took me back to my early years with the guitar, which began in 1959 at the age of 14 when I picked up an old Kay guitar that my dad played "Under the Double Eagle" on every now and then. He showed me a few chords, after which I managed to work up a solo guitar arrangement of the Johnny Cash classic, "I Walk the Line." Soon after that, I bought a Gibson Les Paul electric with money earned working at a nearby chicken ranch, and formed a surf rock band with some friends.
rranging "Precious Lord, Take My Hand"
It wasn't until 1962, however, that I was knocked out by a sound
that I didn't even know existed. I still remember that magical birthday
in August when my mom presented me with the first fingerstyle guitar albums
I'd ever heard-Segovia's
"Sonata Romantica" and Chet's
"Chet Atkins Plays Back Home Hymns."
It's hard to describe the love that I felt for their music. I listened to
those albums hundreds of times and bought every Segovia and Atkins album
I could find.
The unbelievably beautiful tone emanating from electric and classic strings in the hands of these masters lifted me to the very realms of heaven and inspired what has become my life work of creating a body of sacred music for solo guitar.
The very first fingerstyle sound to reach my ears was the beginning of "Precious Lord, Take My Hand," which was the first cut on Chet's 1962 hymn album. To this day I remember wondering how anything that beautiful could be coming from a guitar. Since Chet used bass and harmonica on his recording, I wasn't able to copy it as a solo. Years ago, I remember trying to arrange the tune in the key of A, but gave up since it wound up too high on the neck. When I heard that Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine was doing a year-long feature on his music, I decided to once again try arranging this piece as a tribute to the man who pointed the way not only for me, but for thousands of other players around the world.
Since Chet's version is in the key of G, I thought it would help to use a G tuning, and then add some bass notes to turn it into a solo. This arrangement is a note-for-note transcription from Chet's album, with the added bass notes and a couple of slight changes to accommodate the classical guitar. My ear isn't in the same league as Chet's, so I wanted him to hear what I'd done before passing it on to anyone. He graciously (as usual) listened to it over the phone, and gave it his stamp of approval. I now present it to you as my tribute to the "Guitarist of the Millennium," hero and friend, Chet Atkins.
Chet named his daughter, Merle, after another great fingerstyle pioneer. Merle Travis wrote the original liner notes to "Chet Atkins Plays Back Home Hymns," which describe Chet's playing in these words:
| King Saul's servants had a wonderful suggestion for a way to relieve their king of evil spirits that troubled him. They said that he should "...seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp..." (I Samuel 16:16) and he would, after listening to the music, feel much better. King Saul commanded them to go find such a man. One of the servants suggested a young shepherd he'd seen. His name was David, and he lived in Bethlehem. The young man was finally brought to play for the king. "And it came to pass, when the evil spirit..., was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him" (I Samuel 16:23). |  |
Every selection is superbly rendered, and not one is
unfamiliar. To me, as to Chet, these melodies are a part of my heritage.
I've heard them sung by quartets and choirs, played on pianos and organs.
I've even heard my mother hum them as she went about her daily chores.
But when Chet plays them they become a musical masterpiece in sacred
sweetness.
I have known and idolized Chet for a good many years.
Thousands of words of praise have been written about him. That's not
nearly enough. Little David, the shepherd, became a king. So has Chet
Atkins, the undisputed king of the guitar.
The words to this great hymn
written by Tommy Dorsey are my hope and daily prayer: "Precious Lord,
take my hand, lead me on, let me stand. I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.
Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light. Take my
hand, precious Lord, lead me home".
By the way, I recorded this piece on a 1995 Milburn classical guitar. I've owned
five of their guitars, and consider O.D. and Bob Milburn to be two of
the best makers in the country. You can visit their workshop and see
their guitars at www.milburnguitars.com. Books and recordings of my
fingerstyle arrangements of hymns can be found at
www.pioneer-net.com/EDENSONG/
I have a good idea of how the mighty King Saul must have felt when he
heard the inspired playing by the talented young David, for I have just
listened to the twelve religious selections in this album played by
Chet Atkins.