S I D E M A N

B y DAVID McGEE

GUITARIST, SONGWRITER, PRODUCER, TALENT ment) and changed the course of country music as a scout, confidante - Chet Atkins, who passed away on producer only scratches the surface of his legacy. June 30, 2001, played so many roles so well for so Born in Luttrell, Tennessee, on June 20, 1924, long that to enumerate his contributions would take Atkins began his professional career in 1942, as a more than a few pages and indeed merit a book- fiddling sideman to Archie Campbell and Bill length treatise. To point out that he has sold more Carlisle on Knoxville’s WNOX radio station, where than thirty-five million albums as a Guitarist, songwriter, producer, he soon earned his own solo instru­ solo artist, won fifteen Grammy music exec Chester "Chet" Atkins mental spot. For the next seven Awards (including Lifetime Achieve­ with his trusty ax, ca. 1970 years, until he came to Nashville for good as a guitarist for Mother Maybelle and the that would catapult the Everlys into the Rock and Carter Sisters, Atkins melded country to jazz to pop Roll Hall of Fame. on various Southern and Midwestern radio shows Come 1956, the dam burst. Sholes signed Elvis and on the road with artists such as Johnny Wright Presley and put Atkins in charge of producing the and Kitty Wells. Hillbilly Cat’s early sessions. Always a humble man, Befriended by publisher/producer Fred Rose, Atkins downplayed his role in this most momentous Atkins spent his early years in Nashville lending his of Twentieth-Century cultural events. In 1997 he de­ signature sound as a session player to scribed the early Presley sessions to a hits by the likes of Hank Williams Below: Atkins hanging out Rolling Stone reporter thusly: “I was just (“Settin’ the Woods on Fire”), the Lou- with the Louvin Brothers and trying to see that things went well. I friends, (from left) unknown, vin Brothers (“When I Stop Dream­ had hired musicians, and I played Ira Louvin, unknown, rhythm guitar and kind of conducted ing”), Webb Pierce (“There Stands the Atkins, Merle Travis, Charlie Glass”), Kitty Wells (“Release Me”) and Louvin, ca. 1957; opposite: the session.” “Kind oP conducted the others. More work came from RCA’s one of Atkins's first session that yielded “Heartbreak Ho­ Steve Sholes, an avid Atkins supporter publicity shots, ca. 1944 tel,” “I Got a Woman,” “Money Honey,” who had signed the guitarist to a “I’m Counting on You” and the fabu­ recording contract in 1947 and by the early Fifties lous B side to “Heartbreak Hotel,” “I Was the One.” had given him responsibility for directing the label’s Through the Fifties and Sixties, as he developed a recording sessions. sound that wedded strings and orchestras to country Atkins then began to write his name large in the vocals, Atkins rarely made a misstep when it came to history books. In 1955 he had his first solo country judging, signing and producing artists: Meaningful hit, a cover version of the pop smash “Mr. Sandman.” songs, heartfelt performances and great records be­ Atkins championed a young duo from Kentucky who came commonplace at RCA. Atkins assembled and were trying to break into the business after growing produced a stunning roster, including Jim Reeves, up playing on their parents’ radio show. To anyone Don Gibson, Waylon Jennings, Skeeter Davis, Bobby who would listen, Atkins trumpeted the virtues of the Bare, the Browns, Dolly Parton, Jerry Reed, Connie Everly Brothers. Once they inked a deal, he lent his Smith and Charlie Pride. Today the studio where distinctive guitar signature to the early landmark hits Atkins made such monumental recordings - RCA’s Studio B - is a major tourist attraction on Nashville’s the private man his friends and family knew. He rec­ Music Row. Atkins pushed the label to build the stu­ ognized what he had accomplished, but his perspec­ dio, he oversaw the selection of gear, and he under­ tive was that he had been but one cog in a process that stood how to surmount the technology’s limitations happened to work out pretty well for all concerned. (referring to the tools of his trade in the mid-Fifties But in those moments when he held that guitar in his as “RCA Tinkertoys handmade in Princeton, New Jer­ hands and made it sing beautiful melodies, he was the sey”) and sculpt timeless soundscapes for his artists, man he wanted to be. in the process reviving the country market’s flagging “Years from now, after I’m gone, someone will lis­ fortunes in the wake of rock & roll’s onslaught. ten to what I’ve done and know I was here. They may To the end of his days, he maintained an impish not know or care who I was, but they’ll hear my gui­ sense of humor, a gentle demeanor and a self-effacing tars speaking for me,” he once said. posture in public. Those close to him say there was no Vaya con Dios, Chet. The music plays on, and we distance between the Chet Atkins the world saw and hear you still. *