Nashville - Chet Atkins, whose guitar style influenced a generation of rock musicians even as he helped develop an easygoing country style to compete with it, has died. He was 77. Atkins died at home in Nashville, Tennessee. He had battled cancer for several years. Atkins recorded more than 75 albums of guitar instrumentals and sold more than 75 million albums. He played on hundreds of hit records, including those of Elvis Presley (Heartbreak Hotel), Hank Williams Sr (Your Cheatin' Heart, Jambalaya) and the Everly Brothers (Wake Up Little Susie).
As an executive with RCA Records for nearly two decades from 1957, Atkins played a part in the careers of Roy Orbison, Jim Reeves, Charley Pride, Dolly Parton, Jerry Reed, Waylon Jennings, Eddy Arnold and many others.