Search - Chet Atkins :: Essential

Without blinking an eye, Atkins and his unwavering guitar move from bluegrass and country to pop, jazz, gospel, the Beatles, and the movies. Spanning nearly 40 years, these 20 cuts brilliantly display the elegant, quietly astonishing fingerpicking technique that Atkins perfected. Inspired by fingerpicking pioneer Merle Travis, Atkins developed a graceful, effortless style that often leaned toward classical guitar, and he applied it to everything from "Mr. Sandman" to "Black Mountain Rag." Atkins reaches even greater heights when spurred on by other top-flight musicians, as he is on striking duets with fiddler Johnny Gimble and guitarists Doc Watson and Jerry Reed. --Marc Greilsamer