Chet Atkins' Workshop
Encyclopedia
Chet Atkins' Workshop is a recording by American
guitarist Chet Atkins
. Full of pop and jazz stylings and no country, this became his best-selling LP to date, peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard
Pop album charts.
, then writing for The Tennessean
in Nashville
, Tennessee
, and discuss his practice of recording rhythm tracks in the RCA studio and then going home with the tapes to perfect his guitar part in his own studio. "The workshop resembles a small scale Cape Canaveral. In it is approximately $8,000 worth of electronic and electrical equipment, much of it built by Atkins himself: a small maze of mixing panels, a three channel stereo tape recorder, a one channel recorder... This is the lonely man's room and Atkins when he is working is a lonely man. 'Can't take my time in the studio. We're making money there and when you are making money you can't really take your time.' Here he can retire for days on end to be handed an occasional sandwich through the door by his wife Leona, but here to stay with his guitar, and his sound."
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...
. Full of pop and jazz stylings and no country, this became his best-selling LP to date, peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
Pop album charts.
History
Atkins is once again pictured on the cover in his home studio in Nashville. The liner notes are by David HalberstamDavid Halberstam
David Halberstam was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and historian, known for his early work on the Vietnam War, his work on politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism.-Early life and education:Halberstam...
, then writing for The Tennessean
The Tennessean
The Tennessean is the principal daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky....
in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, and discuss his practice of recording rhythm tracks in the RCA studio and then going home with the tapes to perfect his guitar part in his own studio. "The workshop resembles a small scale Cape Canaveral. In it is approximately $8,000 worth of electronic and electrical equipment, much of it built by Atkins himself: a small maze of mixing panels, a three channel stereo tape recorder, a one channel recorder... This is the lonely man's room and Atkins when he is working is a lonely man. 'Can't take my time in the studio. We're making money there and when you are making money you can't really take your time.' Here he can retire for days on end to be handed an occasional sandwich through the door by his wife Leona, but here to stay with his guitar, and his sound."
Reception
Allmusic critic Greg Adams wrote in his review that Atkins' "elaxed fingerpicking works the material into a smooth consistency that sometimes belies the complexity of his technique, but the album is an engaging listen and an effortless-sounding intersection of diverse styles."Reissues
- In 2002, Classic Compact Disc (Disc 2103) released Chet Atkins' Workshop along with Mister Guitar on one compact disc.
Side one
- "Lambeth WalkThe Lambeth Walk"The Lambeth Walk" is a song from the 1937 musical Me and My Girl . The song takes its name from a local street Lambeth Walk once notable for its street market and working class culture in Lambeth, an area of London.The tune gave its name to a Cockney dance first made popular in 1937 by Lupino Lane...
" (Douglas FurberDouglas FurberDouglas Furber was a British lyricist and playwright.Furber is best known for the lyrics to the 1937 song The Lambeth Walk and the libretto to the musical Me and My Girl, composed by Noel Gay, from which it came. This show made broadcasting history when in 1939 it became the first full length...
, Noel GayNoel GayNoel Gay was born Reginald Moxon Armitage. He also used the name Stanley Hill professionally. He was a successful British composer of popular music of the 1930s and 1940s whose output comprised 45 songs as well as the music for 28 films and 26 London shows...
) – 2:45 - "A Summer PlaceTheme from A Summer PlaceThe "Theme from A Summer Place" is a song with lyrics by Mack Discant and music by Max Steiner, written for the 1959 film, A Summer Place, which starred Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. It was recorded for the film by Hugo Winterhalter...
" (Max SteinerMax SteinerMax Steiner was an Austrian composer of music for theatre productions and films. He later became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Trained by the great classical music composers Brahms and Mahler, he was one of the first composers who primarily wrote music for motion pictures, and as...
) – 2:04 - "Whispering" (Richard Coburn, Vincent RoseVincent RoseVincent Rose was a musician and band leader.Vincent Rose has one of the longest histories as a band leader. He achieved much popularity with his Montmartre Orchestra in the 1920s, and recorded with the group for RCA...
, John Schoenberger) – 2:04 - "In a Little Spanish Town" (Sam Lewis, Mabel Wayne, Joseph Young) – 2:11
- "Sleep" (E. Lebleg) – 2:15
- "Marie" (Irving BerlinIrving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
) – 2:12
Side two
- "Hot Mocking Bird" – 2:07
- "Lullaby of BirdlandLullaby of Birdland"Lullaby of Birdland" is a 1952 popular song with music by George Shearing and lyrics by George David Weiss under the pseudonym "B. Y. Forster" in order to circumvent the rule that ASCAP and BMI composers could not collaborate....
" (George ShearingGeorge ShearingSir George Shearing, OBE was an Anglo-American jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for MGM Records and Capitol Records. The composer of over 300 titles, he had multiple albums on the Billboard charts during the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s...
, George David WeissGeorge David WeissGeorge David Weiss was an American songwriter and former President of the Songwriters Guild of America.-Career:...
) – 2:04 - "TammyTammy (song)"Tammy" is a popular song with music by Jay Livingston and lyrics by Ray Evans. It was published in 1957 and debuted in the film Tammy and the Bachelor. It was nominated for the 1957 Academy Award for Best Original Song....
" (Jay LivingstonJay LivingstonJay Livingston was an American composer and singer best known as half of a songwriting duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote the music and Evans the lyrics....
, Ray EvansRay EvansRaymond Bernard Evans was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and songwriting duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films...
) – 1:55 - "Goofus" (William Harold, 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...
, Wayne KingWayne KingWayne King was an American musician, songwriter, singer and orchestral leader. He was sometimes referred to as "the Waltz King" because much of his most popular music involved waltzes; "The Waltz You Saved For Me" was his standard set closing song in live performance and on numerous radio...
) – 2:31 - "Bonita" (James Rich) – 2:46
- "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" (Livingston, Evans) – 2:07