In 1958, following Gretsch’s introduction of the Country Gentleman as the high-end Chet Atkins model, the company balanced out the Atkins line expansion with a plainer model called the Tennessean.

With a body width of 16 inches, the Tennessean was the same size as the original Atkins Hollow Body (Model 6120), but it only had one pickup – a Filter’Tron humbucker mounted in the bridge position. It had open f-holes until 1961, after which they became simulated with paint or binding, just like those on the Country Gentleman. Like all Atkins models of the era, the Tennessean had a metal nut and a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece.

Most examples had a cherry or walnut stain finish, but a few sported the eye-catching orange more often identified with the 6120. Curiously, the Tennessean did not change to a double-cutaway body when the higher Atkins models did in 1961, but it nevertheless remained a solid sales performer in the Gretsch Hollow Body line until Atkins ended his endorsement in 1980.