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Chet Atkins names the 10 most influential guitarists


onewilyfool

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Note that I am NOT on the list:

 

Chet names the century's most influential guitarists

 

 

Friday December 17, 1999

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

 

Chet was asked to name the 10 most influential guitarists of this century. Here is his list, which he amended Jan 8th, 2000 to include an eleventh guitarist:

 

Django Reinhardt (Chet said he would be number one on the list)

 

others in no particular order:

Charlie Christian

Eddie Lang

Merle Travis

Chet Atkins

Augustin Barrios

Les Paul

Wes Montgomery

Lenny Breau

Johnny Smith

Jimi Hendrix

 

 

I would have had to add Robert Johnson if that were my list....

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Hey, wait a minute! Where's my name on this list?...........Oh, okay. I forgot. I'm on the other list---"The One Trillion Gazillion Most Influential Guitarists of The Century." Yeah, I knew I was on someone's list.

 

I guess Chet knew what he was talking about. Not too bad of a picker.

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Chet really was too cool, wasn't he?... Amazing every time, and even when you thought you knew what you were gonna see, he was always a surprising treat. Thanks for the video!

 

And thank you again, Mr. Atkins, for reminding us one more time what it is to really finger-pick a guitar. Well, now I just HAVE to restring my White Falcon.... and I mean today!!!

 

Thanks a lot,

Jack6849

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Well' date=' now I just HAVE to restring my White Falcon...[/quote']

 

 

You have a White Falcon?!!!!! That is one guitar I've ALWAYS lusted after!!! [biggrin] I'm so envious! Without a doubt, the best looking hollow-body electric of all time!!!

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I do have one, and I love it. I'm probably a bit unusual in that I wanted the Model G6136DS because I don't care for a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece and I prefer the DynaSonic single-coil pickups over Filtertron Humbuckers.

 

So mine is the circa 1955 version with a single-cutaway and the Cadillac tailpiece. It's the second one I've owned. Years ago, I played in a 50s & 60s band that did a lot of Hot Rod Car Club shows and retro Record Hops. The White Falcon was plenty flashy enough for those, plus it stayed completely in tune, and it sounded great through my Victoria 310 "Bandmaster". (It also attracted a lot of attention from the car crowds...) My early influences included Chet and Merle Travis, so the Gretsch sound was a perfect fit for my fingerstyle playing. Both White Falcons had great necks. If you like Gretsch guitars, nothing feels just like one. The gold sparkle trim on the current ones is a bit "over the top gawdy", but it looks surprisingly cool under stage lighting.

 

My Gretsch White Falcon is completely different from my Gibsons, but it does occupy a cool spot in my collection, and on the stage. It is a very distinctive guitar in both sound and appearance. Thanks for asking....

 

 

Jack6849

 

I'll have to work on getting a picture taken and posted. I'm playing tonight so it'll probably be a couple of days. Thanks again for the interest.

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If you like Gretsch guitars' date=' nothing feels just like one.[/quote']

 

Amen, brother! I love me some Gretsch guitars as well! Here's a 61200 Setzer model I converted to a Gibson-style hardtail. Went in through the bridge pickup hole to install a maple block to support the tail piece studs. You are correct: nothing feels quite like a Gretsch neck, nor sounds like the Filtertron pickups.

 

6120hardtail.jpg

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Tommy Emmanuel from England is up their close to the Top Ten [cool] I would Think!

 

I saw one interview where Chet said that Tommy was the best guitarist he'd ever seen. And he had seen a lot. But this list is only the most influential......each one of these guys changed the way guitar was played because of what they did.

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Here's a shot of my White Falcon. In the time since I became a member, I've posted three photos on this Forum, and each one has been embarrassingly bad. Sorry...

 

Anyway, this guitar is a single-cutaway "1955-style" Model G6136DS with Gretsch's Cadillac (non-bigsby) tailpiece and a pair of single-coil DynaSonic pickups. It is "flashy in the extreme"... but a real rocker ("Gawdy, gawdy, gawdy, Miss Clawdy") and I love it.

 

I've replaced the stock "Melita" bridge with a real Gibson ABR so I can mute notes with my right palm. I find the "Melita" design makes that technique virtually impossible.

 

Buc is exactly right. It's in the neck profile that Gretsch really found its unique place in the world of guitars. Their pickups, both the DeArmond-type single-coils and the later Filtertrons contributed greatly to the Gretsch sound. Add some flashy styling and a vibrato tailpiece (if you like them...) and you are there.

 

Chet Atkins really wanted a neck that was accessible and wide enough to get into, for finger-picking. This is it. Thanks for the interest, wish I was a better photographer.

 

gibsonforumwhitefalcon3.jpg

 

Jack6849

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Chet was a class act. I had the chance to sit and chit-chat with him on a couple of occasions over the years. He was a really intelligent guy too. What he did from behind a desk here in Nashville had almost as much inpact as what he did behind a guitar.

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Far be it from me to dispute Chet Atkins. But:

 

The trouble with Top 10 lists is that it's an arbitrary number. Why 10? There may be 9 or 6 or 17 or 1,432 pickers whose influence is more or less equally widespread. It does seem to me that Chet's list is a little heavy on the jazz guys, and I'd have to agree that Robert Johnson belongs in there someplace.

 

And what about Maybelle Carter? She wasn't exactly a technical whiz like those on the list, but she pretty much single-handedly brought the guitar out of the rhythm section. Hillbillies need a little love, too.

 

I'd give a vote to Davey Graham as well, for simple virtuosity and for the impact he had on those who came after. British Invasion, anyone?

 

And I don't see how you can have any kind of list of great guitar players without Doc Watson.

 

Finally, what about the alt.tuning pioneers? The likes of John Fahey and Joni Mitchell at least deserve consideration.

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There are many great guitarists. Even Tommy Emmanuel said there are hundreds of guys better than him (although he didn't mention any) But this list is guitarist who were "most influential" After these guys played, the whole genre of playing changed. Maybe Stevie Ray Vaughn was a "better" guitarist than Jimi Hendrix, BUT Hendrix changed the playing field when he came and went. I can understand his list as "most influential", heck some of these guys aren't even the best in their style of playing, but they broke the ground and changed the way guitar was played. Chet admitted that Tommy Emmanuel was the best he ever heard. But Tommy is not on this list......maybe in time, we will say his greatness changed the way people play, who knows. He is the best I've ever heard.

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But this list is guitarist who were "most influential"

 

That's why I would argue that Maybelle Carter and Davey Graham at least, belong there. Understanding that it's Chet's list, not mine, and he can name whomever her wants, I would even suggest that in spite of her limits Maybelle Carter ranks up there with Django as THE MOST influential guitarist of the 20th century.

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