In Concert – Chet Atkins & Jerry Reed

Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed in concert together. What a treat!! These two masters of the guitar complemented each other so well that it is hard to imagine one without the other!

Chet Atkins, the subdued quiet picker who thrilled at performing the fast, frantic instrumentals written by his energetic alter ego, Jerry Reed.

Their careers intertwined for most of forty years. Chet, about 12 years the senior, had perfected his style by the time a young Jerry Reed was being inspired by Chet’s records. After getting a start in the music business in his native Georgia, Jerry moved to Nashville in the early 1960’s and quickly found work as a session guitarist and songwriter.

He attracted the attention of Chet, who by then was an established record producer for RCA, and a prolific recording artist in his own right. Chet “Mr. Guitar” Atkins recognized Jerry’s unique ability to write and perform intricate fingerstyle guitar instrumentals and quickly started recording Jerry’s tunes on his own albums.

By 1967 Chet had signed Jerry Reed to RCA, and with Chet as producer, Jerry turned out hits like Guitar Man, The Claw and Amos Moses. Jerry’s LP, “Explores Guitar Country” produced by Chet, set the stage for their collaboration on two LP’s in the 1970’s, “Me and Jerry” (Grammy award winner), and “Me and Chet” from which came great tunes like “Jerry’s Breakdown” and their definitive version of “Cannonball Rag.” Chet continued to feature Reed instrumentals on his albums, and Jerry continued to record and tour while finding time to act in such diverse films as “Smokey and the Bandit” and “The Waterboy.”

Chet and Jerry were in the limelight as a duet again in 1992 with another Grammy award winning album, “Sneakin’ Around.” That CD led to several show dates together, including this performance at the Bottom Line. The instrumentals that were shared by these two guitar giants will be played and studied as long as there are guitarists on this planet. Mark Pritcher (CAAS President)

Titles include: 1. Lover Come Back To Me 2. Waltz For The Lonely 3. Bye Bye Blackbird 4. Don’t Think Twice Its All Right 5. Pushin’ 6. Downhome Music 7. Reedology 8. There’ll Be Some Changes Made 9. PMS I Guess 10. Hormones 11. Sneakin’ Around 12. Georgia On My Mind 13. I Still Can’t Say Goodbye 14. Summertime 15. Medley: a) Windy and Warm b) Mister Sandman c) Wildwood Flower d) I’ll See You In My Dreams e) Freight Train f) Yakety Axe 16. The Claw 17. Vincent 18. Three Little Words.