Each month we'll take a "visit down memory lane" and review a product that has become an all-time genuine classic!     Before the release of Mel Bay's 1976 book Chet Atkins "Off the Record", there were previous Chet instructional material such as the early "Chet Atkins' Guitar Method" book issued in 1954 and "The Chet Atkins Style for Guitar" series by Mel Bay in the early '60's. One of the most popular from the mid-'60's was the vinyl LP set "Play Guitar with Chet Atkins" on Dolton Records. Later in the early '70's was "Chet Atkins Strum-Along Guitar Method" by F.A.M.E. (Famous American Musician Educators) 2-LP set. Another popular book was "Chet Atkins Note-for-Note" transcribed by guitarist John Knowles and included all the tunes from "Chet Goes To The Movies" LP 1975. "Off the Record" was the first to feature Chet's arrangements in tablature form (unlike the other methods which were mainly standard notation and/or chord diagrams only). Tunes included in "Off the Record":   • I'll Say She Does (a Jerry Reed original from the LP "Picks on Jerry Reed")   • Yankee Doodle Dixie ("Chet Atkins At Home" LP)   • Mr.Bojangles ("Superpickers" LP)   • Walk, Don't Run ("Hi-Fi In Focus" LP)   • Wheels ("Travelin" LP)   • The Odd Folks of Okracoke" ("Lover's Guitar" LP)   • Yellow Bird "Class Guitar" LP)   • Windy & Warm ("Down Home" LP)   • Just As I Am ("Alone" LP)   • John Henry ("Hum & Strum along w/Chet Atkins" LP)   • Spanish Fandango ("Alone" LP)   • Wimoweh ("My Favorite Guitars" LP)   • Liebestraum (Me & Chet" LP)   • Czardas ("Chet Atkins At Home" LP) The book was transcribed by Chet and Tommy Flint, a Merle Travis prodigy and has written many books for Mel Bay through the years on thumbpicking style. "Off the Record" evolved into a more comprehensive edition titled Mel Bay's Complete Chet Atkins Guitar Method. Many more tablature books and teaching methods on Chet's style of playing have since come along especially Chet's ultimate one-on-one advanced video DVD lesson The Guitar of Chet Atkins and book folios of Chet's arrangements transcribed by John Knowles issued by Hal Leonard in the '90's including: Vintage Fingerstyle, Contemporary Styles plus others. Most recently available is guitarist John McClellan's Chet AtkinsI n Three Dimensions book and DVD series from Mel Bay. However "Off The Record" remains simplistic and is still a great value for the money.