Country Gentleman

Résumé du livre

Chet Atkins, one of the founders of the country music movement and the developer of the finger-pickin' style of guitar playing, was born to play music--country music. This book is his story, and with the blunt honesty and familiar modesty all his followers have come to expect of him, he lets everyone in on his life. Born in an East Tennessee follow, the son of a southern-style gospel singer, Chet was playing music, on a ukulele, guitar, or fiddle, almost before he was old enough to talk. And we learn, his life was not easy. Afflicted by a severe case of asthma and used as a foil by his divorced parents, Chet was increasingly thrown back on his own devices, on one occasion spending a year and a half in Georgia in virtual isolation. The effect all this had on the growing boy is related by Chet in detail, so that one sees the genesis and growth of what was to be recognized as his genius. First, he became a guitar virtuoso--there was not much else he could do--and he developed a painful case of shyness. Thus when he finally was old enough to go out on his own, Chet was not only much in demand as a player but also frequently fired--by one radio station after another, and by one employer (Red Foley, the Carter Sisters, Grand Ole Opry) after another. From such poor and unlikely--though also with hindsight, most promising--beginnings, Chet rose to superstardom. And in this book he discusses his life, attitudes, and goals. He describes at length the turning point in his career: his conscious dream to try to "get along" with people. And he writes fully of all those--everyone in the country music world and many outside it--with whom he came into contact. As we know, and as he relates, success came--if slowly. First, it was at the Grand Ole Opry. Then network radio fame, his first hit, "Country Gentleman." Finally, his virtual domination of the country music world through sheer talent and virtuoso playing and his management of RCA's Nashville recording activities (in this connection he has worked with Elvis Presley and Eddy Arnold, among many others). Chet Atkins is far more than "just" a country music guitar player. He is a man widely respected in his field and outside it, and from his book we learn why. A versatile song writer, he has also toured with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra and has earned widespread acclaim in non-country music circles. He has toured the world and triumphed at the Newport Jazz Festival; he has played before presidents and kings (and also has earned humanitarian awards). Chet Atkins, in short, is much more than one of the creators of the Nashville Sound, and his book, as we would expect, is much more than a simple musician's autobiography. This book is an evocation and history of an essentially American style, of life, of music, and well-earned success. --Adapted from dust jacket.