The modern electric guitar was forever transformed by iconic country guitarists in the 1950s, some of whom helped usher in rock and roll.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Chet Atkins, whose guitar style influenced a generation of rock musicians even as he helped develop an easygoing country style to compete with it, died Saturday. He was 77. Atkins ...

Chet Atkins was, first and foremost, a guitar player. He became a producer and a record executive, but he started as a musician and continued learning his craft until he passed away in 2001. Often ...

Influential guitarist Chet Atkins, who helped modernize country music in the 1960s, paving the way for the massive commercial force that it is today, died Saturday in Nashville. He was 77. In 1973 and ...

Atkins died at home, a funeral director said. Atkins had battled cancer several years. He underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor in June 1997 and had a bout with colon cancer in the 1970s.