RSR529 - Don Cusic - The Legacy of Chet Atkins and the Evolution of Music Recording in Nashville
Recording Studio Rockstars
Lij Shaw
4.8 • 543 Ratings
🗓️ 24 October 2025
⏱️ 125 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Did Chet Atkins invent fingerpicking just to keep other guitarists from catching up? In this episode, I talk with Don Cusic—author of Chet Atkins: Mr. Guitar—about Chet's legendary style, Nashville studio secrets, and how the music biz has changed (and stayed weird).
Get access to FREE mixing mini-course: https://MixMasterBundle.com
My guest today is Don Cusic, the Curb Professor of Music Industry History at Belmont University and the author of over 30 books on music, culture, and the music business. His latest is Chet Atkins: Mr. Guitar, a newly released biography that explores the life, legacy, and lasting influence of one of Nashville's most iconic musicians.
Don has also produced albums for legends like Bobby Bare, Jeannie Seely, and Jim Ed Brown. He co-produced the Eddy Arnold Tribute album with Cheetah Chrome and collaborated with Mike Curb on an album of James Weldon Johnson songs performed by American Idol finalist Melinda Doolittle.
Thank you to Pam Lewis and Associates for the introduction!
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS!
http://UltimateMixingMasterclass.com
https://www.izotope.com Use code ROCK10 to get 10% off!
https://www.native-instruments.com Use code ROCK10 to get 10% off!
https://RecordingStudioRockstars.com/Academy
https://www.thetoyboxstudio.com/
Listen to the podcast theme song "Skadoosh!" https://solo.to/lijshawmusic
Listen to this guest's discography on Spotify:
If you love the podcast, then please leave a review: https://RSRockstars.com/Review
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES AT: https://RSRockstars.com/529
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This episode of Recording Studio Rockstars is brought to you by Isotope, Native Instruments, |
| 0:06.7 | S-A-E- Institute, Adam Audio, Spectra-1964, and Picker. |
| 0:12.9 | In fact, you're hearing my voice right now, recorded through a Spectra-1964 STX-100 mic-Pree, |
| 0:20.5 | and mixed with Isotope, ozone, and RX on atom audio monitors and headphones. |
| 0:27.4 | Grab my free mixing course at Mixmaster Bundle with the link in the show notes below, |
| 0:33.1 | and please make sure to visit our fantastic sponsors also in the show notes and like and subscribe to our YouTube channel because it's a great way to help support this show. |
| 0:44.1 | Now get ready to rock. |
| 0:47.1 | You know, some guy that looks so talented, looks a lot more talented than whoever's at the top now, but they never made it. |
| 0:53.9 | And then some guy. So you think there was somebody more talented than whoever's at the top now, but they never made it. And then some guy... |
| 0:55.6 | So you think there was somebody more talented than Chet Atkins? |
| 0:58.7 | Yeah. Well, let me put it this way. He always said he wasn't the greatest guitar player, |
| 1:03.9 | but he was the most well-known. I mean, his name and the guitar was synonymous for a number of years. |
| 1:08.4 | So he was the best-known guitar player. But Chet never |
| 1:12.4 | was a rocker. You know, you talk about the teen scene song. And he's trying to play rock and roll, |
| 1:17.4 | but he doesn't have that wild abandon that rock and roll has. And some of the jazz guys, |
| 1:22.7 | he could hang with anybody. He really could. I mean, if you put him in a rock and roll band, |
| 1:26.8 | he could play along with it, but you could tell it wasn't real rock and roll. |
| 1:31.3 | Welcome to Recording Studio Rock and Stars. I'm Lid Shaw, and this is the podcast created to help you become a rock star of the recording studio. |
| 1:58.3 | Dreaming of a career in audio or the entertainment business? |
| 2:02.3 | SAE Institute, Nashville, in the heart of Music Row, offers hands-on programs where you'll learn on professional-grade gear with industry pros, learning through real projects, not just lectures. |
| 2:15.7 | Explore studio production, live sound, audio for film, and a whole lot more. |
| 2:20.1 | Or take the entertainment business program to learn about contracts, promotion, and more. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Lij Shaw, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Lij Shaw and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.