Chet: King Picker and Pioneer of the Nashville Sound

 Chet: King Picker and Pioneer of the Nashville Sound by Mark Ribowsky, 352 pgs. © 2026

    

Oh by jingo, this is the second! book about Chet Atkins that was published in the last year. It makes youwonder what's pushing the renewed interest--is there a viral Tik-Tok out there using Mr. Sandman in the background? Nonetheless, if you're a guitar geek or a country music afficionado, there's much to learn from this offering by Ribowsky, who published a spirited, researched bio on the legendary Hank Williams about a decade ago. 

    This book is the origin story of the original guitar hero--born in a holler in rural Tennessee, life was "Steinbeck-ian," living in a one-room country shack with a few siblings. He developed asthma early on (which kept him from entering the army during the draft), but fell in love with the guitar his older brother brought home--a beat-up Silvertone (interestingly, his older brother also had a fine career as a guitar player, performing with the Les Paul Trio for many years). He wanted the guitar so bad that all of his brother's chores in exchange for playing it, which he did until his fingers bled. He would sit at the radio and listen to broadcasts, trying to figure out what guitarists were doing in their playing. 

    His love for the music of Merle Travis influenced his unique thumb-picking style, which incorporated his other fingers to play the higher notes of a melody, something no one else was really doing at the time. He became known for lighting fast guitar licks and attention to detail. Fast-forward to his 20s and he's finally broken through in Nashville with RCA records and has become a highly-sought out producer, working with Elvis, Perry Como, Patsy Cline and countless more. His dedication to developing a "Nashville Sound" helped make Nashville the music capital is widely known as today. He was still working out licks on his guitar well into his 70s, right up until he passed away in 2001.