Born in Enterprise, Alabama, Chalker began playing the lap steel guitar while still in his teens and made his professional debut in the nightclubs of Cincinnati, Ohio.
[2] Chalker then joined Hank Thompson's Brazos Valley Boys, and was featured on the 1952 cuts, "Cryin' in the Deep Blue Sea" and "The Wild Side of Life".
In 1959, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he played behind fiddler Wade Ray, and later joined the band of the long-time Golden Nugget fixture Hank Penny.
Chalker also appeared with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, recording the album, Counterpoint which was shelved for years after its completion.
[4] A prolific studio musician and sideman, Chalker performed on records and on stage with artists such as Willie Nelson, the Gap Band, Ray Price, Leon Russell, and Bill Haley and the Comets.
[6] Chalker was also a member of the house band of the television show Hee Haw for 18 years, with his friend and former bandmate, Roy Clark.