Although Chet Atkin’s influence continued to be as strong through the 1970s as it was in earlier periods, Gretsch’s quality was falling, and one of the most successful endorsement relationships in guitar history (second only to Gibson and Les Paul) ended in 1980.

Ownership of Gretsch had left the Gretsch family in 1967, when the company was sold to the Baldwin piano company, and Gretsch changed hands again in 1980, after which production slowed to a trickle. Fred Gretsch, great-grandson of the founder, reacquired his family’s company in 1985 and began offering new, Japanese-made models in 1990.

Gretsch revived the Atkins models – the foundation of Gretsch’s success a generation earlier – without the Atkins signature or model name, and the Country Gentleman (Model 6122) became the Country Classic. The Country Classic II was the double-cutaway with 1962 styling, eventually becoming model G6122-1962, while the single-cut 1958 version was dubbed the Country Classic I.