Chet Atkins physical stature

[Norm]

I've got a pretty big hand. Right hand spans 10", left hand spans 10.5" (from reaching those far notes). I could palm a baskeball in school.
When I shook hands with Chet his hand felt normal. I've shaken hands with people who had hands like mine and there is no mistaking the feeling of hands that big. Chet's hand was not in that category. There is, of course, no way to prove it but I have a feeling Chet's hands would span maybe nine inches.

Muriel's hands go way the other way. She's only 5'1" (I asked her) and her hands are porportional. Small, beautifully shaped hands that she has managed to do a remarkable job with.

Chet's hands would have been slender because he was a slender guy and his left hand would have a longer reach than most because he, like Muriel, had learned how to get that extra bit out of his hands.

[bill raymond]

Norm, I met Chet only once, but he didn't seem very tall (I'm 5'8"). In one of his old fan club newsletters he provided his height, weight (I think) and hair/eye colors. He said he was 6 ft. tall.

[Norm]

my original guess was 6' or 6'1"

I'm 6'2" and he seemed a little shorter than I at the time. Not a lot shorter by any means. I just wish I'da paid more attention to his hands at the time.

[Norm]

Got a note from Barry Oliver who used to see Chet with some regularity back in the Margaret Fields fan club days...

"...By the way Chester was 6' tall (+ - 1/4"), his hands were not noticeably "Big", but he had long slender fingers, and his grip was very strong. His nail were always clean and perfect..."

I remember at 14 when I told my mother I was going to let my nails grow a little long on my right hand to use on guitar she said "OK, just remember to keep them clean."

And of course, I do...

[David Elliott]

I met Chet a number of times throughout the years. I recall he and I were nearly identical in stature (I'm six feet tall), and had very similar hands in size and span, (I also have rather long fingers for the "size" of my hands). The last time I saw and talked with Chet (1995) I recall thinking that his spinal curvature (I would guess that Chet had a form of Scoliosis) had increased somewhat since the last time I had seen him, as he appeared slightly shorter than me.

Here is a photo of Chet's hand impressions in cement (I believe it is somewhere in South Dakota or thereabouts). As you can see, Chet's fingers were quite long, in proportion to his hand span.

David
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[synchro]

I saw him in 1977 and would have guessed about 6' 1" at that time. I was 5' 11" in my prime and he was noticeably taller than I. I never did meet him, I felt unworthy.

[RandeDager]

Chet was very humble. I think that he would have felt badly to know that anyone saw themselves as "too unworthy" to meet him. I was in the army at 20 years old when I met him in 1969 backstage in Atlanta. I certainly didn't feel "worthy" either, but my desire to meet him and let him know what he meant to my life was so massive that it overpowered everything else. I was held back by security for a good hour after his show and when the crowd finally disappeared and I was still standing there, he came out into the hallway and saw me and asked them to let me through. I stumbled and stammered and he was so gracious. He was genuinely interested in people and I believe that he felt that everyone with whom he came in contact had something to offer. I know that when it came to the guitar he picked up a lot of little gems from people who weren't anywhere near his caliber.

[Vidar Lund]

There was no reason til feel unworthy when in company with Chet. Just read "When I met Chet " on Misterguitar.com. It´s obvious that he was the most down to earth, friendly, courteous and generous man one could imagine.

http://misterguitar.us/metchet/index.html

[Norm]

Chet didn't do anything to bring on the feeling. It's our own imaginations that wreaks such havoc.

Guys like Chet just had to be patient and hope people got past it. I'm sure he was used to it but I think it made him feel a little awkward at the same time.

[synchro]

Please don't get me wrong, there was nothing in Chet's demeanor that made me feel that way. I was 22 at the time, playing and teaching for a living. I wanted to tell him how much inspiration he had been but felt like it would have sounded stupid. Thirty-five years later there would be no problem, I've matured and learned how to speak to all sorts of people in the years since . . . it would be no problem. At the time, my reasons were legitimate. I didn't want to come across like some some annoying fan gushing over him and being young and impulsive I probably wouldn't have said anything worth listening to.

As an interesting aside, more than 20 years later I was in an out-of-the-way clothing store and noticed a distinguished looking white-haired man on the other side of the store. He seemed to be someone I had seen before and as I took a good look and realized that it was Dick Van Dyke. About the same time his countenance slipped a bit as he realized that he had been recognized. I decided that the best way to thank him for all of the entertainment ne had provided over the years would be to leave him to his peace. I turned away and he ducked back down an aisle.

The two situations were entirely different. Chet was in a green room greeting fans. He expected to meet people and was doing so willingly, The other situation was a man with a very well known face trying to do a bit of browsing in a clothing store off the beaten path. He probably couldn't even go into a mall without being pestered mercilessly.

In any event, I still have a vivid memory of standing a mere foot or so away from on of my greatest heros. I can remember the blue shirt with white polka dots that he was wearing and I remember a feeling of awe that came from seeing a man I had admired for so long standing right in front of me. We may not have spoken but I still feel that I was privileged to see him up close.