Chet Atkins Reviews the Sounds of March 1969



Blind Date with guitar legend Chet Atkins. Chet Atkins reviews the sounds of March 1969.

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33 thoughts on “Chet Atkins Reviews the Sounds of March 1969”

  1. Chet was way hipper than I expected considering the style he favored regarding his own music which although technically great always struck me as a wee bit too middlebrow for my tastes. Had no idea he produced the early Gary Burton sides which is interesting because Burton and Larry Coryell purposely worked in a country rock/jazz vein.Very cool.

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  2. I met CA and talked with him a bit after one of his concerts, a solo show. He was so humble I forgot all about our time together until after he died. Carried his own gear, guitar and amp, and had no entourage at all. This has been the best Blind Date ever!

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  3. Chet Atkins was an excellent guitar player. He was my Dad's favorite musical artist. He got a good batch of recordings to review. Wichita Lineman was high on the charts that week and was one of my all-time favorite Country songs.

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  4. An odd choice for an artist for Blind Date. But although Chet was an accomplished Country musician and producer, he obviously had an ear for later Pop. Not long before his passing, he recorded an album with Mark Knopfler. But I was surprised he could not tell whether the Buck Owens single was actually by Buck or somebody else who sounded like him, when they were both Country artists. But back in 1965, Buck recorded the original of Act Naturally. During the seventies, he re-recorded it with Ringo Starr who sang on The Beatles' more famous version. But I was mystified that Chet did not know whether The (Young) Rascals were American. But maybe he was a little too old to be an expert on Pop music.

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  5. Tear Drop City reminds me of "Last Train to Clarksville", Wes Montgomery–i liked his"Windy" album (the one with the cigarettes on the cover). Stevie Wonder "I Don't know Why" starts out slow but gets to its peak at the end. Buck Owens is soon to be the summer season show that will last for 25 seasons–"Hee Haw".

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  6. Some interesting anomalies on the MM Pop 30–"You've Lost That Loving Feeling" by the Righteous Brothers (in March '69?) . I think it was originally released in the US in '65. Also "Gentle On My Mind" by Dean Martin was quite a surprise. I don't remember hearing that in the States, though Martin had a TV variety show around the same time so there's probably a tie-in there. However, good to see that as the 1960's were on their last lap, "The Sound Of Music" soundtrack was still hanging there in the Top 10.

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  7. I don't have much to say about Chet Atkins since that era of county music is a bit of a blind spot for me, but I will say that Solomon King section had me laughing to the point of crying. 🤣🤣

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  8. José Feliciano is the one artiste I can think of who could cover a song, make it sound better or different (or maybe take it to great places never envisaged by the original writers) and make it his own without ruining the songs in themselves, so to speak. "Light My Fire," "And the Sun Will Shine," "The Windmills of Your Mind," "Hi-Heel Sneakers" and "Marley Purt Drive" are all fantastic songs in their own right – but Feliciano just made them even better somehow. He could reimagine a song and create an alternative universe where he created that song: that song was his for a time. He proved that a cover could be as good as the orginial, just different and new.

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  9. I'm very impressed with Chet Atkins' wide knowledge and appreciation of the different styles presented here. His awareness of Lenny Breau is wonderful, though not surprising as a fellow guitarist should know who else is out there. The same with his appreciation for Wes Montgomery. A side fact on Lenny Breau – he became a huge influence on Randy Bachman, lead guitarist for The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Really enjoyed this episode, YP. Thanks, always, for sharing ♥♫♪

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