Being an 80s kid my tastes run to Metal but I am very familiar with the Nashville/country greats. One of my favorite things was some of the interviews with some of the then current 80s shredder types in guitar mags. There were more than a couple that talked about going to Nashville for one reason or another and leaving schooled and ready to give up playing because of guys like Atkins and Campbell. Seems they discovered that they weren’t the Gods they thought they were and had their strings handed to them. ;)
Not mark knoffler. He went there and became friends with Chet Atkins. They played some amazing sets together.