I first heard Chet playing on the Rosalie Allen show, WOV radio station. It was around 1952( I was 12). From that point I was hooked. The first album I bought was Finger Style Guitar, the second was Stringing Along, the reason I mention this is because I had to buy it again since the first one wore out. I think I had a bad needle on a very old stereo. Any how, over the next 25 years I bought every LP Chet recorded and still have them all. Incidentally, I had to buy another one twice (Three Dimension) I left it on the radiator(remember them?) and it warped. I bought a guitar when I was around 16 years old but never took lessons, much to my regret. Too busy with school and sports. However I would sit by the window (we lived on the ground floor) with my guitar and with the hi-fi on real loud with one of Chets albums playing so people passing by would think it was me. Into my adult years I continued to sing Chets praises to everyone who w! ould li sten and even to those who would not. Chet Atkins was not very well known in the north east at that time. I lived in NYC and became a member of the NYPD and worked most of the time in Manhattan. Country music was hard to find in the sixties. However my wife and I did get to see Buck Owens at Carnegie Hall and Willy Nelson at the Taft hotel or the Hotel New Yorker, I don't remember which. He had short hair then. So when I heard Chet was going to appear in Stanhope New Jersey at the bi-centennial village I jumped at the chance. I bought tickets for myself and my wife and two other couples. We made a day of it. If I remember correctly it was a three hour drive. Besides the tickets and the gas I also treated everyone to dinner, a pretty expensive day for a cop with three children. But I didn't care, I was going to see my idol in person. We were seated in row K, but for most of the performance I was stage side taking pictures. An announcement was made that Chet would sign autogra! phs aft er the show. So we waited for about 40 minutes for Chet to come out. I got on line with my cousin and waited my turn. I had saved one picture. My turn finally came and I asked Chet if my cousin could take a picture of He and I shaking hands, of course he said yes and the picture was taken. Its hard to describe my feelings on the ride home. I had seen Chet Atkins in person, met him, shook his hand and had an autograph and 36 pictures to record one of the highlights of my life. And now for the sad part. Ihad taken the roll of film to the local Foto-Mat to be developed. After several weeks of waiting and 2 or 3 traces to locate this roll of film, I was notified my film was ready. When I picked up my film I was told there would be no charge and Iwas given a free roll of film. Inside the package was note explaining that the film may have too old(outdated). At any rate I had 35 pictures that were blotchy, off color and generally ruined. And guess what?...the picture Chet and mysel! f...gon e! Now Ihave taken many pictures...kids, bithdays, family gatherings and have never had a problem before or since. Just bad luck I guess. Well in closing let me say thank you God for giving us Chet Atkins. PS please forgive me for I'm new to computers and don't know to get paragraphs. My name is Ralph Blasi, 67 and retired living in Fla. Keep on pickin!
- Ralph Blasi
The FULL LIST of "When I Met Chet" stories
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