SB SPCL @ ARL $ARLX008
ARLX008 "Mister Guitar," Chet Atkins, W4CGP, SK

ZCZC AX08
QST de W1AW  
Special Bulletin 8  ARLX008
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  July 2, 2001
To all radio amateurs 

SB SPCL ARL ARLX008
ARLX008 ''Mister Guitar,'' Chet Atkins, W4CGP, SK

Guitar picker, music legend and Amateur Radio operator Chester B.
''Chet'' Atkins, W4CGP, of Nashville, Tennessee, died June 30. He was
77.

Known as ''Mister Guitar,'' Atkins hailed from East Tennessee and
began his musical career playing fiddle, but later earned his
reputation as a guitarist. He went on to become the most-recorded
solo instrumental musician in history.

Formerly WA4CZD, Atkins, a General licensee, obtained the vanity
call sign W4CGP in 1998--the suffix standing for ''certified guitar
picker.'' He was an ARRL member. He won 14 Grammy awards during his
career and was elevated to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973.
He was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993 by the
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in part to recognize
his guitar-picking technique as well as his wide influence on music.
He had more than 100 albums to his credit.

In addition to his own success as a performer, Atkins helped launch
the careers of other notable performers. He is given primary credit
for developing the uptown Nashville Sound that helped country music
to compete with pop music.

In his later years of performing, he sometimes paired up with
musicians from the pop and jazz worlds and was a frequent guest on
the radio program ''A Prairie Home Companion.''

A funeral service for Chet Atkins will be held July 3 in Nashville's
Ryman Auditorium, which formerly served as the home of The Grand Ole
Opry where Atkins performed for many years.

More information on Chet Atkins is on the Chet Atkins, Mister Guitar
Web site http://www.misterguitar.com/index.html .
NNNN
/EX