Chet Atkins Biography

The 350 pages biography "Chet Atkins The Life, Legend, and Legacy of a Musical Giant" was written by Rusty Russel and Mark Knopfler and will come out December 2002.

This portrait reveals the late Chet Atkins’s impact on popular music, tracing his path from rural isolation to international fame. Embracing country, rock and roll, and jazz, Atkins recorded nearly 120 solo releases and hundreds more as a sideman. As manager of RCA Nashville, he helped make that city a music hub. As producer and A&R executive, Atkins nurtured rock and roll through Elvis Presley, created the Nashville Sound, and helped shape modern country music when he signed Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Alongside Atkins’s captivating story, this biography includes photos and describes his recordings, guitars — including the famous Gretsch and Gibson models he helped design — and unmistakable playing style. This definitive biography of the vastly influential, beloved musician known as "Mister Guitar" covers all facets of Atkins’s 60-year career.