THE FIRST THE BEST NEVER DUPLICATED HISTORIC
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Chet Atkins office tape 1966
The behind the sceen conversation that led to the creation of the 'Play Guitar With Chet Atkins' album
You can achieve success in anything you wish to do: creating and then selling Guitar Phonics to Liberty Records is a great example. Bill Savidge proves that in order to succeed, you must have a well developed plan, initiate appropriate action, maintain a positive attitude, and never ever give up!
The Guitar Phonics Episode is an inspiring story of what a person can accomplish with little more than self determination. In the year 1965, Bill Savidge was not an accomplished guitarist, and knew nothing about the recording business, yet he saw an opportunity that the professionals in the music business were not aware of, and had over looked.
It required many months of dedicated effort and and all of his free time: he did have a family to support and working six days a week was mandatory. Yet he never gave up on his idea, stayed the course that he had laid out for himself, and made the sacrifices required to see his dream come true. This is an inspirational story filled with practical lessons that anyone can apply to their everyday lives.
The Guitar Phonics Episode is a great story, well worth the price of this special limited edition. If you love the guitar and enjoyed the 'Play Guitar' albums, you won't be disappointed!
CHET ATKINS / BILL SAVIDGE
'Play Guitar With Chet Atkins'
Office tape Aug. 4, 1966
In the spring of 1966, after many months of negotiations between Liberty Records and RCA, an agreement was reached that allowed Chet Atkins to record a Guitar Phonics 'play guitar' album (Play Guitar With Chet Atkins BLP-16505). This album would be historic in many ways: It was the only album as an RCA artist, Atkins recorded under his name that was not an RCA release (it was released under the Liberty/Dolton label); it was the first educational product, book or record, that Atkins participated in and actually played the guitar tracks; it was historic in that Atkins did not produce the record, or exercise any artistic control over the finished product. He left all details of the project up to Bill Savidge: final track editing; voice over content; album design, and instructional booklet.
With an agreement in hand, Savidge set up an appointment with Chet Atkins for August 4, 1966, in Atkins' office at RCA, in Nashville, Tennessee. The creation of this album was in uncharted waters for nothing like it had ever been attempted before, and neither man quite knew exactly what would be required inorder to create the type of product that Savidge envisioned.
Savidge had developed a conceptual outline of the album which he felt provided a templet they could follow, however the exact details would need to be worked out in the studio. The first order of business at this meeting was the selection the four songs that would be recorded. Liberty requested Savidge select six songs that he felt he would fit within the structure of his diagram TAB method of presenting the Atkins' style of playing: there was concern about acquiring the licensing agreements necessary to record each song more than one time on a record.
In this meeting the two men would choose a song that Atkins had recorded, discuss its merits, and then Atkins would play a bit of it, and move on to another one. The songs they eventually agreed upon were: Red Wing, Windy and Warm, Hello My Baby, Can 't Buy Me Love, Nine Pound Hammer, and St. Louis Blues. As it turned out, because of license considerations, Liberty was denied the use of St. Louis Blues and Can't Buy Me Love.
Having settled upon the song choices, Atkins sat behind his desk, guitar on his lap with a small tape recorder nearby. He played and talked his way through each song, naming the chords, the fingering positions, and other information that Savidge required inorder to make the diagram arrangements for the recording session.
This sound track is a copy of the actual recording of that historic moment in time. The impromptu interplay between these two men provides a rare look into the throught process that eventually resulted in the final product- the album 'Play Guitar With Chet Atkins'.
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THE FIRST.........THE BEST..........NEVER DUPLICATED........HISTORIC
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