Years from now, after I'm gone, someone will listen to what I've done and know I was here. They may not know or care who I was, but they'll hear my guitars speaking for me."
Male
85 years old
Luttrell, TENNESSEE
United States
About me:
Chet was born on June 20, 1924, in Luttrell, Tennessee, near the Clinch Mountains, and grew up with his mother and two brothers and a sister, he being the youngest. His parents divorced when he was six. He started out on the ukulele, later moving on to the fiddle, but traded his brother Lowell an old pistol and some chores for a guitar when he was nine.[1] He stated in his 1974 biography, "We were so poor and everybody around us was so poor that it was the forties before anyone even knew there had been a depression." Forced to relocate to Georgia to live with his father due to a near-fatal asthma condition, Chet was a sensitive youth who made music his obsession. Because of his illness, he would be forced to sleep in a straight-back chair in order to breath comfortably. On these nights, he would play his guitar until he fell asleep with it, a habit that lasted his whole life.[2]
Stories have been told about the very young Chet who, when a friend or relative would come to visit, and if that person played a guitar, would crowd in and put his ear so very close to the instrument that it became difficult for that person to play.[2] This was an early demonstration of his affinity for the instrument that would later become his life, and that he would take around the world, playing packed concert halls from Nashville to the Boston Pops.
Atkins became an accomplished guitarist while he was in high school.[1] He would use the restroom in the school to practice, because it gave better acoustics.[3] His first guitar had a nail for a nut and was so bowed that only the first few frets could be used.[citation needed] He later purchased a semi-acoustic electric guitar and amp, but he had to travel many miles to find an electrical outlet since his home had no electricity.[4]
Atkins did not have a strong style of his own until 1939 when (while still living in Georgia) he heard Merle Travis picking over WLW radio.[2] This early influence dramatically shaped his unique playing style. Whereas Travis's right hand utilized his index finger for the melody and thumb for bass notes, Atkins expanded his right hand style to include picking with his first three fingers, with the thumb on bass. The result was a clarity and complexity that became his unmistakable sound.
Christmas is coming soon. Are you looking for a Christmas present and would like to help handicapped children? Than please request the list of donations in kind from HelpCharity, www.MySpace.com/HelpCharity , by sending me an e-mail at Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de . Many donations in kind are autographed.
If you don't have the chance to request the list of donations in kind, please add HelpCharity to your Top Friends!
Thanks for helping me to support handicapped children!
Christian
Founder of HelpCharity Editor & Journalist for Country Music Christian Lamitschka An der Pfingstweide 28 61118 Bad Vilbel Germany Phone: ++49 (0) 6101 544613 Mobil: ++49 (0) 171 6903352 E-Mail: Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de Internet: www.MySpace.com/HelpCharity Internet: www.MySpace.com/ChristianLamitschka
Hey Friend!!!! Thanks for the Friendship Add!!! Much appreciated.
This is the site dedicated to the music me and my sons make. We have a
blast doing it. I also have a personal musician page
(myspace.com/stevenrshields) and a page for my recording studio
(myspace.com/studiosixsteve). Give us a listen. It's something we
love to do. Thanks, Steve
Hey Chet! Come take a ride on a rocket ship with Alex Hirsch to the outer reaches of the cosmos. We can take the time to look around and find out all the great and magical things about Einstein and physics and the universe!
Today I like to inform you, that you can read and watch interviews with your favorit country stars in Enlgish, German and French at http://www.CountryHome.de/Interviews .
Warm regards
Christian
Editor & Journalist for Country Music Christian Lamitschka An der Pfingstweide 28 61118 Bad Vilbel Germany Phone: ++49 6101 544613 Mobil: ++49 171 6903352 Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de Info@CountryMusic-Magazin.de www.MySpace.com/ChristianLamitschka
Online Now!
