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Chet started as a young child, playing first ukulele, then fiddle and finally guitar. He imitated the playing of Merle Travis, who he heard on the radio and taught himself to play even more complex arrangements. After working in several bands on live radio broadcasts including in Red Foley’s band on the Grand Old Opry, Chet began producing records for RCA Victor in Nashville. He was largely responsible for the “Nashville Sound,” which Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson rebelled against in the 1980s.

Here is a television appearance by Chet playing his instrumental arrangement of Don McClean’s “Vincent.” Chet takes this simple and haunting melody and adds harmonic colors that bring out it’s surprising beauty. His fingers never leave his hands, although you would think they’d have to.

The enigmatc Lenny Breau, Canadian guitarist, boy wonder of country music, jazz sensation of the sixties, classical guitarist with a thumb pick. The son of country musicians Hal “Lone Pine” Breau and Betty Cody, Lenny began playing his cousin’s guitar, at the age of six. By the time he was fourteen he was the lead guitarist in his parent’s touring band and was featured playing Chet Atkins and Merle Travis instrumentals. Lenny let the band in a huff when his father objected to the jazzier chords and licks he was adding to the music.

Breau developed an extremely complex style of fingerpicking, fusing country, jazz, classical and some Indian influenced music. Breau often played a seven or even eight stringed guitar, sometimes a classical guitar, sometimes electric. in later years.

Breau recoded several solo LPs under the tutelage of Chet Atkins and appeared as a session musician on many more, he he remains a kind of cult figure. He had problems with drug abuse for many years and died under suspicious circumstances in Los Angeles in 1984, apparently murdered.

There does not seem to be much good footage available of Lenny playing the whole way through a piece of music. This clip is from a 1961 television appearance in Canada, on a program called “A Touch Of Jazz.”

The first time I saw Dave Van Ronk was at the Philadelphia Folk Festival. I think it was 1969 or 70. I recall hearing his songs about the night life, violence, sex alcohol drugs, and his rough voice and appearance and being surprised that he had lived so long. Dave was in his mid 30s at the time, I was 16 or 17. Sadly we did lose Dave at a relatively young age, to cancer, in 2002. He was 63.

I want to share another video put up on YouTube by Stephan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop. Again there is a bit of reminiscence first, then the video cuts to a much younger Dave, singing Stagolee, in the manner of blues singer Furry Lewis.