Chet Atkins' Gallopin' Guitar
Encyclopedia
Chet Atkins' Gallopin' Guitar is the title of the first release by American
guitarist Chet Atkins
on the RCA Victor label (see 1953 in music
). It was available as a 10-inch vinyl record.
and also as a sideman with various acts. He was brought to RCA by Steve Sholes in 1947. After playing on a variety of radio shows, Radio manager Si Simon had been promoting Atkins by sending acetates of Chet's live radio performances to various record companies. One landed in Sholes' hands. Chet had relocated to Denver after being fired by KWTO in Missouri for "not sounding country enough." He was to be brought into RCA as a guitarist, singer and song-writer. Arrangements were made for Atkins to travel to Chicago to do a demo recording. He cut eight "sides" (songs) in Chicago with his idol George Barnes
on rhythm guitar, Augie Klein on accordion, Charles Hurta on fiddle, and Harold Siegel on bass. Five of those eight songs recorded April 11, 1947 included Chet singing. RCA released the songs on a 10" vinyl as Chet Atkins and his Colorado Mountain Boys.
Chet later spent time trying to locate those early demos of himself singing in order to destroy them.
Atkins later traveled to New York to record as a side-man and, because of an impending musician's strike, to also stockpile solo recordings for release in case the strike was a protracted one. After these initial recordings, he was still unemployed. He returned to Knoxville and continued on radio there until he joined The Carter Sisters
and Mother Maybelle Carter
.
The song "Gallopin' on the Guitar" had been released as a single in 1947 and was a minor hit, often being used as a radio theme song by 1949.
Also in 1953, his single "Country Gentleman", co-written with Boudleaux Bryant
, was a minor hit. It was recorded in a garage.
Atkins stayed with RCA for 36 years until he moved to Columbia Records
in 1983.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
guitarist Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
on the RCA Victor label (see 1953 in music
1953 in music
-Events:*February 6 – Contralto Kathleen Ferrier, already terminally ill with cancer, leaves Covent Garden Opera House on a stretcher after being taken ill on the second night of her run in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice....
). It was available as a 10-inch vinyl record.
History
Atkins had previously recorded on Bullet RecordsBullet Records
At least three record labels with the name Bullet Records have existed.The earliest one was a record label based in Nashville, USA, which was started in 1945 by Jim Bulliet and C.V. Hitchcock. Bulleit was an early partner in Sun Records...
and also as a sideman with various acts. He was brought to RCA by Steve Sholes in 1947. After playing on a variety of radio shows, Radio manager Si Simon had been promoting Atkins by sending acetates of Chet's live radio performances to various record companies. One landed in Sholes' hands. Chet had relocated to Denver after being fired by KWTO in Missouri for "not sounding country enough." He was to be brought into RCA as a guitarist, singer and song-writer. Arrangements were made for Atkins to travel to Chicago to do a demo recording. He cut eight "sides" (songs) in Chicago with his idol George Barnes
George Barnes (musician)
George Barnes was a world-renowned swing jazz guitarist, who claimed he played the first electric guitar in 1931, preceding Charlie Christian by six years. George Barnes made the first recording of an electric guitar in 1938 in sessions with Big Bill Broonzy.-Biography:George Barnes was born in...
on rhythm guitar, Augie Klein on accordion, Charles Hurta on fiddle, and Harold Siegel on bass. Five of those eight songs recorded April 11, 1947 included Chet singing. RCA released the songs on a 10" vinyl as Chet Atkins and his Colorado Mountain Boys.
Chet later spent time trying to locate those early demos of himself singing in order to destroy them.
Atkins later traveled to New York to record as a side-man and, because of an impending musician's strike, to also stockpile solo recordings for release in case the strike was a protracted one. After these initial recordings, he was still unemployed. He returned to Knoxville and continued on radio there until he joined The Carter Sisters
The Carter Sisters
The Carter Sisters, were an American singing quartet consisting of Maybelle Carter and her daughters June Carter Cash, Helen Carter, and Anita Carter...
and Mother Maybelle Carter
Maybelle Carter
"Mother" Maybelle Carter was an American country musician. She is best known as a member of the historic Carter Family act in the 1920s and 1930s and also as a member of Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters.-Biography:...
.
The song "Gallopin' on the Guitar" had been released as a single in 1947 and was a minor hit, often being used as a radio theme song by 1949.
Also in 1953, his single "Country Gentleman", co-written with Boudleaux Bryant
Felice and Boudleaux Bryant
Felice Bryant and Boudleaux Bryant were an American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team best known for songs such as "Rocky Top," "Love Hurts" and numerous Everly Brothers hits, including "All I Have to Do Is Dream" and "Bye Bye Love".-Beginnings:Boudleaux was born Diadorius...
, was a minor hit. It was recorded in a garage.
Atkins stayed with RCA for 36 years until he moved to Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in 1983.
Track listing
- "Third Man Theme" (Anton KarasAnton KarasAnton Karas was a Viennese zither player, best known for his soundtrack to Carol Reed's The Third Man.-Early life:...
) – 2:26 - "St. Louis Blues" (W. C. HandyW. C. HandyWilliam Christopher Handy was a blues composer and musician. He was widely known as the "Father of the Blues"....
) – 2:17 - "Lover, Come Back to MeLover, Come Back to Me"Lover, Come Back to Me" is a popular song. The music was written by Sigmund Romberg with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II for the Broadway show The New Moon, where the song was introduced by Evelyn Herbert and Robert Halliday...
" (Oscar HammersteinOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
, Sigmund RombergSigmund RombergSigmund Romberg was a Hungarian-born American composer, best known for his operettas.-Biography:Romberg was born as Siegmund Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Gross-Kanizsa during the Austro-Hungarian kaiserlich und königlich monarchy period...
) – 2:26 - "Nobody's Sweetheart" (Ernie Erdman, Gus KahnGus KahnGustav Gerson Kahn was a musician, songwriter and lyricist.-Biography:Kahn was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1886. The family emigrated from there to the United States and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1890...
, Billy Meyers, E. Schoebel) – 2:16 - "Stephen Foster Medley" (Stephen FosterStephen FosterStephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...
) – 2:26 - "Hangover Blues/Imagination" (Atkins, Bryant) (Atkins)
- "Black Mountain Rag" (Traditional) – 2:18
- "Galloping on the Guitar" (Atkins) – 2:29
Personnel
- Chet Atkins – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Henry "Homer" HaynesHenry D. HaynesHenry Doyle Haynes was an American entertainer who gained fame on radio and television as Homer of the country music comedy duo Homer and Jethro with Kenneth C. Burns for 35 years beginning in 1936.-Biography:...
– guitar - Ken "Jethro" BurnsKenneth C. BurnsKenneth C. Burns was an American country musician, comedian, and mandolin player. He was better known by his stage name Jethro from his years with Henry D. Haynes as part of the comedic musical duo Homer and Jethro beginning in 1936.-Biography:Burns was born Conasauga, Tennessee on March 10, 1920...
– mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single... - Charlie Grean – bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...