Steve Sholes took over pop production in 1957, as Elvis' career took off, so he put Atkins in charge of RCA's Nashville division. He wrote songs and was a session musician, too. He recorded his own music, assisted recording executive Steve Sholes as a session leader, manged RCA Victor's Nashville Studio (eventually seeing the completion of RCA Studio B, where many artists, including Elvis, recorded their hits), and became a design consultant for Gretsch, a guitar manufacturer. He soon began his music career, and it was slow going for a few years until he was signed by RCA Victor in 1947.Ītkins wore many hats during his career. Travis' style was called 'Travis Picking,' and Atkins was inspired. He began to develop his own style in 1939 after hearing musician Merle Travis on the radio. Some of Chet Atkins' biggest solo hits include 'Yakety Axe,' 'Mr. He practiced and practiced, and by the time he was in high school, he was an accomplished guitar player. He later moved on to the fiddle and then the guitar - which quickly became his favorite instrument. He loved music from a young age and started playing the ukulele as a child. Guitar or The Country Gentleman.Ĭhet Atkins was born in Luttrell, Tennessee, in 1924.

This week, we're getting to know musician, producer and songwriter Chet Atkins, better known as Mr. Here on the Graceland Blog, we've covered several of the incredible talents who worked with Elvis, including Floyd Cramer, Blue Moon Boys, Sam Phillips, and The Jordanaires. All of these talents combined to bring some of the most influential and groundbreaking music to the ears of music fans around the world.

He worked with some of the best musicians, singers, songwriters, producers and engineers in the business. The King of Rock 'n' Roll never made music by himself.

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