Chet Atkins: Certified Guitar Player Made possible by the Gretsch Company with additional support from Great American Country Television Network.
August 12, 2011 - July 15, 2012
The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will pay tribute to one of country music's most versatile and visionary artists, Chet Atkins, with Chet Atkins: Certified Guitar Player, a biographical exhibit opening Friday, August 12, 2011, for a 10-month run in the Museum's East Gallery. The exhibition, which is made possible through the generous support of the Gretsch Company with additional support provided by Great American Country Television Network, will run through June 11, 2012.
"Chet Atkins was country music's ultimate Renaissance man, one of the greatest instrumentalists in American music history and a true musical savant," said Museum Director Kyle Young. "His signature guitar licks shaped recordings by scores of legendary artists, including the Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley and Kitty Wells, and his playing influenced future rock gods Duane Eddy, George Harrison, Mark Knopfler and many more. As a producer, Chet was an architect of the 'Nashville Sound'; he was also a brilliant record executive who signed and propelled a generation of country artists - including Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton and Charley Pride - to fame. Chet's guiding hand shaped much of the bedrock of country music, and we're honored to tell his story, one we know will resonate with country fans old and new.
For an in-depth look at this exhibit click here.
