Guitar Chet Atkins

3 CDs of his most amazing guitar performances! Includes Canned Heat; Galloping on the Guitar; Caravan; Main Street Breakdown; Tennessee Polka; Shine on Harvest Moon; Tenderly; Minute Waltz; Somebody Stole My Gal; Hey, Mr. Guitar (Hey, Mr. Banjo); Blues in the Night; Unchained Melody; St. Louis Blues, and more.

Chet Atkins earned and held the title of "Mr. Guitar" for 50 years before passing away in the summer of 2001. Signed to RCA in 1947, he would help define the "Nashville Sound" in the late '50s while simultaneously releasing a steady string of instrumental albums. RCA Country Legends captures Atkins on 14 wonderful tracks recorded between 1949 and 1976. Atkins recorded the self-penned single "Barber Shop Rag" with mandolinist Jethro Burns and guitarist Homer Haynes. Burns' speedy runs work as a nice counterpoint, and bring out equally inspired work from Atkins. Curiously, Atkins and his buddies even add vocals on an infectious cut titled "Boogie Man Boogie." There's a nice duet with writer and fellow guitar picker Jerry Reed on "Twitchy," and a spunky take on "Tiger Rag" worthy of Django Reinhardt. There are also a number of solo pieces, including "Petite Waltz," "Yes Ma'am," and the closer, "Liza." These cuts capture a quintessential Atkins, just a man and his guitar, handling the rhythm and lead without blinking.

One of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century, as well as a legendary musician and producer within country music. Without Chet Atkins, country music may never have crossed over into the pop charts in the '50s and '60s. Although he recorded hundreds of solo records, Atkins' largest influence came as a session musician and a record producer. During the '50s and '60s, he helped create the Nashville sound, a style of country music that owed nearly as much to pop as it did to honky tonks. And as a guitarist, he was without parallel.

Includes the albums Hum & Strum Along (1959), Mister Guitar (1959), After The Riot at Newport (1960), Teensville (1960), The Other Chet Atkins (1960), Chet Atkins Workshop (1960), Most Popular Guitar (1961) and Christmas with Chet Atkins (1961).

He was known as ‘Mr Guitar’. One of the greatest and most influential musicians in country music, Chet Atkins was Cashbox magazine’s Instrumentalist of the Year from 1953 to 1971. Additionally, he was an RCA Nashville producer from the late ’50s through to the mid-70’s, masterminding sessions for Dolly Parton, Charley Pride, Don Gibson, Eddy Arnold, Hank Snow, Waylon Jennings, Jim Reeves and countless others.

Chet Atkins recorded way too often, in way too many dubious contexts; wanting to showcase the depth and breadth of his playing, he instead buried himself. So what's a fan to do? This two-disc set is beautifully programmed, keeping all emphasis on Chet himself, from the delicate drive of 1947's "Canned Heat" to the four-guitar interplay of 1978's "Carolina Shout."

One of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century, as well as a legendary musician and producer within country music. Without Chet Atkins, country music may never have crossed over into the pop charts in the '50s and '60s. Although he recorded hundreds of solo records, Atkins' largest influence came as a session musician and a record producer. During the '50s and '60s, he helped create the Nashville sound, a style of country music that owed nearly as much to pop as it did to honky tonks. And as a guitarist, he was without parallel.

This 18-song compilation was originally assembled by RCA in 1984, and then bumped over to CD by BMG through Pair Records three years later. It shows Chet Atkins at his elegant best, his crisp, clean guitar sound applied to countrypolitan, hillbilly, bluegrass, and pop standards, everything from "Wabash Cannonball" to "The Bells of St. Mary's." The sound is crisp and holds up remarkably well despite the early vintage of the CD – as is typical of Pair's releases, there is no annotation whatsoever and no indication of the dates of origin of these track, though they're all in stereo and very clean.