The Musical Box

steve wariner, left, performing at his 1996 induction to the grand ole opry with the late guitar legend chet atkins.

There sits after Steve Wariner’s name three letters. It’s an initialized title that is as distinctive to the veteran country star’s line of work as M.D. would be to a physician or Ph.D. would be to a doctorate. But in Wariner’s case, the title is more a decree than a degree.

The letters are “c.g.p.” That stands for Certified Guitar Picker. Only one person could bestow such credentials on an artist. And that someone was pretty picky about his pickers: the late guitar pioneer and country music architect Chet Atkins.

Prior to his death in 2001, Atkins awarded “c.g.p.” status to only four players other than himself - famed Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel, fingerstyle/classical guitarist John Knowles (who, by the way, also happens to have a Ph.D in physics), longtime Nashville guitar stylist and songwriter Jerry Reed and, in his final bestowment, Wariner.

“I wound up being the last one,” said the Indiana born, Russell Springs raised Wariner, who will be tonight’s lone guest at the weekly taping of the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour at the Kentucky Theatre. “That was in 1997. Chet got real sick after that, so I was pretty touched by the honor.”

Atkins, unassuming as he might have seemed to fans of his own flawless picking, didn’t select his four c.g.p. honorees simply because he appreciated their guitar tone or their technical prowess. He essentially mentored all of them.

In Wariner’s case, the tutelage was considerable. Atkins was the first person to record and produce Wariner. Atkins also hired him into his band in the late ‘70s and then, in essence, fired Wariner in order to encourage the young artist to develop his own career.

Equally important was the strong friendship that developed between the two guitarists.

“Making those records with Chet, being in the studio with him and just watching the way he carried himself… all of that impressed me so much.”

Wariner has since gone to earn three Grammy Awards, multiple gold albums and a string of No.1 country singles, the majority of which came in the mid-to-late ‘80s, that included Some Fools Never Learn, Life’s Highway and The Weekend. Now, as the head of his own Selectone Records, Wariner is paying special homage to the artist, guitarist and music industry executive that helped launch, shape and promote his career.

The title of his new album, which is due out June 23, says it all: Steve Wariner, c.g.p. : My Tribute to Chet Atkins.

“This was something I wanted to do for a long time - ever since Chet passed, really,” Wariner said. “But I kept thinking about the concept. How would you do something like this? There was no point in playing Chet’s songs halfway as good as he did. I was looking for a different slant.

“Then I came upon the idea of a concept album, a kind of timeline where I would play songs from different eras of Chet’s career and also write a few things that were kind of in Chet’s style.”

Two of Tribute’s most telling compositions begin the album. The Wariner-penned Leavin’ Luttrell is a trim trio instrumental (Wariner played guitar and bass while his brother Terry added drums) where the light but immensely alert tone of Atkins’s picking style simply glows.

But it’s the traditional John Henry that merges the Atkins inspiration with Wariner’s Kentucky roots. Wariner recalls his father telling how he used to pay a hard earned 45 cents during the late ‘40s to hear a young Atkins play John Henry with the Carter Family in a second floor performance room above a Jamestown, Kentucky auto parts store.

“I’ve heard my dad tell that story over and over,” Wariner said. “The last time I went home, my dad - he’s 81, now -and I drove to Jamestown and passed where that building used to be. It’s just recently been torn down, which breaks my heart. But to me that whole story is romantic. There were 12 kids in my dad’s family. I can only imagine how hard it was just to save up 45 cents.”

The most lasting lesson Wariner learned from Atkins, though, had nothing to do with music. It dealt with the need and ability to treat everyone, from celebrated heads of state to neighbors at a general store, with simple, honest respect.

“Chet never forgot his roots. I saw him carry himself graciously around presidents, vice presidents and real high level people. Then I saw how he carried himself with the average guy on the street. He always had just as much respect for the common man.

“He was also the guy who was at the very front for me. So this was an album that I really needed to do. It just became time. When I realized that, I just rolled up my sleeves and did it.”

Steve Wariner performs at 7 p.m. tonight at the Kentucky Theatre for the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour. Tickets are $10. Call (859) 252-8888.