Coordinates	29°42′11″N107°23′21″N
name	Classical Gas
cover
artist	Mason Williams
album	The Mason Williams Phonograph Record
b-side	"Long Time Blues"
released	1968
format	7"
genre	Easy listening, classical |
length	3:00
label	Warner Bros.
writer	Mason Williams
producer	Mike Post
misc	}}

{{infobox album| name	Classical Gas | Type Album | Artist Mason Williams with Mannheim Steamroller | Cover | Released August 15 1987 | Recorded 1987 | Genre Easy listening, classical | Length | Label | Producer | Reviews |

"Classical Gas" is an instrumental musical piece composed and originally performed by Mason Williams. Originally released in 1968 on the album ''The Mason Williams Phonograph Record'', it has been re-recorded and re-released numerous times since by Williams. One later version served as the title track of a 1987 album by Williams and the band Mannheim Steamroller.

Williams re-recorded "Classical Gas" as a solo guitar piece on his 1970 album ''Handmade''. The song was also re-released by Sony in 2003, after being featured in the film ''Cheaper by the Dozen''.

Williams was the head writer for ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' at the time of the piece's release and premiered the composition on the show. Williams performed it several times over several episodes. After the piece had reached the Top Ten, Williams asked an experimental filmmaker named Dan McLaughlin to create a video montage of classical art works edited in time to the music, using the visual effect now known as kinestasis. The pioneering work, ''3000 Years of Art,'' premiered in the summer of 1968 and may have helped push the song high on the charts; it peaked at #2 for two weeks in August that year.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, many television stations (such as WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, WBAL-TV in Baltimore and KNTV in San Jose) used the composition - or a version of it re-recorded by Telesound - as their theme song.

There is a common misconception (Classical Gas FAQ) that "Classical Gas" was composed and performed by Eric Clapton. Clapton has never recorded a cover of the song. This misconception may possibly be attributed to the fact that Clapton was musical director of, and played much of the guitar music for, the feature film ''The Story of Us''. The version of the song on the film's soundtrack is actually Williams's own solo-guitar re-recording of it, from his 1970 album ''Handmade''.

Track listing of Mason Williams & Mannheim Steamroller Classical Gas album

# "Classical Gas" 03:27 # "Sunflower" 02:08 # "Samba Beach" 03:54 # "Country Idyll" 02:11 # "Saturday Night at the World" 03:52 # "Shady Dell" 03:18 # "Katydid’s Ditty" 00:58 # "Greensleeves" 03:01 # "Doot-Doot" 02:03 # "La Chanson de Claudine" 03:12 # "McCall" 02:35 # "Vancouver Island" 02:45 # "Baroque-A-Nova" 03:04

Awards

In 1969, the piece won three Grammy Awards: Best Instrumental Composition, Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, Instrumental, and Best Instrumental Arrangement.

In 1998, Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) awarded Williams a special Citation of Achievement. The piece has logged over five million broadcast performances to become BMI's all-time number-one instrumental composition for radio air play.

Covers

Area Code 615 covered "Classical Gas" in their 1970 album ''Trip in the Country'', played by Bobby Thompson on banjo, parts of which were sampled and featured in a 2010 Guinness TV Commercial. Larry Fast recorded an electronic version for his ''Synergy'' album ''Sequencer'' in 1976. The Shadows's 1979 album String of Hits contains a cover. Cozy Powell performed a version of the song on his 1992 solo album ''The Drums Are Back'', as did Australian musician Tommy Emmanuel on his self-titled album, backed by the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra. Vanessa-Mae, British violinist, covered "Classical Gas" in November 1995. A live rendition by Glen Campbell is included on ''20 Greatest Hits'' and on the 3-CD set ''Classic Campbell''.

Notes

External links

Official website

Notable instances of "Classical Gas" in media

Official Mason Williams website

Category:Rock instrumentals Category:Theme music Category:1968 songs Category:Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one singles

de:Classical Gas nl:Classical Gas vi:Classical Gas

Coordinates	29°42′11″N107°23′21″N
name	Mason Williams
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Mason Douglas Williams
birth date	August 24, 1938
Birth place	Abilene, Texas, United States
instrument	12-string guitar, banjo, classical guitar
genre	Classical guitar, bluegrass, easy listening, folk
occupation	Musician, composer, songwriter, writer, poet, photographer
years active	1958–present
label	American Gramaphone, Everest, Flying Fish, Olympic, Real Music, Skookum, Vanguard, Vee-Jay, Warner Bros., WEA
website	www.masonwilliams-online.com
notable instruments	}}

Mason Williams (born August 24, 1938) is an American guitarist and composer, best known for his guitar instrumental "Classical Gas". He is also a comedy writer, known for his writing on the ''Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'', ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'', and ''Saturday Night Live''. He is also an eclectic poet and lyricist who has published several books.

Life

Mason Douglas Williams was born in Abilene, Texas; son of Jackson Eugene (a tile setter) and Kathlyn (Nations) Williams; married Sheila Ann Massey, April 22, 1961 (divorced); children: Kathryn Michelle.

He grew up dividing his time between living with his father in Oklahoma and his mother in Oakridge, Oregon. He graduated from Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1956. It was in Oklahoma that he began his lifelong friendship with artist Edward Ruscha.

He attended Oklahoma City University, 1957–60, and North Texas State University, one semester. Military Service: U.S. Navy, 1961-63.

Married Katherine Elizabeth Kahn in February, 1994, after first planning to marry in 1971; divorced after ten years.

He lived for a time in Oakridge, and as of 2008 he lived in Eugene, Oregon with his Canadian-born wife, who is a defense attorney.

Career

Music

In 1968 Williams won two Grammy Awards for his guitar instrumental "Classical Gas". Together with Nancy Ames he wrote ''Cinderella Rockefella'', a 1968 number one hit for Esther and Abi Ofarim in the United Kingdom.

In 1970, Williams made a television appearance on a variety show, ''Just Friends'', which reunited regulars of ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour''. To create a visual element for his performance, he used a special playable classical plexiglass guitar built for him by Billy Cheatwood and a prop designer for ABC. For the performance, Williams filled the guitar with water and added a couple of goldfish. He then used the plexiglass guitar to finger-sync his hit version of "Classical Gas".

Williams has recorded more than a dozen albums, five on the Warner Bros. label (''The Mason Williams Phonograph Record'', ''The Mason Williams Ear Show'', ''Music'', ''Handmade'', and ''Sharepickers''). The LP cover for the 1968 'Music' was painted by Edward Ruscha. The credit reads "SORRY, COVER BY EDWARD RUSCHA.

"Classical Gas" was released as a single from ''The Mason Williams Phonograph Record'' in 1968. "Classical Gas" won three Grammys that year for "Best Instrumental (theme) Composition", "Best Instrumental (theme) Performance", and "Best Instrumental Orchestra Arrangement", Mike Post, arranger. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. He also wrote songs for The Kingston Trio. For both ''Handmade'' and ''Sharepickers'', Mason received two more Grammy nominations for "Best Album Cover Design".

In 1987, Williams teamed up with Mannheim Steamroller to release a new album on the American Gramaphone label. The album, titled ''Classical Gas'', included a remake of the 1968 song. Another cut from this album, "Country Idyll", was a 1988 nominee for a Grammy in the country music category for "Best Instrumental Performance by a Soloist, Group or Orchestra". The album went gold in 1991. Williams' plexiglass guitar appears on the cover of this album.

Williams released an acoustic instrumental album of Christmas and holiday music, ''A Gift of Song'', on the Real Music label, featuring arrangements of traditional carols and original compositions. In 1992, the Vanguard label released ''Music 1968–1971'', a compilation of cuts from his five Warner Bros. albums recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Williams relates when compiling the album that he went to Warner Bros. and asked “Where’s that painting that Ed did for that old ["Music" ] cover?” and was told it had been thrown away; a probable loss of 3-5 million dollars.

In conjunction with the release of this album, Williams added a "Holiday Concert Program" to his repertoire, featuring music from the album as well as other traditional music of the season. In 1994, he played six sold-out concerts with the Oregon Symphony in Portland, Oregon. In the 1990s he also performed with the Eugene Symphony with friend Ken Kesey.

Williams then concentrated on a variety of programs for his concert appearances. His "Concert For Bluegrass Band And Orchestra", also titled "Symphonic Bluegrass", has been performed with over 40 symphonies, including the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Louisville Orchestra, and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

In 1984 Williams released an album, ''Of Time & Rivers Flowing'', on his own Skookum label, containing 14 of the approximately 35 songs performed in the concert. In 1993, the title cut from the album was used as the soundtrack for a ninety-second public service announcement (PSA) created by The American Rivers Council on the home video release of Robert Redford's film ''A River Runs Through It''. The PSA was also on the 1995 home video release of ''The River Wild''.

In 1995, Williams was invited to play for Oregon governor John Kitzhaber's inauguration and in 1996, Williams received an honorary Doctorate of Music from his alma mater, Oklahoma City University.

In 1998, BMI, the music licensing organization that tracks air play performances on radio and television, presented Williams with a Special Citation of Achievement in recognition of the great national and international popularity of "Classical Gas". By 2008, the song logged over six million broadcast performances, to become the all-time number-one instrumental composition for air play in BMI's repertoire.

In 1999, Williams played again for the governor of Oregon's second inauguration. In February, Williams' "Bus" art piece was included in the Norton Simon Museum exhibition "Radical Past", in Pasadena, California. In the spring he played his ''Of Time and Rivers Flowing'' concert with the Oregon Children's Choral Festival, a two-day event involving 3,000 elementary school children singing water and rivers songs with Williams and his band. Williams received the Distinguished Service Award from the University of Oregon in honor of his Contribution to Oregon's arts.

In the fall of 1999, he and the Bluegrass Band played for Byron Berline's Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival in Guthrie, Oklahoma with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.

Williams' music has been featured in several movies including ''The Story of Us'', ''Cheaper by the Dozen'', ''The Dish'', ''The Heidi Chronicles'', and ''Heartbreakers''. His compositions have also been played on the television series ''The Sopranos''.

In 2003, Williams released an EP, ''Music for the Epicurean Harkener'', and was again nominated for a Grammy in 2004 for best instrumental album. In 2005, he collaborated with UK guitarist Zoe McCulloch on the album ''Electrical Gas''.

In June 2006, Williams performed at his 50th high school reunion at Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City. He performed as Mason Williams and Friends, the friends including Art Maddox, Mark Schneider, Thom Bergeron, Don Latarski, and Dennis Caffey, at concerts in Eugene and Springfield, Oregon and at the opening gala at the Richard E. Wildish Community Theater in Springfield. He also made special guest appearances in September with many other guitarists at Primal Twang in San Diego, California, and with Craig Einhorn and the Umpqua Symphony Orchestra in Roseburg, Oregon.

In January 2007, he was reunited with longtime friend and artist Edward Ruscha, performing at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. In October 2007, he was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame. and co-headlined a concert with Everclear and Paul Revere and the Raiders.

Comedy

Like many writer-performers, Williams was also a stand-up comedian. He set most of his comic ideas to music and sang or recited the jokes in lyric form with guitar accompaniment. In 1964, Vee-Jay Records released ''Them Poems'', a record album on which Williams entertains a live audience with "them poems about them people", covering such varied topics as "Them Moose Goosers", "Them Sand Pickers" and "Them Surf Serfs". A typical "them poem" is "Them Banjo Pickers", which begins: "Them banjo pickers! Mighty funny ways. Same damn song for three or four days!" Several other "them" poems, along with many ditties, song lyrics, odd and amusing photographs from around the country and assorted bits of visual and verbal silliness are collected in ''The Mason Williams Reading Matter'' (Doubleday, 1969), and the ''Them Poems'' record album was reissued (also in 1969, on the heels of the success of "Classical Gas") as ''The Mason Williams Listening Matter''.

Williams has written more than 175 hours of music and comedy for network television programming and was a prime creative force for CBS' controversial ''Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour''. His experience in folk music gave him the background for many of Tom and Dick Smothers' comedy routines and with co-writer Nancy Ames, also composed the show's musical theme.

It was on the ''Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' that he created and perpetuated the 1968 "Pat Paulsen for President" campaign, an elaborate political satire. Williams also helped launch the career of entertainer Steve Martin. Martin was hired by Williams as a writer on the ''Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'', for which his contributions were initially paid out of Williams' own pocket. In 1968, he won an Emmy Award for his work as a comedy writer on ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour''.

Other major television personalities he has written for include Andy Williams, Glen Campbell, Dinah Shore, Roger Miller, and Petula Clark. In 1980, Williams briefly served as head writer for NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'', but left after clashing with producer Jean Doumanian. In 1988, Williams received his third Emmy nomination as a comedy writer for his work on ''The Smothers Brothers 20th Reunion Special'' on CBS. According to his book, ''The Mason Williams FCC Rapport'', Williams also credits himself with the first concept of a VJ and for MTV. His concept included visual representations of the music and a video host announcing each piece of music on the air. CBS executives scoffed at his idea at the time. However, this did not stop him from trying out his idea on the air in 1968, when his composition ''Classical Gas'' was played on ''The Summer Smothers Brothers Show'' against a backdrop of 2,500 art pieces, which effectively made the composition one of the first music videos.

In February 2000, Williams participated in the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado. The sixth annual festival honored ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' and its contribution to television. Williams performed a concert with Tom and Dick Smothers, and again on a late night show with performers that included Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Andrea Martin, Steve Martin, Robin Williams, and Marc Shaiman.

Environmentalism

After becoming involved in protests against a Willamette River hydroelectric power project, Williams began to think of how the river itself should have a voice in its fate, and eventually collected over 400 songs about rivers, which he crafted into his program ''Of Time and Rivers Flowing''. A chronological "river" of music and time, it encompasses the realms of classical, folk, minstrel, gospel, jazz, country, pop, and contemporary rock. Williams has performed the program for benefits, conferences, and in concert.

Discography

July 14, 1960	''Little Billy Blue Shoes/Run Come See''
August 1960	''Folk Music as Heard at The Gourd''
April 1961	''Songs of the Blue and Grey'' ; recorded by The Wayfarers Trio
April 30, 1962	''Away All Boats''
1963	''The Big Hootenanny''
March 12, 1963	''I Am an American''
August 26, 1963	''More Hootenany''
Unknown	''Feudin' Banjos''
1963	''The Twelve-String Story Vol. I''
1963	''The Twelve-String Story Vol. II''
October 1963	''The Banjo Story''
October 29, 1963	''Folk Baroque''; with Paul Sykes (singer), Oklahoma City Symphony members, and OCU Chorus.
2 April 1964	''5-String Banjo Greats''
1964	''Them Poems''
December 24, 1965	''Introducing Jayne Heather''
April 1965	''Tour de Farce'' (The Smothers Brothers)
April 22, 1966	''Love Are Wine/The Exciting Accident''
1966	''The Smothers Brothers Play It Straight''
1968	''Classical Gas/Baroque-a-Nova''
February 1968	''The Mason Williams Phonograph Record''
August 10, 1968	''Classical Gas/Long Time Blues''
November 1968	''The Mason Williams Ear Show''
1968	''Saturday Night at the World/One-Minute Commercial''
March 13, 1969	''Music''
March 1969	''Greensleeves/$13 Stella''
1969	''Jennifer''
March 1969	''The Mason Williams Listening Matter (Them Poems)''
March 10, 1970	''Handmade''
1970	''José's Piece''
1 January 1971	''Improved''
October 1971	''Sharepickers''
1971	''Train Ride in G/Here I Am Again''
November 1978	''Fresh Fish''
December 1984	''Of Time and Rivers Flowing''
October 22, 1987	''Classical Gas'' — Mason Williams and Mannheim Steamroller
July 13, 1992	''Music 1968–1972''
September 18, 1992	''A Gift of Song''
1994	''Rock Instrumental Classics, Vol. 2: The Sixties''
September 1995	''Fiddle and a Song''
Unknown	''1968 Billboard Top Pop Hits (Rhino)'' (features "Classical Gas")
December 20, 1995	''1995 Sony Disc Manufacturing Holiday Choir''
9 April 1996	''Cascadia'' (1996 Oregon Governor's Arts Awards)
May 17, 1996	''Of Time and Rivers Flowing'' (re-released)
December 25, 2003	''Music for the Epicurean Harkener'' (EP)
September 27, 2005	''Electrical Gas '' — Mason Williams and Zoe McCulloch, Online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgpE9GzNatw
September 30, 2006	''Classical Gas'' - Mason Williams, Craig Einhorn, Online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=078N20Zxx1k
December 1, 2006	''Classical Gas'' - Mason Williams at the Wildish Theater, Online at	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozAqqNZ0LHw
April, 2008	40th anniversary of Classical Gas - Classical Gas with Mason Williams and the original Dan McLaughlin "Classical Gas Video" as it appeared on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968. Online at	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoQh7F_1mbk
December 5, 2009	''O Christmas Three'' (EP)

''Source:http://www.masonwilliams-online.com/careerdisc.html masonwilliams-online.com and Yahoo's "Mason Williams: Discography".''

References

Additional sources

"Mason Williams Full Biography'' - with Awards, Discography, Books & Television Script Writing, Releases of Classical Gas." January, 2008. Retrieved 4/19/2009.

Wine, Niki “The Philosophy of Mason Williams” ''Toledo Blade,'' March 16, 1969, pTV2.

Further reading

Williams, Mason. "Bicyclists dismount". Hollywood, Calif. : Davon Music Corp., 1964.

Mason Williams; Robert Willis. "Tosadnessday". Los Angeles, Calif. : Tasmania Press, 1966.

Williams, Mason. "The night I lost my baby; a Las Vegas vignette". Los Angeles, Calif. 1966

Williams, Mason, Edward Ruscha, and Patrick Blackwell. "Royal road test". New York: G. Wittenborn, 1967.

Williams, Mason. "Boneless roast". Los Angeles, 1967

Mason Williams and Jinx Kragen. "Pat Paulsen For President". Calif: Kragen/Fritz, 1968.

Mason Williams; Robert Willis. "Roadsign business". Los Angeles, Calif.: M. Williams, 1969.

Williams, Ma.son. "The Mason Williams reading matter". Garden City, NY Doubleday, 1969.

Ruscha, Edward, and Mason Williams. "Crackers". Hollywood, Calif.: Heavy Industries, 1969.

Williams, Mason. "The Mason Williams F.C.C. rapport". New York: Liveright, 1969. ISBN 0871400227

Williams, Mason. "Flavors". Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1970.

Williams, Mason. ["Them poems".]http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/Literature.Williams Madison, WI: Parallel Press, 2000.

Mason Williams; James R Gardiner. "[Santa’s Scenic Trip Home,"]http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tturb/00161/trb-00161p2.html by Mason Williams with text inspired by Arctic Dreams. [S.l.] : Flotsam & Jetsam, 1997.

Source: WorldCat Retrieved 4/10/2010

External links

Mason Williams Online

Classical Gas

Category:1938 births Category:American classical guitarists Category:Living people Category:Emmy Award winners Category:People from Abilene, Texas Category:Musicians from Oregon Category:Artists from Oregon Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Northwest Classen High School alumni Category:Oklahoma City University alumni Category:People from Lane County, Oregon Category:People from Eugene, Oregon Category:People from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Category:Vanguard Records artists Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners

de:Mason Williams fr:Mason Williams simple:Mason Williams

Coordinates	29°42′11″N107°23′21″N
name	Sungha Jung
birth name	정성하
birth date	September 02, 1996
birth place	Cheongju, South Korea
nationality	South Korean
other names	colloquially: ''Sungha Jung'', ''jwcfree'', ''jungsungha'', ''blueseaJSH''
years active	September 8, 2001–present
known for	Guitar music
website	Official website }}

Title	Korean name
Hangul	정성하
Hanja
Rr	Jeong Seongha
Mr	Jŏng Sŏngha}}

Seongha Jeong (정성하) (colloquially: Sungha Jung) (born 2 September 1996) is a South Korean professional acoustic finger-style guitarist who has risen to fame on YouTube and other sites. His first guitar cover was "Anak" by Fredie Aguilar. As of 2012, his channel had over 17 million views, with his videos getting a total of over 427 million views, and also over 650,000 subscribers.

Seongha typically takes three days to learn and practice a new piece, and video-record it for upload onto YouTube. His genre selection is rather broad, as he learns and plays many pieces that are playable on guitar, therefore consequently spread across numerous genres.

Seongha has won 13 awards on YouTube, including 6 "#1" awards. Also on YouTube, Seongha has 494 videos with over one million views. Seongha's video with the most views is the one which shows him playing the theme from "Pirates Of The Caribbean".

Seongha has composed 18 pieces as of February 2011, two of which are featured in his debut album, "Perfect Blue". He released his second album, "Irony", on 21 September 2011.

In 2011, he performed in the US with Trace Bundy, as well as touring in Scandinavia and Japan.

Discography

''Perfect Blue'' (2010)

''Irony'' (2011)

See also

Yuto Miyazawa, Seongha's Japanese electric guitar-playing counterpart

Trace Bundy, Fellow acoustic guitarist with whom Seongha collaborates

Ulli Bögershausen, Fellow acoustic guitarist who helped him get his sponsorship with Lakewood Guitars

References

External links

Category:South Korean guitarists Category:Fingerstyle guitarists Category:People from Seoul Category:Video bloggers Category:South Korean Internet personalities Category:1996 births Category:Living people

de:Sungha Jung ko:정성하 it:Sungha Jung ja:チョン・ソンハ pl:Sungha Jung pt:Sungha Jung ro:Sungha Jung ru:Чон Сонха sv:Sungha Jung vi:Seongha Jeong zh:鄭成河

Coordinates	29°42′11″N107°23′21″N
name	Vanessa-Mae
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn
born	October 27, 1978Singapore
origin	Cavendish, Suffolk, England
nationality	British
instrument	Violin
genre	classical
occupation	musician
years active	1990–present
label	Sony Classical/SME RecordsVirgin/EMI RecordsEMI Classics
website	}}

Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson (born 27 October 1978), known professionally as Vanessa-Mae (in Chinese: 陳美, Chén Měi), is an internationally known British violinist. Her music style is self-described as "violin techno-acoustic fusion", as several of her albums prominently feature the techno style. She is currently a judge on ''Popstar to Operastar''.

Childhood

Vanessa-Mae was born in Singapore to a Thai father (Vorapong Vanakorn) and a Chinese mother (Pamela Tan). After her parents separated, her mother married Graham Nicholson, and the family moved to England when Vanessa-Mae was four years old. She grew up in London and holds British citizenship. She attended the independent Francis Holland School in London.

Professional life

Vanessa-Mae began playing piano at the age of three and violin at five.

She was particularly famous in the United Kingdom throughout her childhood making regular appearances on television (for example on ''Blue Peter'') mostly involving classical music and conservative style. According to ''Guinness World Records,'' she is the youngest soloist to record both the Beethoven and Tchaikovsky violin concertos, a feat she accomplished at the age of thirteen. During this time she attended the Francis Holland School in central London.

Vanessa-Mae made her international professional debut at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany in 1988, and also during 1988 made her concerto debut on stage with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London.

On entering adolescence Vanessa-Mae broke away from her traditional classical influences and became known for her flashy, sexual style appearing in music videos in stylish outfits. Her first pop-style album, ''The Violin Player'', was released in 1995. She appeared on the 1997 Janet Jackson album ''The Velvet Rope'' playing a violin solo on the song "Velvet Rope".

She performed in the interval of the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest in Birmingham.

In April 2006, Vanessa-Mae was ranked as the wealthiest young entertainer under 30 in the UK in the Sunday Times Rich List 2006. having an estimated fortune of about £32 million stemming from concerts and record sales of over an estimated 10 million copies worldwide, which is an unprecedented achievement for a young female violinist.

Vanessa-Mae announced in 2006 that she would be releasing a new album sometime between 2007 and 2008. The album was said to draw inspiration from great ballets and opera themes. A new album was expected in 2009, but the year ended without the expected release.

Vanessa-Mae was the special guest violinist for Il Divo's Christmas Tour 2009.

She plans to compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics as a downhill skier, representing Thailand.

Violins

Vanessa-Mae most often uses one of two types of violins, a Guadagnini acoustic violin or a Zeta Jazz model electric violin. The Guadagnini was made in 1761, and was purchased by her parents at an auction for £150,000. It was stolen in January 1995, but was recovered by the police two months later. She once dropped it and it broke, but it was repaired.

In addition, she uses one of two Zeta Jazz Model electric violins, one of which is white and the other one of which features decals of the U.S. flag. She has also been using a silver-grey Zeta Jazz Model electric violin since 2001. She also owns three Ted Brewer Violins two of which she uses on stage (a Crossbow and a Vivo2 Clear) and in publicity material. In addition to these violins, she sometimes buys violins and resells them later, giving the proceeds to charity.

Discography

Albums

''Violin'' (1990)

''Kids' Classics'' (1991)

''Tchaikovsky & Beethoven Violin Concertos'' (1991/1992)

''The Violin Player'' (13 February 1995) UK chart Peak Position – 11 (21 Weeks)

''The Alternative Record from Vanessa-Mae'' (1996)

''The Classical Album 1'' (21 October 1996) – UK Chart Peak Position – 47 (1 Week)

''China Girl: The Classical Album 2'' (August 1997) – UK Chart Peak Position – 56 (3 Weeks)

''Storm'' (UK: 27 October 1997; USA: 14 July 1998) UK Chart Peak Position – 27 (5 Weeks)

''The Original Four Seasons and the Devil's Trill Sonata: The Classical Album 3'' (UK: 9 November 1998; USA: 9 March 1999)

''The Classical Collection: Part 1'' (25 September 2000)

''Subject to Change'' (14 May 2001) UK Chart Peak Position – 58 (2 Weeks)

''Xpectation'' (Jazz collaboration with Prince) (2003)

''Choreography'' (18 October 2004) UK Chart Peak Position – 66 (1 Week)

Compilations

''The Best of Vanessa-Mae'' (2002)

''The Ultimate Vanessa-Mae'' (23 December 2003)

''Platinum Collection'' (19 February 2007)

Special edition albums

''The Violin Player: Japanese Release'' (1995)

''The Classical Album 1: Silver Limited Edition'' (1 January 1997)

''Storm: Asian Special Edition'' (1 January 1997)

''The Original Four Seasons and the Devil's Trill Sonata: Asian Special Edition'' (1 February 1999)

''Subject to Change: Asian Special Edition'' (1 July 2001)

''The Ultimate: Dutch Limited Edition'' (January 2004)

Singles

"Toccata & Fugue" (January 1995) UK Chart Peak Position – 16

"Toccata & Fugue – The Mixes" (1995)

"Red Hot" (May 1995) UK Chart Peak Position – 37

"Classical Gas" (November 1995) UK Chart Peak Position – 41

"I'm a Doun for Lack O' Johnnie (A Little Scottish Fantasy)" (October 1996) UK Chart Peak Position – 28

"Happy Valley" (1997)

"Storm" (October 1997) UK Chart Peak Position – 53

"I Feel Love" (December 1997) UK Chart Peak Position – 41

"Devil's Trill"/"Reflection" (November 1998)

"Destiny" (2001)

"White Bird" (July 2001) UK Chart Peak Position – 66

Filmography

''Live at the Royal Albert Hall, The Red Hot Tour'' (1995) (concert documentary)

''The Violin Fantasy'' (1998)

''Arabian Nights'' (2000) (actor in the series)

''The Making of Me'' (2008) (subject of episode 3)

References

External links

Official website

Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:British people of Chinese descent Category:British people of Thai descent Category:English classical violinists Category:English pop musicians Category:People from London Category:Singaporean classical violinists Category:Rock violinists Category:Virgin Records artists Category:British people of Singaporean descent Category:Singaporean emigrants to the United Kingdom Category:People educated at Francis Holland School Category:21st-century violinists

bg:Ванеса Мей ca:Vanessa-Mae cs:Vanessa-Mae cy:Vanessa-Mae da:Vanessa Mae de:Vanessa-Mae es:Vanessa-Mae eo:Vanessa-Mae fa:ونسا-می fr:Vanessa-Mae ko:바네사 메이 id:Vanessa-Mae it:Vanessa Mae lt:Vanessa-Mae hu:Vanessa-Mae ms:Vanessa Mae nl:Vanessa-Mae ja:ヴァネッサ・メイ no:Vanessa-Mae oc:Vanessa-Mae pl:Vanessa-Mae pt:Vanessa-Mae ru:Ванесса Мэй sk:Vanessa-Mae sl:Vanessa Mae fi:Vanessa-Mae sv:Vanessa-Mae th:วาเนสซา เมย์ tr:Vanessa-Mae uk:Ванесса Мей zh:陈美

Coordinates	29°42′11″N107°23′21″N
name	Chet Atkins
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Chester Burton Atkins
alias	Mr. GuitarThe Country Gentleman
born	June 20, 1924Luttrell, Tennessee, US
died	June 30, 2001Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
instrument	Guitar, Violin
genre	Country, classical, folk, jazz
occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer
years active	1942–2001
label	RCA, Columbia
website	Official Website
notable instruments	Country GentlemanTennessean6120Gibson Chet Atkins SST }}

Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), better known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.

Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle Travis, Django Reinhardt, George Barnes and Les Paul, brought him admirers within and outside the country scene, both in the United States and internationally. Atkins produced records for Perry Como, Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Eddy Arnold, Don Gibson, Jim Reeves, Jerry Reed, Skeeter Davis, Connie Smith, Waylon Jennings and others.

Among many honors, Atkins received 14 Grammy Awards as well as the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, nine Country Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year awards, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Biography

Childhood and early life

Chet Atkins was born on June 20, 1924, in Luttrell, Tennessee, near Clinch Mountain, and grew up with his mother, two brothers and a sister—he was the youngest. His parents divorced when he was six. He started out on the ukulele, later moving on to the fiddle, but traded his brother Lowell an old pistol and some chores for a guitar when he was nine. He stated in his 1974 autobiography, "We were so poor and everybody around us was so poor that it was the forties before anyone even knew there had been a depression." Forced to relocate to Fortson, Georgia to live with his father because of a near-fatal asthma condition, Atkins was a sensitive youth who made music his obsession. Because of his illness, he was forced to sleep in a straight-back chair in order to breathe comfortably. On those nights, he would play his guitar until he fell asleep holding it, a habit which lasted his whole life. While living in Fortson, he attended historic Mountain Hill School. He would return in the 1990s to play a series of charity concerts to save the school from demolition.

Stories have been told about the very young Chet who, when a friend or relative would come to visit, and if that person played a guitar, would crowd in and put his ear so very close to the instrument that it became difficult for that person to play.

Atkins became an accomplished guitarist while he was in high school. He would use the restroom in the school to practice, because it gave better acoustics. His first guitar had a nail for a nut and was so bowed that only the first few frets could be used. He later purchased a semi-acoustic electric guitar and amp, but he had to travel many miles to find an electrical outlet since his home had no electricity.

Later in life he lightheartedly gave himself (along with John Knowles, Tommy Emmanuel, Steve Wariner and Jerry Reed) the honorary degree CGP, standing for "Certified Guitar Player". His half-brother Jim was a successful guitarist who worked with the Les Paul Trio in New York.

Atkins did not have a strong style of his own until 1939 when (while still living in Georgia) he heard Merle Travis picking over WLW radio. This early influence dramatically shaped his unique playing style. Whereas Travis's right hand used his index finger for the melody and thumb for bass notes, Atkins expanded his right hand style to include picking with his first three fingers, with the thumb on bass.

Chet Atkins was a Ham Radio General class licensee. Formerly using the call-sign, WA4CZD, he obtained the vanity call sign W4CGP in 1998 to reflect the C.G.P. name. He was an ARRL member.

Early musical career

After dropping out of high school in 1942, Atkins landed a job at WNOX-AM radio in Knoxville. There he played fiddle and guitar with singer Bill Carlisle and comic Archie Campbell as well as becoming a member of the station's Dixieland Swingsters, a small swing instrumental combo. After three years, he moved to WLW-AM in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Merle Travis had formerly worked.

After six months he moved to Raleigh and worked with Johnnie and Jack before heading for Richmond, Virginia, where he performed with Sunshine Sue Workman. Atkins's shy personality worked against him, as did the fact that his sophisticated style led many to doubt he was truly "country." He was fired often but was soon able to land another job at another radio station due to his unique playing ability.

Traveling to Chicago, Atkins auditioned for Red Foley, who was leaving his star position on WLS-AM's ''National Barn Dance'' to join the Grand Ole Opry. Atkins made his first appearance at the Opry in 1946 as a member of Foley's band. He also recorded a single for Nashville-based Bullet Records that year. That single, "Guitar Blues", was fairly progressive, including as it did, a clarinet solo by Nashville dance band musician Dutch McMillan with Owen Bradley on piano. He had a solo spot on the Opry; but when that was cut, Atkins moved on to KWTO-AM in Springfield, Missouri. Despite the support of executive Si Siman, however, he was soon was fired for not sounding "country enough."

Signing with RCA Victor

While working with a Western band in Denver, Colorado, Atkins came to the attention of RCA Victor. Siman had been encouraging Steve Sholes to sign Atkins, as his style (with the success of Merle Travis as a hit recording artist) was suddenly in vogue. Sholes, A&R; director of country music at RCA, tracked Atkins down to Denver.

He made his first RCA recordings in Chicago in 1947. They did not sell. He did some studio work for RCA that year but had relocated to Knoxville again where he worked with Homer and Jethro on WNOX's new Saturday night radio show ''The Tennessee Barn Dance'' and the popular ''Midday Merry Go Round''.

In 1949 he left WNOX to join Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters back on KWTO. This incarnation of the old Carter Family featured Maybelle Carter and daughters June, Helen and Anita. Their work soon attracted attention from the Grand Ole Opry. The group relocated to Nashville in mid-1950. Atkins began working on recording sessions, performing on WSM-AM and the Opry.

While he hadn't yet had a hit record on RCA his stature was growing. He began assisting Sholes as a Session Leader when the New York–based producer needed help organizing Nashville sessions for RCA artists. Atkins's first hit single was "Mr. Sandman", followed by "Silver Bell", which he did as a duet with Hank Snow. His albums also became more popular, and he was featured on ABC-TV's ''The Eddy Arnold Show'' during the summer of 1956; as well as on ''Country Music Jubilee'' in 1957 and 58 (by then renamed ''Jubilee USA'').

In addition to recording, Atkins became a design consultant for Gretsch, who manufactured a popular Chet Atkins line of electric guitars from 1955–1980. Atkins also became manager of RCA's Nashville studio, eventually inspiring and seeing the completion of the legendary RCA Studio B, the first studio built specifically for the purpose of recording on the now-famous Music Row.

Performer and producer

When Sholes took over pop production in 1957—a result of his success with Elvis Presley—he put Atkins in charge of RCA's Nashville division. With country music record sales declining as rock and roll took over, Atkins and Bob Ferguson took their cue from Owen Bradley and eliminated fiddles and steel guitar as a means of making country singers appeal to pop fans. This became known as the Nashville sound which Atkins said was a label created by the media attached to a style of recording done during that period to keep country (and their jobs) viable.

Atkins used the Jordanaires and a rhythm section on hits like Jim Reeves' "Four Walls" and "He'll Have to Go" and Don Gibson's "Oh Lonesome Me" and "Blue Blue Day". The once rare phenomenon of having a country hit cross over to pop success became more common. He and Bradley had essentially put the producer in the driver's seat, guiding an artist's choice of material and the musical background.

Atkins made his own records, which usually visited pop standards and jazz, in a sophisticated home studio, often recording the rhythm tracks at RCA but adding his solo parts at home, refining the tracks until the results satisfied him. Guitarists of all styles came to admire various Atkins albums for their unique musical ideas and in some cases experimental electronic ideas. In this period he became known internationally as "Mister Guitar", inspiring an album named ''Mister Guitar'', engineered by both Bob Ferris and Bill Porter, his replacement.

At the end of March 1959, Porter took over as chief engineer at RCA's Nashville studio, in the space now known as "Studio B". (At the time there was only one studio at RCA, with no letter designation.) Porter soon helped Atkins get a better reverberation sound from the studio's German effects device, an EMT plate reverb. With his golden ear, Porter found the studio's acoustics to be problematic, and he devised a set of acoustic baffles to hang from the ceiling, then selected positions for microphones based on resonant room modes. The sound of the recordings improved significantly, and the studio achieved a string of successes. The Nashville sound became more dynamic. In later years, when Bradley asked how he achieved his sound, Atkins told him "it was Porter." Porter described Atkins as respectful of musicians when recording—if someone was out of tune he would not single that person out by name. Instead, he would say something like, "we got a little tuning problem ... Everybody check and see what's going on." If that didn't work, Atkins would instruct Porter to turn the offending player down in the mix. When Porter left RCA in late 1964, Atkins said, "the sound was never the same, never as great."

Atkins's trademark "Atkins Style" of playing uses the thumb and first two—sometimes three—fingers of the right hand. He developed this style from listening to Merle Travis occasionally on a primitive radio. He was sure no one could play that articulately with just the thumb and index finger (which was exactly how Travis played) and he assumed it required the thumb and two fingers—and that was the style he pioneered and mastered.

He enjoyed jamming with fellow studio musicians which led to them being asked to perform at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960. Although that performance was canceled due to rioting, a live recording of the group (''After the Riot at Newport'') was released. Atkins performed by invitation at the White House for presidents Kennedy through George H. W. Bush. Atkins was a member of the Million Dollar Band during the 1980s. He is also well known for his song "Yankee Doodle Dixie", in which he played "Yankee Doodle" at the same time as "Dixie" simultaneously on the same guitar.

Before his mentor Sholes died in 1968, Atkins had become vice president of RCA's country division. In 1987 he told Nine-O-One Network Magazine that he was "ashamed" of his promotion: "I wanted to be known as a guitarist and I know, too, that they give you titles like that in lieu of money. So beware when they want to make you vice president." He had brought Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Connie Smith, Bobby Bare, Dolly Parton, Jerry Reed and John Hartford to the label in the 1960s and inspired and helped countless others. He took a considerable risk during the mid-1960s, when the Civil Rights Movement sparked violence throughout the South by signing country music's first African-American singer Charley Pride, who sang rawer country than the smoother music Atkins had pioneered.

Atkins's own biggest hit single came in 1965, with "Yakety Axe", an adaptation of his friend saxophonist Boots Randolph's "Yakety Sax". He rarely performed in those days, and eventually had to hire other RCA producers like Bob Ferguson and Felton Jarvis to alleviate his workload.

Atkins retires from producing

In the 1970s, Atkins became increasingly stressed by his executive duties. He produced fewer records but could still turn out hits such as Perry Como's pop hit "And I Love You So". He recorded extensively with close friend and fellow picker Jerry Reed, who'd become a hit artist in his own right. A 1973 diagnosis of colon cancer, however, led Atkins to redefine his role at RCA, to allow others to handle administration while he went back to his first love, the guitar, often recording with Reed or even Homer & Jethro's Jethro Burns (Atkins's brother-in-law) after Homer died in 1971.

By the end of the 1970s, Atkins's time had passed as a producer. New executives at RCA had different ideas. He first retired from his position in the company, and then began to feel stifled as an artist because RCA would not let him branch out into jazz. His mid-1970s collaborations with one of his influences, Les Paul, ''Chester & Lester'' and ''Guitar Monsters'', had already reflected that interest; ''Chester & Lester'' was one of the best-selling recordings of Atkins's career. At the same time he grew dissatisfied with the direction Gretsch (no longer family-owned) was going and withdrew his authorization for them to use his name and began designing guitars with Gibson. He left RCA in 1982 and signed with Columbia Records, for whom he produced a debut album in 1983.

Jazz had always been a strong love of his, and often in his career he was criticized by "pure" country musicians for his jazz influences. He also said on many occasions that he did not like being called a "country guitarist", insisting that he was a guitarist, period. Although he played 'by ear' and was a masterful improviser he was able to read music and even performed some classical guitar pieces. When Roger C. Field, a friend, suggested to him in 1991 that he record and perform with a female singer he did so with Suzy Bogguss.

He returned to his country roots for albums he recorded with Mark Knopfler and Jerry Reed. Knopfler had long mentioned Atkins as one of his earliest influences. Atkins also collaborated with Australian guitar legend Tommy Emmanuel. On being asked to name the ten most influential guitarists of the 20th century, he named Django Reinhardt to the first position on the list, and placed himself at fifth position.

In later years he even went back to radio, appearing on Garrison Keillor's ''Prairie Home Companion'' radio program, on American Public Media radio, even picking up a fiddle from time to time.

Legacy

Atkins received numerous awards, including 14 Grammy Awards and nine Country Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year awards. In 1993 he was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. ''Billboard'' magazine awarded him their Century Award, their "highest honor for distinguished creative achievement", in December 1997.

Atkins is notable for his broad influence. His love for numerous styles of music can be traced from his early recording of stride-pianist James P. Johnson's "Johnson Rag," all the way to the rock stylings of Eric Johnson, an invited guest on Atkins's recording sessions who, when Chet attempted to copy his influential rocker "Cliffs of Dover", led to Atkins's creation of a unique arrangement of "Londonderry Air (Danny Boy)."

Chet's recordings of "Malaguena" inspired a new generation of Flamenco guitarists; the classical guitar selections included on almost all his albums were, for many American artists working in the field today, the first classical guitar they ever heard. He recorded smooth jazz guitar still played on American airwaves today.

While he did more performing in the 1990s his health grew frail as he was diagnosed with cancer again in 1996. He died on June 30, 2001 at his home in Nashville.

Atkins was laid to rest at Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens in Nashville.

Atkins was quoted many times throughout his career, and of his own legacy he once said:

A stretch of Interstate 185 in southwest Georgia (between LaGrange and Columbus) is named "Chet Atkins Parkway". This stretch of interstate runs through Fortson, GA where Atkins spent much of his childhood.

In 2002, Atkins was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His award was presented by Marty Stuart and Brian Setzer and accepted by Atkins's grandson, Jonathan Russell. The following year, Atkins ranked No.28 in ''CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music''.

At the age of 13, jazz guitarist Earl Klugh was captivated watching Atkins's guitar playing on ''The Perry Como Show.'' Atkins also inspired Drexl Jonez and Tommy Emmanuel.

Clint Black's album "Nothin' but the Taillights" includes the song "Ode to Chet," which includes the lines "'Cause I can win her over like Romeo did Juliet, if I can only show her I can almost pick that legato lick like Chet" and "It'll take more than Mel Bay 1, 2, & 3 if I'm ever gonna play like CGP." Atkins plays guitar on the track. At the end of the song Black and Atkins have a brief conversation.

Discography

Industry Awards

Country Music Association

1967 Instrumentalist of the Year

1968 Instrumentalist of the Year

1969 Instrumentalist of the Year

1981 Instrumentalist of the Year

1982 Instrumentalist of the Year

1983 Instrumentalist of the Year

1984 Instrumentalist of the Year

1985 Instrumentalist of the Year

1988 Instrumentalist of the Year

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Inducted in 1973

Grammy Awards

1971 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Jerry Reed – ''Me and Jerry''

1972 Best Country Instrumental Performance – "Snowbird"

1975 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Merle Travis – ''The Atkins-Travis Traveling Show''

1976 Best Country Instrumental Performance – "The Entertainer"

1977 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Les Paul – ''Chester and Lester''

1982 Best Country Instrumental Performance – ''Country After All These Years''

1986 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Mark Knopfler – "Cosmic Square Dance"

1991 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Mark Knopfler – "So Soft, Your Goodbye"

1991 Best Country Vocal Collaboration with Mark Knopfler – "Poor Boy Blues"

1993 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Jerry Reed – ''Sneakin' Around''

1993 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award'

1994 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Asleep at the Wheel, Eldon Shamblin, Johnny Gimble, Marty Stuart, Reuben "Lucky Oceans" Gosfield & Vince Gill – "Red Wing"

1995 Best Country Instrumental Performance – "Young Thing"

1997 Best Country Instrumental Performance – "Jam Man"

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Posthumously inducted in 2002

Notes

References

Kienzle, Rich. (1998). "Chet Atkins". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 26–7.

External links

Chet Atkins at the Country Music Hall of Fame

[ Allmusic entry for Chet Atkins]

Chet Atkins Official Web site

Bob Moore's A-Team Musicians Website

Chet Atkins Interview – ''Vintage Guitar'' magazine, June 1996(This reference no longer exists at this link – May 2011)

Chet Atkins on the Pop Chronicles

Category:1924 births Category:2001 deaths Category:People from Luttrell, Tennessee Category:American classical guitarists Category:American country singers Category:American country guitarists Category:American folk guitarists Category:American jazz guitarists Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Fingerstyle guitarists Category:American music industry executives Category:Deaths from colorectal cancer Category:Musicians from Tennessee Category:People from Knoxville, Tennessee Category:American record producers Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Cancer deaths in Tennessee Category:Amateur radio people

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