Chester Burton Atkins, also known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music style which expanded its appeal to adult pop music fans. He was primarily a guitarist, but he also played the mandolin, fiddle, banjo, and ukulele, and occasionally sang.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1954.
Elvis' Gold Records Volume 4 is a greatest hits album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley, issued by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3921, in January 1968, with recording sessions taking place over an eight-year span at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, and at RCA Studios and Radio Recorders in Hollywood. It is a compilation of hit singles released between 1961 and 1967, peaking at number 33 on the Billboard 200. It was certified Gold on March 27, 1992, by the Recording Industry Association of America.
From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential '60s Masters is a five-disc box set compilation of studio master recordings by American singer and musician Elvis Presley during the decade of the 1960s; it was released in 1993 on RCA Records, catalogue number 66160-2. In its initial long-box release, it included a set of collectable stamps duplicating the record jackets of every Presley LP on RCA Victor, and those of the singles pertinent to this box set. The set also includes a booklet with an extensive session list and discography, as well as a lengthy essay by Peter Guralnick. It was certified Gold by the RIAA on November 30, 1993, and Platinum on January 6, 2004. This set followed an exhaustive box set of Presley's 1950s output and was followed by a more selective box set of his work in the 1970s.
A Session with Chet Atkins is the third studio album recorded by American guitarist Chet Atkins. It features Atkins introducing standard pop and jazz melded with country sensibilities. The liner notes state this is the first use of a celeste on a country record. The musicians include Homer and Jethro in the rhythm section. Atkins uses his new EchoSonic amplifier for the first time on his recordings.
Chet Atkins' Gallopin' Guitar is the first studio album released by American guitarist Chet Atkins on the RCA Victor label. It was available as a 10-inch vinyl record.
Stringin' Along with Chet Atkins is the fourth studio album recorded by American guitarist Chet Atkins released in 1955. It was a 12-inch re-release of the 1953 10-inch vinyl record of the same name with additional and omitted tracks.
Down Home is the nineteenth studio album by American guitarist Chet Atkins.
Pickin' My Way is the forty-first studio album by guitarist Chet Atkins. It reached number 13 on the Billboard Country charts. The liner notes are by Johnny Cash.
The Atkins–Travis Traveling Show is the title of a recording by guitarists Chet Atkins and Merle Travis, released by RCA Records in 1974. The two musical legends team up on 11 songs, earning the 1974 Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance. Rehearsed in Nashville, this album was recorded in California.
Chet, Floyd & Boots is a studio album by American guitarist Chet Atkins, pianist Floyd Cramer and saxophone player Boots Randolph. Boots had a novelty hit with Yakety Sax which Chet covered, playing the saxophone lead on guitar, as Yakety Axe - which also became a hit. Cramer was a regular session musician at the Nashville studios, playing with a multitude of artists including Elvis Presley and Brenda Lee, helping to define the "Nashville Sound" that Atkins had also helped develop. The trio briefly toured together.
Jazz From the Hills is an album by American guitarist Chet Atkins and The Country All-Stars. It is a reissue of sessions from 1952–1956.
Guitar Legend: The RCA Years is a two-disc compilation recording by American guitarist Chet Atkins. The 50 tracks included here focus on his first recordings in 1947 to the 1977 release Nashville Guitar Quartet.
The Essential Chet Atkins is a two-disc compilation recording by American guitarist Chet Atkins, released in 2007 on the Legacy label.
Galloping Guitar: The Early Years is a multi-disc box-set retrospective recording by American guitarist Chet Atkins, released in 1993 on the Bear Family label.
Reflections is a recording by American guitarists Chet Atkins and Doc Watson. The two musical legends team up on ten songs.
Eclectic Guitar is a compilation recording by American guitarist Chet Atkins, released in 2007 on the El label.
Boy Wonder is a studio album by jazz guitarist Lenny Breau that was recorded in 1956 and released in 1998. The session was engineered and produced by Al Hawkes of Event Records.
Charline Arthur was an American singer of boogie-woogie, blues, and early rockabilly. In 1950, Arthur began work as a singer and a disc jockey at the Texas radio station KERB. She left three years later after the impresario Colonel Tom Parker discovered her, signing her with RCA Records. She was a regular performer on the Big D Jamboree radio program throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Arthur also performed and toured with Elvis Presley and others, but in 1956 RCA dropped her from the label and her career declined. Described as a "flash in the pan" and a "woman before her time", Arthur was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and has, since the 1980s, found favor with critics who praise her vocal style, her stage presence, and her influence on artists such as Elvis Presley and Patsy Cline.
Hank Snow's Souvenirs is a compilation album by country music singer Hank Snow. It was released in 1961 by RCA Victor. It was produced by Chet Atkins.
