On this day (June 30) in 2001, Chet Atkins died from brain cancer in his Nashville, Tennessee, home. He was 77 years old. He is remembered for many things. His guitar skill was nearly unmatched, making him an in-demand session player and early member of the Nashville A-Team. He was also a skilled producer. His production skills came to the fore in the 1950s and ’60s, when he, along with a few other high-level producers, created the Nashville Sound that helped country artists find mainstream success.
Atkins was only eight years old when he started playing fiddle and guitar. As a teenager, he heard Merle Travis’ “Travis picking” and developed his own thumb-and-finger picking style. One of his first music industry jobs was at the Knoxville, Tennessee-based WNOX, where he played fiddle for Bill Carlisle and Archie Campbell. An executive heard him playing guitar and added Atkins to the Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round.
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According to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Steve Sholes signed Atkins to RCA Victor in 1947. Soon, Atkins was one of the early members of Nashville’s A-Team, recording with the likes of Hank Williams, Webb Pierce, and Wade Ray.
Before finding success as a studio player, though, Atkins returned to WNOX. While there, he linked with Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters, and became their lead guitarist. In 1950, they relocated to Nashville to join the Grand Ole Opry, where Atkins also performed as a solo act.
Chet Atkins Rises Through the Ranks
Eventually, Chet Atkins was organizing Nashville recording sessions for RCA Victor. If Steve Shoals couldn’t make it down from New York, Atkins produced the sessions. In 1955, Shoals promoted Atkins to head of RCA’s studios in Nashville. Before long, he was the vice president of RCA and oversaw the label’s Nashville operations.
This put Atkins in the perfect spot to change music history. At the time, rock and roll was on the rise and country album sales were dipping. As a result, Atkins, Owen Bradley, Don Law, and Ken Nelson–producers for all of the major labels in Music City–found a way to make country records appeal to mainstream audiences. They removed fiddle and steel guitar. In their place, they added string sections and backup singers. The new production style is remembered as the Nashville Sound. It dominated the country world until the middle of the 1970s. At the same time, it was the catalyst for the rise of the Bakersfield Sound and the outlaw country movement.
Another of Atkins’ history-making moves was signing Charley Pride, a Black artist, to RCA. While many had their doubts, he went on to be one of the most successful country singers of the 1970s.
Atkins’ Recording Career
With all the work Chet Atkins did to shape the country music world behind the scenes, it is easy to forget that he also had a thriving recording career. He released dozens of solo and collaborative albums. Over the years, he recorded LPs with Jerry Reed, Tommy Emmanuel, Les Paul, Merle Travis, Hank Snow, and many more.
Chet Atkins was the CMA Instrumentalist of the Year 11 times. He also took home 14 Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, he was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame.
In short, few people did more to shape the music world in the second half of the 20th century than Atkins. His influence is alive and well today in the guitar work of some of the best players in the business, and his genius as a producer can be heard on countless classic recordings.
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