DATE: APRIL 18, 2024

FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/LYNDIE WENNER, SRO PR

‘WE STILL CAN’T SAY GOOD BYE’
A MUSICIANS’ TRIBUTE TO
CHET ATKINS
OUT TOMORROW, APRIL 19
“THE MAKING OF A MUSICIANS’ TRIBUTE TO CHET ATKINS AND HIS LEGACY REMEMBERED” ALSO PREMIERES TOMORROW (APRIL 19)
AT 10 PM ET/9 PM CT ON CMT
AND WILL AIR EXCLUSIVELY FOR THREE MONTHS

THE 15-TRACK COLLECTOR’S ALBUM
PERFORMED BY SOME OF THE WORLD’S BEST ARTISTS
AND GUITAR PLAYERS INCLUDING VINCE GILL, ERIC CLAPTON,
TOMMY EMMANUEL C.G.P. ,SIERRA HULL, JAMES TAYLOR, ALISON KRAUSS,
RICKY SKAGGS, BRAD PAISLEY, MICHAEL CLEVELAND AND MANY MORE

A white and orange guitar

Description automatically generated‘We Still Can’t Say Good Bye’ Cover Art

“Salutes to Chet Atkins’s unique career and contributions are unlikely to stop, but this latest entry is a manifestly heartfelt and repeatedly listenable one.”
–Barry Mazor, Wall Street Journal, 4/15/2024 HERE.

The excitement continues to build for this Friday’s (April 19) release of WE STILL CAN’T SAY GOODBYE – A Musicians’ Tribute to Chet Atkins via Morningstar Music Productions as Nashville and the music industry prepare to celebrate what would have been Chet Atkins’ 100th birthday on June 20.

For the very first time on one album, some of the world’s best guitar players and artists join together to pay a musicians’ tribute to the innovator, songwriter, producer, record company executive and visionary Chet Atkins. View a sizzle reel about the album HERE. MVD Entertainment is the worldwide digital and physical product distributor making this music available on all digital platforms HERE. Opry Entertainment Group and Opry Store are the main national selling channels for a variety of physical packages, including vinyl albums, limited edition numbered vinyl, and orange color vinyl and CDs.

A collection of vinyl records

Description automatically generatedPurchase HERE or visit the Chet Forever website HERE.

The album WE STILL CAN’T SAY GOOD BYE was conceived and produced by 3-time Grammy-winning, bluegrass and country songwriter, producer and guitarist Carl Jackson, a longtime Glen Campbell collaborator, vocal arranger for TRIO II with Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton; Jackson also produced the 2003 Grammy-winning Country Album of the Year Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’ – Songs Of The Louvin Brothers. He has had songs recorded by Garth Brooks, Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent, Emmylou Harris, and Trisha Yearwood and was recorded at Station West in Nashville, TN with Luke Wooten engineering and mixing. Eric Clapton’s guitars were recorded by Simon Climie.

In other Chet Atkins news, a documentary “The Making of A Musicians’ Tribute to Chet Atkins and his Legacy Remembered” also premieres tomorrow (April 19) at 10 PM E.T./ 9 PM C.T. on CMT and will air exclusively for three months with encores scheduled for Saturday, April 20 at 9 PM ET / 8 PM CT and Sunday, April 21 at 5 PM ET / 4 PM CT, both airing on CMT Music. The program is an engaging 1-hour documentary about the making of this tribute album to Chet Atkins featuring 22 artists (read full list of artists HERE) from the country, rock, bluegrass and acoustic musical realms and contains some of the world’s best artists and guitar players including Vince Gill, Eric Clapton, Tommy Emmanuel C.G.P., Ricky Skaggs, James Taylor, Alison Krauss, Brad Paisley, Sierra Hull, and many more. The documentary was produced by Opry Entertainment Group in collaboration with Morningstar Music Productions and was executive produced by Martin Fischer and produced and directed by Kathryn Russ for Opry Entertainment Group. Watch the Opry Entertainment Group sizzle reel HERE.

A cd and dvd case

Description automatically generatedThe documentary is available to order on DVD HERE.

The album’s first single “Mr. Guitar” was released Friday, March 15 and is performed by Grammy Award-winning guitarist and artist Tommy Emmanuel C.G.P. and Grammy-winning bluegrass fiddler Michael Cleveland. Read more HERE. “All I Ever Need Is You,” the album’s second single is performed by SIERRA HULL, the 2x Grammy-nominated artist and award-winning mandolin and guitarist, songwriter and vocalist was released Friday, April 5. Read more HERE.

CHET ATKINS is the most recorded solo instrumentalist in music history who traveled far to become “Mr. Guitar.” The journey took the legendary icon from Appalachian poverty to international acclaim, from utter obscurity to three Halls of Fame. He is a 14x Grammy Award winner, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement recipient, A Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a Country Music Hall of Fame inductee.

A person in a suit playing a guitar

Description automatically generatedChet Atkins Archival Photo: Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The track listing for WE STILL CAN’T SAY GOOD BYE is as follows:

1. Mr. Guitar: Tommy Emmanuel C.G.P. & Michael Cleveland
2. Lover Come Back To Me: Brent Mason
3. Alley Cat: Ashley Campbell & Thor Jensen
4. So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad): Vince Gill & Bradley Walker featuring Eric Clapton
5. Yakety Axe: Ricky Skaggs with Charlie McCoy
6. Sleepwalk: Jerry Douglas & Bryan Sutton
7. In His Hands: Carl Jackson
8. Mr. Sandman: Gareth Pearson
9. Windy And Warm: Brad Paisley
10. How’s The World Treating You: James Taylor & Alison Krauss
11. Caravan: Guthrie Trapp
12. All I Ever Need Is You: Sierra Hull
13. The Entertainer: John Knowles C.G.P. with Catherine Marx
14. I Still Can’t Say Goodbye: Vince Gill
15. Freight Train: The Chester Bees
(Campbell, Clapton, Emmanuel, Gill, Hull, Jackson, Jensen, Knowles, Mason, Moore, Paisley, Pearson, Skaggs, Sutton and Trapp)

More details about the collector’s edition:

2 Orange Disc Set individually numbered, 12-page booklet, 15 new tracks by 22 artists:

Individually Numbered Edition of 15 newly recorded tracks pressed with audiophile quality of no more than 4 tracks per side in Chet’s Gretsch 6120 Orange, includes a 12-page booklet with ‘The Journey of Mr. Guitar’ by Robert K Oermann, liner notes by award winning journalist Holly Gleason, rare photos and session notes by Grammy winning producer Carl Jackson.

With no more than 4 tracks per side to ensure the highest-quality sonic fidelity, each tribute vinyl is produced in audiophile-grade 180-gram vinyl at the hands of the recording industry elite: Ryan K. Smith, Senior Mastering Engineer at Sterling Sound, and pressed at RTI USA.

The Premium 140-gram Vinyl Edition includes two LPs and a four-page insert with Liner Notes by award-winning music journalist Holly Gleason.

The Limited Edition, individually numbered Vinyl Collectors editions are limited to 7,500 copies and include 2 LPs and the 12-page Commemorative Booklet “The Journey of Mr. Guitar” by Robert Oermann with Chet’s biography, rare photos, Liner Notes by award-winning music journalist Holly Gleason, and insightful Session Notes by Grammy Award-winning producer, Carl Jackson. Also included is the Exclusive DVD, We Still Can’t Say Good Bye, The Making of A Musicians’ Tribute to Chet Atkins and His Legacy Remembered.

These two limited editions come in the Old Stoughton® Tip-on Gatefold Jacket, considered the Holy Grail of record jackets. The process involves printing the artwork on paper, which is then wrapped around heavy 24pt board, giving the jackets a classic old-school look.

A group of men standing in a room

Description automatically generatedPhoto Credit: Rodger Glaspey
L to R: Morningstar Music Productions Exec. Producer, Ken Leister; Producer, Carl Jackson; Tommy Emmanuel (CGP); Morningstar Music Productions Exec. Producer, Rodger Glaspey.

ABOUT MORNINGSTAR MUSIC PRODUCTIONS:

Morningstar Music Productions was created by executive producers and longtime great friends Rodger Glaspey and Ken Leister. The two partners performed in groups that recorded albums during the 70’s as collegians during the Folk/Rock invasion. Producer and musician Carl Jackson approached Rodger and Ken with the desire to produce an album to honor Chet Atkins. The temptation to executive produce an album in Nashville paying homage to Chet Atkins with some of the finest artists and guitar players in the world including Vince Gill, Tommy Emmanuel, Brad Paisley, and other greats was too captivating to pass up… and thus, Morningstar Music Productions was born, with their first album release We Still Can’t Say Good Bye a Musicians’ Tribute To Chet Atkins out today.

For press inquiries regarding WE STILL CAN’T SAY GOOD BYE, contact:

SRO PR:
Mitch Schneider // mschneider@sropr.com
Lyndie Wenner // lwenner@sropr.com

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