A professional musician for more than 50 years, Chet Atkins shows no signs of slowing down. He maintains a rigorous touring schedule and records with a variety of artists. Atkins won a Grammy this year in the Best Country Instrumental Performance category for his collaboration with Jerry Reed, Sneakin' Around [Sony'/Columbia]. The National Association of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS) also recognized Atkins's contributions to music by awarding him a Lifetime Achievement Grammy this year. The following interview was originally the cover story in the October 1979 issue of Guitar Player. 
Chet Atkins has done more for the guitar than anyone can say. He is the trailblazer of a thumb-and-four-finger picking approach that bears his name - "Atkins style". This approach, inspired by the thumb-and-two-finger style of Atkins's idol, Merle Travis, is used by many guitarists today. On "Chinatown, My Chinatown," cut around 1956, Atkins pioneered the use of artificial harmonics on guitar. Though Les Paul set much of the recording world rolling with his technological innovations, Atkins also developed many important breakthroughs for recording electric guitars. He was the first guitarist to record with some now-common tone modification devices, which he designed with engineers Bob Ferris and Ray Butts. For example, Atkins used reverb in 1955 on "Blue Ocean Echo," tremolo in 1956 on "Slinkey," and wah-wah in 1959 on "Boo Boo Stick Beat". He even concocted a bass octave doubler (he called it the "invisible bass man") during the '50s as well as a fuzztone before anyone else (though he never could figure out when to use that).
Many call Atkins "Mr. Guitar," a nickname inspired by one of his album titles. But Atkins is responsible for more than his contributions to the guitar. He also helped create the "Nashville sound". Atkins worked with Steve Sholes, vice-president of RCA, who signed Atkins as an artist to the RCA Victor label in 1947, on a freelance basis starting in 1951. He became Sholes's administrative successor in 1957, and managed RCA's Nashville office.
In 1968, Atkins became vice-president in charge of country music. While working for RCA, Atkins discovered, produced, and counseled dozens of successful country, rock, and pop artists including Perry Como, Charley Pride, Waylon Jennings, Eddy Arnold, Jerry Reed, Lenny Breau, Bobby Bare, Rosemary Clooney, Jessi Colter, Dottie West, Jimmy Dean, Al Hirt, Homer And Jethro, Willie Nelson, Charlie Rich, and Hank Snow.
In 1954, Atkins encouraged Sholes to sign EMs Pres-ley, who went on to become the biggest star of rock and roll. Atkins led the sessions for several Presley recordings, including "Heartbreak Hotel." He even played some rhythm guitar on those tracks. Throughout the late '50s, Atkins also played guitar on Everly Brothers hits, including "Bird Dog" and "Dream". Atkins even encouraged Paul McCartney to record "Walkin' in the Park," a song written by the ex-Beatle's father.
Atkins downplays his importance in developing the Nashville sound: "The 'Nashville sound' was a sales tag," he says. "I don't think there is such a thing. The studios in Nashville are like the studios anywhere else. If there is a Nashville sound, it's the musicians." Even so, he was the one who hired those musicians, signed many of the stars, listened to what they played, and told them what did and didn't work. To broaden country music's appeal and to surprise the public, he took country music "uptown" by adding horns and violins. He later apologized for doing this because he believed the resulting crossover sound came close to extinguishing a unique musical identity.
Atkins, the guitarist, has won many talent and popularity polls from Playboy to Guitar Player. In 1975, he became one of the first ascendants into Guitar Player's Gallery of the Greats. Atkins was a primary reason for the Gallery's creation: He kept winning Best Country Guitarist as well as Best Overall Guitarist distinctions in the magazine's Readers Poll.
The Gretsch guitar company attached Atkins's name and nicknames to at least three of its instruments - the Country Gentleman (originally the title of an early Atkins hit), the Super Chet, and the Super Axe. [Ed. Note: Atkins is currently (1993) affiliated with the Gibson guitar company.] The Country Music Hall Of Fame in Nashville has a bas-relief plaque and a display featuring Atkins memorabilia.

Chester Burton Atkins was born on a 50-acre farm outside Luttrell, Tennessee, on June 20,1924. He grew up in a family rife with luthiers and musicians. Inspired by relatives, especially his brothers Lowell and Jim, Chet started playing ukulele when he was four or five and picked up guitar shortly thereafter. He learned various pieces he heard on the family's windup gramophone and on a radio he built with his neighbors when he was 11. Inspired by George Barnes, Les Paul, Charlie Christian, Carl Farr, and the few other guitarists on record and radio during that time, Chet developed his talents, intentionally striving to not imitate his mentors.

Atkins downplays his influence in all areas but one: “Merle Travis and I taught this country to play fingerstyle guitar,” he claims, “and I want credit for that sometime,” Even so, guitarists have Atkins to thank for countless contributions to the instrument and its music.
Was music always an important part of your life?
Yes, from the beginning. My brother Jim played guitar and my dad played a little. I tried guitar, but first I was tying a string to it, dragging it through the yard, and filling it up with dirt. After my mother divorced my dad, she married a guitarist named Willie Strevel. He played guitar with a thumbpick and his fingers — he'd cut off a toothbrush handle and make a thumbpick from it. We played slide guitar a lot with a “case” knife — that's what we called a kitchen knife — but I gave that up when I was about eight years old.
Did people in your area get together often to make music?
Out in the country, people will come and stay a while. You don't invite them, they just come. There was one boy who was tone-deaf, but he could play three chords. He'd sing some mountain song in one key and play guitar in another, and we would tell Mm how great he was. He never suspected we were putting him on.
When did you first get an electric guitar and amp?
When I was 15, Eleanor Roosevelt started a thing called the NYA, the National Youth Administration, to keep kids busy in the summertime. I was part of it, and we built a gymnasium at Mountain Hill School near where I lived, in Hamilton, Georgia. I saved enough money to buy an amp. I ordered the amp from one place, a case from another, and tubes from still another, just to save a dollar or so. I put it all together and was ready to go. I ordered an Amperite pickup for my guitar from Allied. It was basically a coil of wire and a magnet that you clamped to the back of the guitar's bridge. We didn't have electricity because we lived out in the sticks. There was electricity over at the Mountain Hill School, but it was diгect current. My amp was made for AC, so I couldn't use it because it would have blown up my amp.
How did you power it, then?
My dad used to go to town on Saturdays and teach, so I would go with him. I also took my guitar and amp down to the church when my dad was the choir director there. I would plug in and play, and afterwards I would take it all back home again and wish for electricity.
When you first became interested in the guitar, was your goal to become an electric guitarist?
Not really. I played acoustic guitar. Even for quite a few years after I had an electric, I played a steel-string acoustic a lot, mainly because amplification was so crude back in those days. I used a DeArmond pickup, and the strings were not properly balanced. That pickup was the kind that attaches to the tailpiece. It was hard to amplify each string at the same volume. Because of the imbalance, it was difficult for me to play fingerstyle on an electric guitar.
Did you use the electric so people could hear you better?
Yes, but I didn't use it much to play solos when I was doing radio work. I mainly used an acoustic guitar for that. I played an electric guitar with an orchestra, and I would play single-string lines and rhythm, so it worked out well that way. Also, when I worked a lot with small combos in clubs on Friday and Saturday nights, I would use an electric to play single-line melodies and then turn it down to play rhythm. But I never played an electric on records until about '48 or '49. Around 1947, when I finally could afford pickups that allowed me to adjust the volume of each string individually, that made a great difference. I began playing the electric a lot more, and I even started playing solos on it.
Do you remember which pickup that was?
It was an old single-coil Gibson pickup with a screw under each string. I installed that on a Gibson L-7, and then later on, when I had the money, I installed another.
What advantages and disadvantages do you think the electric guitar offers you today?
You have the volume when you're in an auditorium, or when you're playing with a group of musicians. Another advantage is the amount of sustain you' re able to get with an electric. The electric also has an entirely different tone quality that you don't get with a nylon-string guitar. A major disadvantage with the electric, at least for me, is the lack of control when I'm playing solo. If I don't set the amp exactly right, it will sometimes be too loud and I will have difficulty playing. I can't stop in the middle of a tune to readjust the volume. Another disadvantage is the wear and tear on my nails. I don't play electric onstage as much because the steel strings chew up my nails. I play a lot of my solos on acoustic.
Do you feel more comfortable on an electric or an acoustic guitar?
It's weird — I feel comfortable with both, because I have played them for so many years. It takes me a few seconds onstage to get acclimated to the difference in neck width.
What do you feel are the major advantages and disadvantages of an acoustic instrument?
The lack of sustain is a definite disadvantage. If you're trying to duplicate the sound of an electric — particularly on the treble strings — a nylon-string guitar doesn't sustain enough. Also, the instrument is difficult to amplify properly. When you get into an auditorium, a lot of the soundmen think that you've got to knock people over with volume. They can turn it up too loud, and you then get feedback. I would rather have people strain a little to hear me than have a booming, loud sound that resonates and feeds back.
When did you start doing studio work?
When I went to Nashville, I started recording right off with Hank Williams and all the big companies. I was on every record that Hank made until he died — from 1950 on. The last record I made with him was "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive." He died a few days later. He'd make a cut and then fall over in his chair. One fellow would say, "He's so skinny that his ass rattles like a sack of carpenter's tools when he walks." He was into morphine and stuff. He got a shot in Knoxville, but he had already taken some morphine and didn't tell the doctor, so it killed him. I also played on all the Everly Brothers' hits. I didn't realize they had so many hits until I heard a medley on TV the other night — "Dream," "Bird Dog," and "Bye Bye Love' I quit working as a studio musician in 1957.
Why did you leave studio work?
After I started A&R [artist and repertoire] work and producing other artists, I couldn't keep doing session work. I'd try to play, then listen to the cut. I wouldn't get the balance I thought I had at all, so I'd hire Grady Martin or someone. When I first got the job as A&R man, the first hit I had was recording "Oh Lonesome Me" by Don Gibson. He wrote "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "Oh Lonesome Me" in one day.
Did you play on Don Gibson's "Sea of Heartbreak"?
Yeah, me and Hank Garland. Hank and I would play duets. We don't deserve a lot of credit for those. They're great solos, but Don was the one who came up with them. I'd ask, "What do you want us to play?" He'd hum some wild thing that we'd learn, and it would be different than anything we would think of.
Did you ever play on any Elvis Presley records?
Yes. I played on "Heartbreak Hotel" and "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You." I played rhythm and Scotty Moore played lead. Elvis came in and did some more sessions after those first ones, but I don't remember any of the tunes. I never played electric on those records.
How did you get the sounds on "Boo Boo Stick Beat"?
I created the wah-wah effect on that record by using a modified DeArmond volume pedal that I got back in the '50s. I put a tone control circuit in it instead of a volume circuit. It was actually a tone pedal, like a wah-wah.
What effect did you employ on "Blue Ocean Echo"?
That was a tape recorder called a Magnacorder. I ran the machine at 7-1/2" inches per second, and I moved the playback head over a certain distance so that it would echo at the tempo I wanted. I was messing around with it and wrote the tune specifically for that effect. I liked it a lot.
Did you use that effect on "Snowbird"?
Yes, but by the time I did "Snowbird" I had a variable oscillator that controlled the speed of the machine's capstan. I could slow it down or speed it up whenever I wanted it to change the rate of echo repeats. Every time I would play a note, it would come out of the tape machine as triplets.
What kind of tremolo did you use on "Slinkey"?
I had an engineer alter the tremolo on an old Fender amp so it would go very slow, and then I made up a little tune. Like "Blue Ocean Echo," I wrote the song to suit the effect. It was very hard to play the song, because it's difficult to stay in tempo with a mechanical device — especially when you don't hear a definite "one, two, three, four."
What other effects did you experiment with?
Around 1957, an engineer named Bob Ferris and I developed an "invisible bass man." Bob's deceased now, but he was a talented engineer. He'd take a pencil and draw a diagram for something, and I'd build it, however crudely. We used part of the pedal circuit from a Hammond organ. We added the divider and trigger, and used a filter to smooth the sound, which was basically a square wave. We experimented around with octave dividers. We had a divider on the A and E strings of a guitar; it played an octave lower, giving the effect of a bass playing along with you. Now there are lots of octave dividers on the market.
You must have experimented with electronics a lot.
Yes, I have. Too much. I got my ham license. I studied a long time to learn the code, the theory, and everything. I'm glad I did it, but it took a lot of time away from the guitar. I always resent anything that takes me away from my guitar. If I'm down in my studio working on my console too long, I think, "Boy. I should be practicing." I've built myself a coil winder and was going to wind my own pickups, but I've never gotten around to it, although I used to rewind low-impedance pickups. I made quite a few albums with those, too.
Do you still record with them?
I still have those old low-impedance jobs at home, but I haven't used them in years. That was back in the '50s when I did that. Those pickups are a lot easier to make. You can put a few turns of wire on the bobbin and run it through a transformer — low-impedance to high — and you've got a pickup. I wired the switches myself. It drove me nuts. I had it wired up so there were 2 outputs on the guitar, and I could switch any of the strings to the two different outputs. Any engineer can do that, but it was tough for old Chet because I'm not an electronic genius.
Do you have any other effects that you use infrequently but keep anyway?
I have wah-wah pedals, such as a Cry Baby. I also have things that I've bought over the years that create fuzz and tremolo and other effects — I don't remember the names.
Do you primarily use these effects in the studio?
Yes. Actually, I seldom use them. I guess I'm gradually becoming more of a purist. I just want a pretty, natural sound. I don't want to clutter up recordings with a lot of effects, except perhaps in the background.
When did you start using right-hand artificial harmonics?
I first used them on a song called "Chinatown, My Chinatown." For years I had worked with steel guitar players who used harmonics. That's part of steel guitar playing. I worked with a steel player in Knoxville named Tommy Covey. He played a harmonic and a pure tone at the same time. I tried to do that, and then one day I accidentally played those things separately. I thought, "My, my, what have I discovered here?" I developed it enough so that I could play a harmonic with my thumb and first finger of my right hand and then pluck a pure tone with my third finger on another string. Eventually, I could pull off the pure tone and then slur it. I could play arpeggios, too. Lenny Breau and Ted Greene developed it to such a high degree. But I'm proud of that innovation. It's different, and I think it creates a beautiful sound.
How would you play a chord like that?
Let's say we've got a D9 chord. The tones from that chord are [ascending from the 6th string, fret5] A,D,F#,C, E and A With the third finger of your right hand, pluck F#. Then play the harmonic A [sixth string] with your thumb and first finger. Next, play a pure-tone С with your third finger, followed by a D harmonic played with your thumb and first finger. On the second string, pluck E with your 3rd finger. Finally, play an F% harmonic with your thumb and first finger. You can do this by barring anywhere on the guitar. It makes a nice arpeggio.
How do you get your vibrato?
In various ways — by pressing down harder and then releasing, or pushing side-v
Which finger do you use most often to bend with?
I push mostly with the third finger, but I rehearse pushing with all of them. I practice vibrato with all my left-hand fingers. Most guitarists tend to play vibrato with their third finger.
Do you ever use your thumbpick like a flatpickfor soloing, or do you actually use aflatpickfor single-line solos?
The only time I use the thumbpick to play single-line solos is when they are slow. For fast notes, I use my thumb and a finger, and if it's very fast, I use my thumb and two fingers. The only time I ever used a flatpick was with an orchestra, where I had to play rhythm a lot. I didn't use a flatpick at first, but anytime I wasn't playing a solo, I was playing rhythm, which tended to wear the nail off of my index finger.
How do you approach a solo?
First I learn the melody, and then I learn the chords from sheet music or from a record. I try to use substitution chords here and there that will make the tune a little more interesting. For instance, in place of an Fm 1 might use an Ab6/9, or in place of a C7I sometimes use a Gdim going to F.
How many guitars do you own?
All together, I've had about 100 in my entire career. I'm ashamed to count, but I think I have about 25 right now.
Do you keep them around because they're collector's items?
I have a big house and I have a room for the guitars, so I keep them. Gene MacLel-lan, who wrote "Snowbird," gave me an 1845 Martin that I'm very fond of. A lady in a clothing store gave me a guitar with no name on it that I keep around. They're not good to play, but they're collector's guitars. I have a Martin that's about 50 years old that I will hold on to. Most of my guitars are like that. I also have a Gretsch Country Gentleman 12-string that was shown on the cover of Chet Atkins Picks on the Beatles. I also have four great classical guitars that I play from time to time. Then I have various electrics, Martins, and a Gibson L-10 that I used years ago. Les Paul built it. The fingerboard goes up to a high F. My brother Jim traded something with Les for it and gave it to me around 1942.
How long did you play the L-10?
I played it until I got a D'Angelico in the late '40s. I got that beautiful guitar and sawed a hole into it to put in pickups, tone controls, and capacitors to get the right tone. I later removed them, right before John D'Angelico died, and he put a new top on it. Then I got my first Gretsch Country Gentleman in the early '50s. I also have three Del Vecchio resonator guitars from Brazil.
Have you ever used those on record?
Oh yes, I've used them a lot. I used a Del Vecchio on "Josephine," "Hawaiian Wedding Song," and a lot of other cuts.
Did you ever use other electrics besides Gretsch guitars on any of your records?
I used a Gibson L-7 electric on "I've Been Working on the Guitar," which was like "I've Been Working on the Railroad." Then I used the D'Angelico electric on "Country Gentleman." I played that until I went to Gretsch in the middle or early '50s. Everything since then I've played on a Gretsch. I can't be dishonest and use another brand guitar when all those fans think I'm playing a Gretsch. [Ed. Note: Atkins currently (1993) endorses Gibson guitars.]
Are there any modifications on your Gretsch Country Gentleman?
I had some high frets put on. The higher frets make the guitar sustain better. Pull-offs sound more attractive and are easier to do.
Is your Country Gentleman the first one that was made?
No. It's an old single-cutaway that was made in '64. It's not a prototype or anything like that—just one that Gretsch sent me. I have since fixed it up the way I wanted it. The nut was broken by the airlines. It's been changed a couple of times; it's always bone. The tailpiece is a Bigsby that was built for me many years ago, with a special handle that no one else has. It's stationary — it doesn't slip. When Paul Bigsby was still alive, I told him to build it so that I could fit a quarter-inch steel rod into it and bend it the way I wanted. He built the tailpiece, and I took a steel rod that I bought at a hardware store and bent it down where it goes by the bridge, so that I could play pizzicato notes. I bent it back up a bit so it's right under my hand. Then I took a short half-inch steel bar and bored a hole into it. I stuck it onto the end of the quarter-inch bar and filed it smooth. I had it chrome-plated. I had a couple of those made later and I've used them since about 1960.
Did you ever have vibrato tailpieces on earlier electrics?
Back in the early '40s, I used a Rickenbacker that had that same type of handle on it, although it was made of lighter gauge metal. I had it in a certain position that I got used to over the years, so when I went to use a Bigsby, I couldn't play with the handle he had at all. I had to mute the strings with my right hand, and there was no way to do that with his handle because it extended up too high. I couldn't get my hand down on the strings to mute from the bridge. With my vibrato bar, I can place my hand on the treble strings and mute them.
Can you put up on the vibrato arm as well as push down?
Yes. Even back when I was using the Rickenbacker, I always fixed my bridges so that they would rock back and forth. If the bridge rocks back and forth, the guitar won't go out of tune. But if the strings slide over a stationary bridge, then they won't slide back the way they should.
Is this standard on all Country Gentleman guitars, or just yours?
Just mine. The one that Gretsch sells looks like mine, but it's not. Their handle swivels. You can push it out of the way, and that's what most guitarists prefer. The one I play would get in the way of most players.
Do you always use the Country Gentleman onstage and in the studio?
For a year or so I used a Gretsch Super Axe. I had a similar tremolo gadget on it. Because of the short scale [24-1/2"], I had problems playing solos on it. I find that it's harder to keep a short-scale guitar in tune, and when you get up to the higher frets it's more difficult to form chords if you have big fingers. The old Country Gentleman that I have has the longer scale — 25-1/2", I believe. There's more room when you get up to the high frets.
Do you classify yourself as a country artist?
Yeah, I guess so. I don't like to play for country audiences. I don't like to work the Grand Ole Opry. I never did, though I worked it for years. All the time you're playing, there are kids running up and down the aisles, or someone is hawking songbooks and popcorn out in the aisles, and everybody's standing behind you talking about going fishing next week. It's a very difficult show to work. But the country fans are more devoted. They stick with you. You can have one hit and play for the rest of your life. It comes down to survival, and you survive more with those country folks.
Many country singers don't play guitar anymore; they just hold microphones.
They probably think it looks more professional to hold the mike. You can gesture more if you're not holding a guitar. It's probably just showmanship. All country acts want a pop hit — they want a crossover hit. They'll do anything to get it. They'll make a slightly pop record and try to keep their country audience. We've all done that, because you triple your sales if you get a crossover hit. Country music is in a pretty bad state right now [1979] because of that. But fortunately there are some successful records coming along that are pure country. I'd hate to see country music die — where you turn on the radio and you can't tell if it's a pop record or a country record — and it's that way now. It's gotten so it depends on geography — where you're from — instead of whether you're country or not.
Would you say that country music is more electric than acoustic now?
Yes.
Do you think that you influenced the shift to electric guitar in country music?
I was accused of, and I've apologized for, moving country music too far uptown. But I did very little, compared to what has been done since I almost quit producing. When you're making records, you're trying to keep your job and make money for the company you work for. You're compelled to try new things because you're trying to sell a record. The public wants to be surprised. You get into a slot where you move in a certain direction, and if the public buys that, then you give them more of it. Because of this, the music moves in certain directions. So, for the past 20 years country music has moved more and more uptown. There are a lot of reasons for that — country people have moved to town, they have become acquainted with pop music, and so on. People's tastes have changed.
Do you feel that it is a natural change, and not necessarily a commercial one?
I think it's natural, and it's determined by the disc jockeys, the record-buying public, and the musicians. Also, there are social reasons. Back when I first got into the business, there was a lot of bigotry and prejudice towards country music. Middle-class people were afraid to say they liked it because people would look down on them. They thought they were supposed to like folk music and jazz; they wouldn't admit they liked country. But country music in the past few years has become respected. Country songs have become more palatable to city audiences. It's socially acceptable now to like country music.