Post by cw on Apr 10, 2009 15:51:47 GMT 1
I am on the record as being no particular fan of Country Music per se yet I regard this man; one of the towering figures in country music; as one of my musical idols both as a musician and for his impacts on the industry as a whole.
Quite simply, he was one of the greatest guitarists the world has ever heard both acoustic and on electric. From his background in rural Tennessee, his background was in country music yet he came to resent being classified as a country guitarist stating that "I am a guitarist, period".
His discography and repetoire covered an enormous range from his country roots through jazz, mainstream pop, Spanish guitar and into classical.
Here are a couple of examples.
One of his early instrumental hitsfrom 1954, Mr Sandman
www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-c66SJPuUI
A mid 70's live performances of Yakety, his famous guitar version of Yakety Sax - a tune that became famous as the "chase music" for the British comedian Benny Hill.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndiMnwz5XjA
The last is very late Chet (from the 90's) when he was into his 70's yet his skills were still clearly evident with this acoustic version of Don Maclean's Vincent
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTefr33lrMQ&feature=related
His impacts on country music were very profound in his other role; that of record producer. From the late 1950's, he branched into production and from 58 through to the early 70's, he headed RCA's Nashville division. He sought to move away from the hillbilly/honky-tonk sound to a smoother sound which became known as the Nashville Sound. The vocals became smoother and strings replaced the fiddles/steel guitars. This resulted in a number of country artists having cross-over success on the mainstream charts with further later developments being the country crossovers of the 70's, country-pop/rock.
During this time as a producer, he was also well known as a mentor for many young musicians esp guitarists which continued for the rest of his life. The likes of Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) and Australian Tommy Emmanuel idolised him and went and recorded duet albums with him. He also helped break down the "colour bar" in country music by encouraging and giving openings for black artists.
Quite simply, he was one of the greatest guitarists the world has ever heard both acoustic and on electric. From his background in rural Tennessee, his background was in country music yet he came to resent being classified as a country guitarist stating that "I am a guitarist, period".
His discography and repetoire covered an enormous range from his country roots through jazz, mainstream pop, Spanish guitar and into classical.
Here are a couple of examples.
One of his early instrumental hitsfrom 1954, Mr Sandman
www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-c66SJPuUI
A mid 70's live performances of Yakety, his famous guitar version of Yakety Sax - a tune that became famous as the "chase music" for the British comedian Benny Hill.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndiMnwz5XjA
The last is very late Chet (from the 90's) when he was into his 70's yet his skills were still clearly evident with this acoustic version of Don Maclean's Vincent
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTefr33lrMQ&feature=related
His impacts on country music were very profound in his other role; that of record producer. From the late 1950's, he branched into production and from 58 through to the early 70's, he headed RCA's Nashville division. He sought to move away from the hillbilly/honky-tonk sound to a smoother sound which became known as the Nashville Sound. The vocals became smoother and strings replaced the fiddles/steel guitars. This resulted in a number of country artists having cross-over success on the mainstream charts with further later developments being the country crossovers of the 70's, country-pop/rock.
During this time as a producer, he was also well known as a mentor for many young musicians esp guitarists which continued for the rest of his life. The likes of Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) and Australian Tommy Emmanuel idolised him and went and recorded duet albums with him. He also helped break down the "colour bar" in country music by encouraging and giving openings for black artists.
He's great! Those are some amazing peformances. I really enjoyed his cover of the Don McLean song.