Paul Yandell (September 6, 1935 – November 21, 2011) was an American guitar player from

Mayfield, Kentucky Mayfield is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule–class city and the county seat of Graves County, Kentucky, Graves County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 10,017 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Hi ...

. Yandell played

fingerstyle Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with a single plect ...

, a style he learned to play from his neighbors, influenced by

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

and

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born in Rosewood, Kentucky, his songs' lyrics were often about the lives and the economic exploitation of Ameri ...

. In 1955 he was hired by

The Louvin Brothers The Louvin Brothers were an American musical duo composed of brothers Ira and Charlie Louvin (''né'' Loudermilk). The brothers are cousins to John D. Loudermilk, a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member. The brothers wrote and performed ...

and performed and recorded with them. From 1959 to 1961 he served in the US Army and on his return was a touring musician with

Kitty Wells Ellen Muriel Deason (August 30, 1919 – July 16, 2012), known professionally as Kitty Wells, was an American pioneering female country music singer. She broke down a barrier for women in country music with her 1952 hit recording " It Wasn't God ...

Johnnie Wright Johnnie Robert Wright Jr. (May 13, 1914 – September 27, 2011) was an American country music singer-songwriter, who spent much of his career working with Jack Anglin as the popular duo Johnnie & Jack, and was also the husband of country music ...

George Hamilton IV George Hege Hamilton IV (July 19, 1937 – September 17, 2014) was an American country musician. He began performing in the late 1950s as a teen idol, switching to country music in the early 1960s. Biography Hamilton was born in Winston-Salem, ...

, and

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008), known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country singer, guitarist, composer, songwriter and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Gui ...

. From 1975 until the late 1990s, Yandell worked with Chet Atkins doing shows, recordings, and TV appearances, and produced an instructional video called ''Fingerstyle Legacy''. After Atkins died in 2001, Yandell recorded seven CDs and was a consultant for guitars for

Gretsch Gretsch is an American company that manufactures and markets musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Fri ...

, most notably the limited edition stereo version of the

Gretsch 6120 The Gretsch 6120 is a hollow body electric guitar with f-holes, manufactured by Gretsch and first appearing in the mid-1950s with the endorsement of Chet Atkins. It was quickly adopted by rockabilly artists Eddie Cochran, Duane Eddy, and later ...

, a model used by Atkins in the 1950s. He died in

Hendersonville, Tennessee Hendersonville is the most populous city in Sumner County, Tennessee, on Old Hickory Lake. As of the 2020 census the city's population was 61,753. Hendersonville is the fourth-most populous city in the Nashville metropolitan area after Nas ...

, of cancer, at age 76. In 2011, Atkins' daughter Merle Atkins Russell bestowed the light-hearted Certified Guitar Player degree on Yandell. She then declared no more CGPs would be allowed by the Atkins estate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yandell, Paul 1935 births 2011 deaths American country guitarists American male guitarists Country musicians from Kentucky Country musicians from Tennessee People from Mayfield, Kentucky Deaths from cancer in Tennessee Guitarists from Kentucky Guitarists from Tennessee 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians