First Time I Heard Chet

[bill_h]

Well said Mitch. This world needed Chet Atkins for sure ( and still needs him! )

[John Knowles]

I bought "Fingerstyle Guitar" based on the picture of that red Gretsch and the liner notes. I got the album home and learned that our record player wouldn't play 33 1/3 LPs. I took it to a neighbor's house and played it over and over. The next day, I bought a turntable for my new LP. I went back to the record store and bought all the Chet LPs they had... "String Along With Chet Atkins" and "A Session With Chet Atkins." I had found my guitar hero.

John

[Billy Anderson]

In the early '50s, a local radio station would have 15 minute segments featuring one kind of music per segment. The 4:15 P.M. segment featured country music, and one day, we were out for a family drive when the theme song for that segment came on. I was in the back seat, but almost tore up the front seats trying to get over them to get closer to the radio to hear what I thought were three or four guitarists playing what I found out later was "Country Gentleman." Just like most of you, I was astonished to find out it was just one Guitar God named Chet Atkins. My aunt bought me my first two albums (I think the names were Mr. Guitar and Fingerstyle Guitar-I'm 70 so the memory is not what it used to be.) To steal from Mac Davis, I was hooked on Chet from that moment on. I now have an NC, a '72 Super Chet, a mid-sixties CA Country Gentleman amp (Valco), around 50 LP's, 45's and a 78 or two, Chet's original method book in which Country Gentleman is shown in the key of F, one of Chet's "giveaway thumb picks"" which he graciously traded to me for an Ernie Ball thumb pick at a concert in Memphis in the '80's, and some other items, which will end up with my wife and/or son when I hopefully go to the picking party in the sky. Some Chet fan will probably pick up some bargains (except for the NC and the pick which are going with me) at a yard sale since neither my wife nor son care one thing about my so-called collection. Sorry to ramble but please forgive an old man his memories of the (IMHO) greatest guitarist who ever graced this earth.

[JeffS]

I was 9 years old in 1970, and just starting to take guitar lessons. My teacher was teaching me a simple version of El Paso, and my mom heard Chet's version of it on the radio. She called the radio station to find out who it was playing and what album it was on - the album was Chet Atkins Picks the Best. She bought me that album, and the first song I heard was Battle Hymn of the Republic. I've never been the same - I've now been listening to Chet for 41 years, and still feel the same way I did as a 9 year old boy hearing him for the first time. Songs like Swedish Rhapsody, China Town, etc. never grow old.

Jeff Stovall

[Art Sims]

Haven't posted here in quite a while, nor ever very much. Noticed this thread and enjoy the comments.

First heard Chet about 50 years ago at age 17. Browsing record albums at a department store, "Fingerstyle Guitar" by Chet Atkins looked interesting. Bought it and heard him for the first time. The cover said he was doing the guitar parts by himself. I was amazed, "If I could just learn his melody parts, that would really advance me." Interest in multiple parts took hold too and got me started on fingerstyle efforts. Couldn't get it for a long time, played with a flatpick, uncomfortable with a thumbpick, stumbled lots of years.

At some point, don't recall exactly when, a video of Chet displayed him using a pick on bass notes and fingers for rhythm strokes in the middle strings. When I saw that I liked it a lot, better actually than the muffled thumb, mainly because the muffled thumb worked for me only on a few of the songs I played. I try to utilize it some but seeing variety in Chet's playing generates other ideas to work on too. What a wealth of material existing recordings of his playing provide!

Never met Chet, heard him in person once, big crowd, didn't get to meet him. Sure have admired him as a fan though. Still greatly admire his playing abilities in every video clip and every tune I hear. Appreciate other guitarists too who work at continuing Chet's playing ideas.

[Greg Butler]

Mom & Dad purchased a small cabinet stereo and purchased a few record albums to play on it. One was "Chet Atkins and His Guitar." Song number one was "The Bells of St. Mary's." I was hooked...

[davidbrewer]

It was the Christmas of 1966. I was in the 8th grade and listening to the Ventures and rock and roll. I played lead guitar in a little band. My aunt gave me Chet's "My Favorite Guitars" album. I fell in love immediately. All I wanted to do was get a Gretsch country gentleman and learn to play like Chet. I didn't know he used a thumb pick, so I used a flat pick, middle and index fingers. I quit the band (I wasn't very wild anyway) and just listened to Chet. I was able to pick out Yesterday except for the harmonics and some of Chet's easier stuff. I finally learned about a thumb pick when I was a senior in high school. When Chet Goes to the Movies book came out I got it and started learning the songs. My Favorite Guitars album is still my favorite album. I still have it and have listened to it thousands of times(now on cd). I never grow tired of listening to Chet. There will never be another Chet.

[guitarchuck]

I guess I'll add my story here too. I think it was when I was 12 years old in 1976 we had a revival at our church. The preachers brother-in-law came with a Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120. I had never seen or heard anyone play like that in my life! The guitar player was Travis Martin. I wanted to learn to play the guitar like that! Mom & Dad bought me a Harmony flat top for my 13th birthday. ( I had an old cheapie electric that didn't work before that.) In the mean time I discovered and bought the album "Christmas with Chet Atkins" at Safeway grocery store. I was hooked! after that I was constantly on the lookout for Chet Atkins albums. I got to see him in concert for the first time when he came to Tulsa on January 26, 1979. I remember being somewhat disappointed because Chet played a Gretsch Super Axe that night. I had bought a new double cutaway Country Gentleman in 1977 because I thought that's what Chet played. Years later I found out that he played his 59 single cutaway Country Gentleman more than any other. I got to see Chet one other time in Tulsa, 2 concerts at Silver Dollar City in Branson and several times at CAAS. The years at CAAS were great because you could talk to Chet some, get his autograph and photo with him. I always enjoyed the Saturday night concert that did there.

[albertgen]

I remember in the early 60's the Gretsch guitars, I wanted one really bad. I could have gotten a single cut CG pretty cheap, but I remember that most of the kids and adults liked all the switches and knobs and things on a guitar. Gretsch had all kinds of things to play with on their guitars. That was a big thing then. Al