I was eight years old when I met Chet back in 1956. He was doing a
package show in northwest Indiana which was attended by Ike Everly who
was working in the local steel mills. After Johnny Cash did an Elvis
impersonation, Chet took the stage. He gave credit to Ike and asked him
to stand and be identified. After the show I went backstage with my dad
and a young man from Jellico, Tennessee who had introduced us to Chet's
music. His guitar still hung from a strap around his neck and coiled up
in his right hand was the guitar cord. During the brief conversation with
the adults, Chet dropped the cord. Without thinking I bent over and
picked it up for him. Chet gave me an appreciative look and offered me a
handshake. On the way home my dad said, "Don't ever wash your hands.
Maybe some of that good picking rubbed off on you." I am 51 years old and
I've met Chet many times since 1956. But the most memorable meeting is
the first, when an unassuming, shy man of 32 years, offered a handshake
that ignited a lifelong passion in an 8 year old boy.
- Tony Rose
The FULL LIST of "When I Met Chet" stories
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