Music historian Don Cusic chatted about his new book “Chet Atkins: Mr. Guitar (Music of the American South).”
Chet Atkins was an inductee of the following Halls of Fame: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.
You wear many hats: author, professor, playwright- How do you balance it all? How do you choose your subjects?
The short answer is that the subject chose me. I might, for whatever reason—start thinking about someone. Or I’ll hear about them and a voice emerges that just won’t go away.
Then, I’ll find myself doing some initial reason until one day I fully realize: I need to do a book on this person!
Balance? You want balance? Actually, I only do one thing at a time—if I’m writing a book, everything else goes on a backburner.
How long did you know Chet– did he know you wanted to work on a book?
I met Chet around 1973 or 1974—he died in 2001, so I knew him about 25 years. I didn’t start the book until after Chet died—so he never knew I was working on one.
Although I knew Chet, we were never close—I wasn’t one of his golfing buddies.
What are some surprising or funny things you discovered when doing your research on Chet?
Chet was incredibly cheap and generous at the same time. He’d go to a pawn shop to look at golf clubs—but then give someone a guitar.
Chet had a tough bar he held up for himself and other musicians. He started the moniker “Certified Guitar Player,” who is on this auspicious list? Did he work with them?
Tommy Emmanuel, John Knowles, Jerry Reed, Steve Wariner and Paul Yandall are all “CGP’s.” Chet worked with all of these guys.
How do you use digital technology in your work — researching, teaching, and other?
My main use is word processing—which is a gigantic step away from typewriters, which is what I started on.
Obviously, the Internet is a great source of information and I use email every day. I’m not very fancy—not many bells and whistles—but the digital technology has allowed me to be much more productive.
Data bases not make the formerly impossible into the easily accessible. There is research that couldn’t be done—of would be very difficult to get done—without those data bases.
You had the honor of being tapped to be a consultant for the country music documentary Ken Burns did. Tell us about that experience.
Ken and Dayton Duncan—who wrote most of the Country music documentary—were incredibly thorough in their work habits. They didn’t quit until every stone was turned over and examined.
I remember being with Ken at his studio in New Hampshire as he had to make cuts in the film–and him saying the key to making a film great was through editing.
Ken had one of the most inquisitive minds of anyone I’ve every known.
What are you writing about next?
I’ve been working with Mary Ellen Pethel on a book on Minnie Pearl.
What are some of the things on your bucket list?
I’d like to visit Israel and Egypt, although the turmoil in that region may prohibit that.
On the home front, I’d love to visit the Negro League Hall of Fame and Museum, Custer’s battlefield and the Grand Canyon. I may get there yet!
Who do you like to read? Authors? genre?
I like biographies—and I read a lot of them. Doris Kearns Goodwin is a favorite author.
I love Agatha Christie and have read a lot of her books. American fiction by John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway were a big influence on me during my early years.
In music, my three greatest influences are Roger Miller, Hank Williams and the Beatles and I often go back to them for renewal.
You work with a lot of college-aged kids. What trends have you seen? What advice would you like to give students, regarding life skills needed?
I find college kids are smart, bright, aware and interesting—I believe the future is in good shape with them. Their asset is that they are totally comfortable in the digital world. Their drawback is an over-dependence on technology.
I hear so many stories of students getting “lost” in the Internet—going down rabbit holes that take up so much time when they should be doing something else.
On the other hand, the digital world allows them to explore ideas and discover things that were formerly unavailable to them.
Reading gives a person depth and I find that students today have an aversion to reading. However, I believe those who will be most successful and fulfilled in the future are those who have read and are reading.
Briefly tell us about your own book and record collection.
I have too many books—but they are my security blanket. At home I have nine bookcases filled with books and cardboard boxes full in a storage unit.
I have four shelves full of vinyl records and several shelves of CDs—but I really don’t have many CDs.
It used to be I needed to have albums for research—especially hard to find artists and albums, but that’s no longer the case.
In literally minutes, I can find songs and artists that used to be difficult to track down.
To learn more about Don Cusic, check out his official website.
