Both as guitarist extraordinaire and prolific producer for RCA Records in the 50's and 60's, Chet Atkins was an architect of the polished recording style that came to be known as the "Nashville Sound." Atkins began life, though, as a shy, asthmatic country bumpkin growing up dirt poor in Tennessee and Georgia. Despite it all, young Chet absorbed music like a sponge, soaking up the sophisticated sounds of six-string pioneers Django Reinhardt and Les Paul as well as deft country pickers like Merle Travis. After high school, Chet started working as a sideman for established country acts like Bill Carlisle, Archie "Hee-Haw" Campbell, and the Carter Family, but it was rising star Red Foley that gave Atkins his big break in 1946. Foley joined the Grand Ole Opry, thrusting Chet suddenly into the spotlight. Vivid, color TV shows of the Grand Ole Opry crop up on cable from time to time, and when Chet is playing his big, black Gretsch (not yet known as the "Chet Atkins Model") it is very much a huge treat indeed!

Soon after Red Foley joined the Opry, Atkins cut his first solo record, the Owen Bradley-produced "Guitar Blues," under his given name - Chester Atkins. Though the Foley gig fell through and "Guitar Blues" flopped, Atkins was quickly snatched up by RCA's Nashville chief Steve Sholes. Chet's first sessions in 1947 were acoustic, traditional fare, but he quickly switched to electric guitar and began to develop the nimble-fingered, yet laconic, style that would become his signature. Atkins mixed electronic gimmickry with impeccable tone and flawless technique to create an improbable style that was thoroughly modern while firmly rooted in country heritage. Chet's lightning fast runs and vertiginous string bends have been widely imitated by guitarists as diverse as Elvis sideman Scotty Moore, Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler, 60's twanger Duane Eddy, and 70's headbanger Eddie Van Halen. Eventually, though, Atkins wound up in a class by himself, fusing country, bluegrass, classical, blues, and jazz traditions into an accomplished style all his own.

Over the years, Chet Atkins recorded a great many albums with a relatively consistent group of sidemen, some as accomplished as pianist Floyd Cramer, guitarist Jerry Reed, harmonica virtuoso Charlie McCoy, and the string team of Homer Haynes and Jethro Burns (later known for their comical country sides). Chet never scored a lot of hits, however, and his Achilles heel is that, truthfully, most of those records would sound perfectly at home on an elevator. Not to fault his flawless picking, but most of Chet's catalog is on the E-A-Z-Z-Z-Z-z-z-z-Y side of easy listening - great stuff, but potentially sleep-inducing. At RCA, Atkins became Steve Sholes' right-hand man in Nashville, eventually becoming a vice president of the label as he honed the smooth "countrypolitan" sound that many purists credit with destroying country music. I'll leave it to another time to tackle that debate, but I will always maintain that Chet Atkins deserves enormous respect - if not for his records or his legacy, then for the awesome skills he introduced to the art of guitar.

So which Chet Atkins records deserve a spot on your shelves? As with a lot (most? all?) of what I like, the earlier the better, which in this case means Gallopin' Guitar: The Early Years, a 4-CD set on German label Bear Family. This pricey box containing the lion's share of Chet's pre-60's albums - most are which are worth searching down if only for their great cover art! Not only has Chet Atkins recorded dozens upon dozens of albums during his long career, but literally hundreds of collections have been culled from his enormous catalog. This makes for a frustrating shopping experience for all but the most obsessed collectors - and you know who you are..... Certainly, I'd also endorse spending Christmas With Chet Atkins (1961, read more) and checking out Chet Atkins Picks on the Beatles (1965) - the liner notes by George Harrison are a blast.

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