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...