Article: Chet Atkins' class act

NASHVILLE Chet Atkins is the world's most universally known guitarist. It can sadden the soul to see him walk slowly into his Music Row office with a wooden cane and a willing heart.

But give him time.

A humble spirit and Tennessee wit will soon fill the room. Atkins, 74, has spent much of the last year recovering from a stroke and surgery to remove a brain tumor. On a sunny Friday afternoon, he sits behind an old desk and carefully props his cane on the desktop. Atkins holds up his lean left hand, which flavored the rhythm-guitar parts on Hank Williams' "Jambalaya" and "Your Cheatin' Heart," Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Hound Dog," and the Everly Brothers' "When Will I Be ...

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