#Chet atkins yakety axe live stream series#

Formerly using the call-sign, WA4CZD, he obtained the vanity call sign W4CGP in 1998 to reflect the C.G.P. Whereas Travis's right hand used his index finger for the melody and thumb for bass notes, Atkins expanded his right hand style to include picking with his first three fingers, with the thumb on bass.Ĭhet Atkins was a Ham Radio General class licensee. This early influence dramatically shaped his unique playing style.

Ītkins did not have a strong style of his own until 1939 when (while still living in Georgia) he heard Merle Travis picking over WLW radio. His half-brother Jim was a successful guitarist who worked with the Les Paul Trio in New York. She then declared no more CGP's would be allowed by the Atkins estate. In 2011 daughter Merle Atkins Russell bestowed the CGP degree upon long time sideman Paul Yandell. Later in life he lightheartedly gave himself (along with John Knowles, Tommy Emmanuel, Steve Wariner, Jerry Reed ) the honorary degree CGP, standing for 'Certified Guitar Player'. He later purchased a semi-acoustic electric guitar and amp, but he had to travel many miles to find an electrical outlet since his home had no electricity. His first guitar had a nail for a nut and was so bowed that only the first few frets could be used. He would use the restroom in the school to practice, because it gave better acoustics. Ītkins became an accomplished guitarist while he was in high school. Stories have been told about the very young Chet, who, when a friend or relative would come to visit and play guitar, would crowd in and put his ear so very close to the instrument that it became difficult for that person to play.

#Chet atkins yakety axe live stream series#

He would return in the 1990s to play a series of charity concerts to save the school from demolition. While living in Fortson, he attended historic Mountain Hill School. On those nights, he would play his guitar until he fell asleep holding it, a habit which lasted his whole life. Because of his illness, he was forced to sleep in a straight-back chair in order to breathe comfortably. He stated in his 1974 autobiography, 'We were so poor and everybody around us was so poor that it was the forties before anyone even knew there had been a depression.' Forced to relocate to Fortson, Georgia, to live with his father because of a critical asthma condition, Atkins was a sensitive youth who made music his obsession. He started out on the ukulele, later moving on to the fiddle, but traded his brother Lowell an old pistol and some chores for a guitar when he was nine. He was the youngest of three boys and a girl. His parents divorced when he was six, after which he was raised by his mother. 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, Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Eddy Arnold, Don Gibson, Jim Reeves, Jerry Reed, Skeeter Davis, Waylon Jennings and many others.Īmong many honors, Atkins received 14 Grammy Awards as well as the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, nine Country Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year awards, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.Ĭhet Atkins was born on June 20, 1924, in Luttrell, Tennessee, near Clinch Mountain. His trademark picking style and musicianship brought him admirers within and outside the country scene, both in the United States and internationally. Other major guitar influences were Django Reinhardt, George Barnes, Les Paul and later Jerry Reed. He was primarily known as a guitarist, but also played the fiddle and banjo and earlier the ukulele.Ītkins' signature picking style was inspired by Merle Travis. Chet Atkinsįingerstyle, country, rock and roll, folk, rockabillyĬhester Burton 'Chet' Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001) was an American musician, occasional vocalist, songwriter and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, amongst others created the smoother country music style that came to be known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.