Lyrics | Artists | Chet Atkins

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Chet Atkins

Born into a poor family in small town Lutrell, Tennessee, Chet Atkins suffered severely from asthma as a child but found solace in his first guitar he swapped with his brother for a pistol. Forced to sleep upright in a chair because of his condition, he'd play himself to sleep, clutching the bowed and broken down instrument all night and playing all day long when he woke. Inspired by Merle Travis, he developed a unique finger picking style and built his reputation as a session player for local radio stations, but kept getting fired for "not sounding country enough". Atkins earned...