Spoiler : (birth name was Chester Burton Atkins) Born in Luttrell, Tennessee 6/20/1924; died 6/30/2001 at his home in Nashville, Tennessee. Atkins had been battling cancer for several years, and had a tumor removed from his brain in 1997. Married to Leona Johnson Atkins (1951-2001 his death. Son of a classical piano and voice teacher that was an evangelical singer and piano tuner. Atkins has asthma so bad he missed months of school, and when he was eight years old, he got a guitar which became his solace.

Spoiler : Atkins grew up listening to Merle Travis, imitating Travis' finger-picking style (thumb and three fingers) By age sixteen he was appearing on local radio stations and at dance bands. He dropped out of high school and slowly made his way up playing on a variety of southern radio stations, touring with groups including the Carter Family and Red Foley.

Spoiler : By the late 1940s, Atkins had signed a contract with RCA, an association that would last into the 1980s. He recieved some attention from he early recordings of Canned Heat and Bug Dance, but in 1949 he began to establish interest in his playing style with Main Street Breakdown. Atkins' successes continued with the 1953 instrumental hit "Country Gentleman" and the 1955 smash hit "Mr Sandman." In 1957 Atkins started managing RCA's Nashville office, and in 1968 the record label named him division vice president in charge of country music.

Spoiler : During his career, Atkins won fourteen Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 1993, and was named to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973, it's youngest inductee at age 49.

Spoiler : Featured on Boone County Neighbors (1945-1946). Regular guest star on the syndicated television show, The Eddy Arnold Show (1954-1956); The Grand Ole' Opry from the 1940s through the 1980s on radio and television.