Chicken pickin’ — that much-used, often-misunderstood term in the world of guitar-speak. What is it, exactly? What ISN’T it? How is it even spelled — “chicken” or “chickin”? Let’s take a ride through the barnyard and find out.
First and foremost, chicken pickin’ refers to the “clucking” staccato tone from the guitar strings that is fundamentally as percussive as melodic. And while chicken pickin’ is a technique used primarily in country and honky-tonk music, it’s been adopted by players in other genres as well.
The technique of chicken pickin’ is accomplished by “snapping” the strings against the fretboard and frets by plucking the strings. This can be done with a flatpick and fingers, thumbpick and fingers, or even with a flatpick and metal finger picks. This involves getting a bit more aggressive with a string than usual. To really get a good snap, get your finger under the string and actually pull it away from the fingerboard — not up, but out and away. It doesn’t have to be far away, but you have to get comfortable with a motion and dynamic that seems a bit unsettling at first. Often players will snap two, sometimes even three strings at once for an impressively full, percussive tonal effect. This multi-string attack takes serious practice.
The snap is where chicken pickin’ really takes flight. Once the string is snapped, muting that string with either your palm, your finger, or your pick — or all three — really makes the string “cluck,” and that cluck is what it’s all about. Practicing the muting approaches available in chicken pickin’ can keep you busy for hours.
There are countless players who have mastered chicken pickin’ and brought it into their overall style of playing. And like many techniques, it is nearly impossible to pinpoint one player who invented the form. Many agree, however, that James Burton is the godfather of the technique, and he brought chicken pickin’ to a wide audience earlier than anyone.
One of the earliest radio hits that featured chicken pickin’ with Burton on guitar was Dale Hawkins’s 1957 “Susie Q.” In the opening riff, we hear that telltale snap and cluck, even if briefly. As simple as the riff was, it perked a lot of ears in 1957 and had more than a few players hot on the trail of this new sound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb9vcqam_tQ
Another early hit with Burton using chicken pickin’ was Merle Haggard’s “Workin’ Man Blues.” The opening riff as well as the solo both showcased Burton’s subtle mastery of the technique. Burton has gone on to play on hundreds of recordings and tour with legends like Elvis Presley, Gram Parsons, John Denver, and Elvis Costello — and today he is still alive and pickin’!
Not far off the heels of Burton was Lonnie Mack. His 1963 The Wham of That Memphis Man features a track aptly named “Chicken Pickin'” that deftly showcases the technique with Mack playing at a blistering speed, snapping and muting for an absolute cascade of cluck.
All during the ’50s and ’60s, chicken pickin’ spread like wildfire through the country and honky-tonk world. Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Roy Clark, Phil Baugh, and Joe Maphis were just some of the dozens of players who utilized chicken pickin’ in their playing. Maphis and Baugh especially gained a reputation as players who utilized chicken pickin’ deftly and at mind-bending speed.
Meanwhile, across the pond in late 1950s England, teenagers Albert Lee and Ray Flacke were devouring records that featured James Burton, Roy Clark, and Jimmy Bryant and mastering the art of chicken pickin’. Lee eventually founded Heads Hands & Feet, an all-British outfit that played raucous country and honky-tonk at a time when the Beatles and the Stones ruled the radio. Flacke went on to record with dozens of artists, including Emmylou Harris and Ricky Skaggs. Both Lee and Flacke are still active players and can still be heard onstage laying down leads that feature chicken pickin’.
American guitarist Clarence White came along at the same time as Lee and Flacke and played with seminal country rock bands the Byrds and the Kentucky Colonels, bringing chicken pickin’ into the then-emerging blend of country and psychedelic rock. White was tragically taken at the tender age of 29 when he was struck by a drunk driver while loading gear into his car after a show.
There are legions of current players who are heirs to Burton and other early chicken pickin’ greats — Redd Volkaert, Scotty Anderson, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Brent Mason, and Johnny Hiland to name only a few. Mason and Hiland represent some of the youngest on this list and continue to be very active.
Mason has brought his chicken pickin’ prowess to hundreds of recordings with artists that span the ’80s to today. He has recorded with George Strait, Alan Jackson, and more recently the Zac Brown Band. The 2008 instrumental “Cluster Pluck” that features Mason, Lee, and Vince Gill on Brad Paisley’s album Play garnered Mason and company a Grammy Award.
Johnny Hiland has played with a wide array of artists, including Randy Travis, Toby Keith, Ricky Skaggs, and Hank Williams III. Hiland is known for his generosity in sharing his knowledge of guitar with just about anyone who asks and can be seen in showcases and festivals all around the nation.
Chicken pickin’ has also found its way into the world of rock and heavy metal. Zakk Wylde uses chicken pickin’ in his solos. Perhaps the most voracious chicken pickin’ ambassador in the world of rock and metal, however, is John 5. As a big fan of the Telecaster and a student of many styles, John 5 has trumpeted the use of the technique as a way to add variety and nuance to metal and rock solos.
Another player who has embraced the style of Jerry Reed is guitar phenomenon Eric Johnson. Take a listen to his fine chicken pickin’ in this song, “Steve’s Boogie.”
Chicken pickin’ continues to shake up the barnyard because of players like Brent Mason, Johnny Hiland, and John 5 and will likely be around for many decades to come. It is a technique that any guitar player can benefit from and have fun with. As many of the players mentioned here would attest: once you make it cluck, you get a bit hooked.