Chet Atkins Book

If you read anything at all about Nashville in the 20th century, you most likely will come across some mention of Chet Atkins. In the past few years, I've read his name over and over in stories about Elvis, Waylon, Johnny Cash, Barbara Mandrell. But none of the stories were about Chet. He was just there, making brief cameos in other peoples' stories.

"We had been recording for nine straight hours when Chet Atkins suggested this..."

Or

"No one knew where to find Jerry Reed, so Chet Atkins drove down to the river and hollered until Jerry heard him and came in from fishing."

After piecing together a picture of Atkins from all these anecdotes, I decided to find a biography that would tell me more about him. Turns out, this autobiography isn't much about the "Me" in the as it is about "My Guitars."

Even in this autobiography, Chet is a side figure, allowing the instruments he played over the years to take center stage, with plenty of details about "pick-ups" and "nylon strings" and other bits of gear that have no meaning to a non-guitar player like me. Those details aren't that important, though, since the focus is always on the music these instruments are able to create. Because of his attention to the detail of the instruments, you get a sense of how hard he must have worked to get the right sound and to make the most complex technique seem effortless.

There are some good stories. His ice road adventure with the Carter family is reason enough to read the book. But there are also references to a personal journey that I would have liked to have learned more about. Particularly, I'd like to know more about his transition from musician to producer, and why it is that he thinks Jerry Reed saved his career.