ADDENDUMS AND CORRECTIONS TO THE 2014 BOOK CHET ATKINS: THE GREATEST SONGS OF MISTER GUITAR BY MARK S. REINHART
PREPARED BY THE AUTHOR, NOVEMBER 2017
p. 51 In my discussion of Chet’s 1953 recording of “Wildwood Flower,” I neglected to mention the fact that he would revisit the song in several recordings made later in his career. The tune was featured in a medley of traditional songs found on The Pops Goes Country, his 1966 collaborative album with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. Chet played a Gretsch electric guitar for all of The Pops Goes Country album.
And Chet would rework “Wildwood Flower” as a piece played on one of his classical guitars – he gave that piece the title of “Wildwood Flower Arrangement” and recorded it for his 1981 album Country After All These Years. (Chet played “Wildwood Flower Arrangement” in the key of G, with his low E string tuned down to D and his A string tuned down to G.) Finally, he included a snippet of “Wildwood Flower” in “Maybelle,” an instrumental number he wrote in honor of Maybelle Carter – “Maybelle” appeared on Chet’s 1996 album Almost Alone, and featured him playing one of his Gibson Chet Atkins Studio Classic guitars.
pp. 105-106 In my discussion of Chet’s 1962 recording of “Wheels,” I failed to provide an accurate summary of the song’s history before Chet decided to cover it. I stated that “Wheels” was written solely by musician/record producer Norman Petty, when in reality the song’s composition was credited to Petty, Richard Stephens and Jimmy Torres. Stephens and Torres were the guitarists of the Texas instrumental group The String-A-Longs, and Petty produced the band’s recording of “Wheels” in 1960. That recording became a top ten hit in the United States and Great Britain in 1961.
pp. 188-189 In my discussion of Chet’s 1994 recording of “Vincent,” I stated that his first recording of the song was the unaccompanied classical guitar version appearing on his 1977 RCA album Me and My Guitar. This information is incorrect, because Chet had previously recorded a version of “Vincent” for his 1972 RCA Victor album Chet Atkins Picks on the Hits. The Chet Atkins Picks on the Hits version of “Vincent” featured Chet playing a Gretsch electric guitar, and he was accompanied by a large backing ensemble that included a vocal group singing a portion of the song’s lyrics. So in summary, Chet's first recording of “Vincent” was the version that appeared on Chet Atkins Picks on the Hits, and his second recording of the song was the version that appeared on Me and My Guitar.