond: Under a Tennessee Moon

Country at the BBC

The Secret Policeman’s Third Ball

Numéro un

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Stroszek

Dinah!

The Winding Stream

The Ed Sullivan Show

In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story

The Johnny Cash Show

Big Dreams & Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story

Country's Family Reunion: Precious Memories (Vol. 1)

The Secret Policeman's Ball

The Genius of Lenny Breau

Nanci Griffith: Other Voices, Other Rooms

Guitar

Country Music Classics: Webb Pierce and Chet Atkins

Leo Kottke: Home + Away

In the Hank Williams Tradition

Chet Atkins and Friends

Hee Haw 10th Anniversary Celebration

Ann-Margret: Rhinestone Cowgirl

Tennessee Jamboree

Chet Atkins: Rare Performances 1955-1975