Merle Travis
Merle Travis | |
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Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American
Biography
Early years
Merle Travis was born and raised in
Merle's guitar playing style was developed out of a native tradition of
At the age of 18, Travis performed "Tiger Rag" on a local radio amateur show in
In 1943, he and
With
During this period, Travis appeared in several
Career peak
Travis performed in stage shows and landed bit parts and singing roles in several B westerns. He recorded for small labels there until 1946 when he was signed to Hollywood-based
In 1946, asked to record an album of folk songs, Travis combined traditional songs with several original compositions recalling his family's days working in the mines. The result was released as the 4-disk 78 rpm box set Folk Songs of the Hills.[1] This album, featuring Travis accompanied only on his guitar, contains his two most enduring songs, both centered on the lives of coal miners: "Sixteen Tons" and "Dark as a Dungeon".[1]
"Sixteen Tons" became a No. 1 Billboard country hit for
Travis was a popular radio performer throughout the 1940s and 1950s. He appeared on many country music television shows, co-hosting a show "Merle Travis and Company" with his wife Judy Hayden around 1953. He was a regular member of the Hollywood Barn dance broadcast over radio station KNX, Hollywood, and of the Town Hall Party, which was broadcast first as a radio show on KXLA out of Pasadena, California and later as a TV series in 1953–1961. However, his personal life became increasingly troubled. A heavy drinker and at times desperately insecure despite his multitude of talents (including prose writing, taxidermy, cartooning and watch repair), he was involved in various violent incidents in California, and he married several times in the course of his life. He suffered from serious stage fright, though amazed fellow performers added that once onstage, he was an effective and even charismatic performer. In spite of his problems he was respected and admired by his friends and fellow musicians. Longtime Travis fan Doc Watson named his son Merle Watson, and Travis admirer Chet Atkins named his daughter Merle Atkins, in Travis' honor.[1]
Travis' string of chart-topping
He found greater exposure after an appearance in the successful 1953 movie From Here to Eternity singing and playing "Reenlistment Blues", and following the success of his friend Tennessee Ernie Ford's million-selling rendition of "Sixteen Tons" in 1955.[1] His reputation as a folk-inspired singer-composer and guitarist grew after the appearance of the album The Merle Travis Guitar in 1956, the reissue of Folk Songs of the Hills with four additional tracks under the title Back Home in 1957, and Walkin' the Strings in 1960, the latter two of which won 5-star ratings from Rolling Stone. His career acquired a second wind during the American folk music revival in the late 1950s and early 1960s, leading to appearances at clubs, folk festivals and at Carnegie Hall as a guest of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs in 1962. In the mid-1960s he moved to Nashville and joined the Grand Ole Opry. During this time he became a close friend and occasional hunting partner of Johnny Cash.
Guitar style
Merle Travis is now acknowledged as one of the most influential American guitarists of the 20th century. His unique guitar style inspired many guitarists who followed, most notably Chet Atkins, who first heard Travis's radio broadcasts on Cincinnati's WLW Boone County Jamboree in 1939 while living with his father in rural Georgia. Among the many other guitarists influenced by Travis are Scotty Moore, Earl Hooker, Lonnie Mack, Doc Watson and Marcel Dadi. His son, Thom Bresh (1948–2022), had continued playing in Travis's style on a custom-made Langejans Dualette.
Although his early tutors were among the first to use the thumbpick in guitar playing, freeing the fingers to pick melody, Travis' style, according to Chet Atkins, went on in musical directions "never dreamt about" by his predecessors.
Though Chet Atkins was the most prominent guitarist to be inspired by Merle Travis, the two players' styles were significantly different. As Atkins explained, "While I play alternate bass strings which sounds more like a stride piano style, Merle played two bass strings simultaneously on the one and three beats, producing a more exciting solo rhythm, in my opinion. It was somewhat reminiscent of the great old black players."[12] The resemblance was no coincidence; Travis himself acknowledged the influence of black guitarists such as Blind Blake, the foremost ragtime and blues guitarist of the late 1920s and early 1930s.[14][15]
Travis' style is explained and exemplified by Marcel Dadi on the DVD The Guitar of Merle Travis, which includes live video performances by Travis of classics such as "John Henry" and "Nine Pound Hammer" as well as transcriptions of Travis solos in tablature.[16]
Late career
After a career dip during which he struggled to overcome alcohol and drug abuse,
In 1983, Travis died of a
Legacy
Although many of his original LP albums are still unissued on CD, Travis' posthumous discography continues to grow, due in large part to the efforts of independent labels. A live concert album Merle Travis in Boston 1959 released by Rounder Records in 1993 documents Travis' singing and guitar work still at its peak. A major retrospective of Travis' work and career (Guitar Rags and a Too Fast Past, five CDs with an 80-page booklet authored by Rich Kienzle, who interviewed many of Travis' contemporaries) was produced by Bear Family Records in 1994, and includes much previously unreleased material. The Country Routes label has issued several transcriptions of his radio broadcasts of the 1940s and 1950s. Several recent DVDs published by Vestapol and Bear Family have collected many of his music videos and television appearances. He was an honoree of the two-hour television special An Evening of Country Greats: A Hall of Fame Celebration in 1996, and two classic Travis performances were included in the four-part PBS television documentary American Roots Music in 2001, available in CD and DVD formats.
Discography
Albums
Year | Album | US Country | Label |
---|---|---|---|
1947 | Folk Songs of the Hills | Capitol | |
1956 | The Merle Travis Guitar (Instrumental Album) | ||
1957 | Back Home (LP reissue of Folk Songs of the Hills plus some songs not released before) | ||
1960 | Walkin' the Strings (Acoustic instrumentals and songs recorded in the 1940s and 50s) | ||
1962 | Travis (Compilation of songs recorded in the 1940s and 50s) | ||
1963 | Songs of the Coal Mines | ||
1964 | Merle Travis and Joe Maphis | ||
1967 | The Best of Merle Travis | ||
Our Man from Kentucky | Hilltop | ||
1968 | Strictly Guitar (Instrumental Album) | Capitol | |
1969 | Great Songs of the Delmore Brothers (with Johnny Bond )
|
||
1974 | Merle's Boogie Woogie + 3 (with Ray Campi) | Rollin' Rock | |
The Atkins - Travis Traveling Show (with Chet Atkins )
|
30 | RCA Victor | |
1976 | Guitar Player | Shasta | |
1979 | Country Guitar Giants (with Joe Maphis) | CMH | |
The Merle Travis Story: 24 Greatest Hits | |||
1980 | Light Singin' and Heavy Pickin | ||
Guitar Standards | |||
1981 | Travis Pickin' (Instrumental Album) | ||
1982 | Country Guitar Thunder (1977–1981) (with Joe Maphis) | ||
The Clayton McMichen Story (with Mac Wiseman) | |||
Farm and Home Hour (with Grandpa Jones) (includes the 1981 re-recording of the instrumental "Rose Time") |
Posthumous albums
Year | Album | Label |
---|---|---|
1986 | Rough, Rowdy and Blue | CMH Records |
1991 | Merle Travis Unreleased Radio Transcriptions 1944–1949 | Country Routes |
1994 | Guitar Rags and a Too Fast Past (5 CD-Set) | Bear Family |
1995 | Country Hoedown Shows & Films | Country Routes |
Unissued Radio Shows (1944–1948) | ||
1998 | Turn Your Radio On (1944–1965) | |
2002 | The Very Best of Merle Travis | Varèse Sarabande |
2003 | Boogie Woogie Cowboy 1944–1956 | Country Routes |
In Boston 1959 | Rounder |
Selected compilations and reissues
Year | Album | Label |
---|---|---|
1990 | The Best of | Rhino |
1993 | Folk Songs of the Hills: Back Home/Songs of the Coalminers | Bear Family |
1995 | Guitar Retrospective (instrumental compilation album) | CMH |
2000 | The Best of Merle Travis: Sweet Temptation 1946–1953 | Razor & Tie |
2002 | Sixteen Tons | ASV Living Era |
2003 | Hot Pickin | Proper Records |
2005 | I Am a Pilgrim | Country Stars |
2008 | Merle Travis: The Definitive Collection | Delta Leisure Group |
Legend of Merle Travis | Country Stars |
Notes on the recordings
- The 1956 and 1968 Capitol albums are collections of unaccompanied electric guitar solos.
- The 1957 Capitol LP album Back Home contains the 8 tracks of the 1947 box set Folk Songs of the Hills together with four previously unreleased tracks; the 1996 remastered CD reissue of this album, which reverts to the original title, adds a further unreleased track.
- The 1960 Capitol album consists of unaccompanied acoustic guitar solos with a few vocals.
- The Capitol albums Back Home, Walkin' the Strings, and The Best of Merle Travis were awarded the top (five-star) rankings in the Rolling Stone Record Guide
- The 1974 album with Chet Atkins received a Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental
- The 1979 CMH CD consists of late-period recordings, tracked over two days in New Mexico four years before Travis' death
- The 1981 LP Travis Pickin' is an acoustic solo guitar album
- On the 1981 CMH LP Rough, Rowdy and Blue Travis accompanies himself on 12-string acoustic guitar
- The 1991, 1995, 1998 and 2003 Country Routes CDs contain remastered radio transcriptions
- The 1993 Bear Family double reissue contains remasterings of all tracks from Back Home (1957) and Songs of the Coalmines (1963)
- The 1993 Bear Family 5-CD collection contains Capitol singles from 1946 to 1955 as well as early singles recorded for small labels such as King and Bel-Tone as well as comprehensive notes by country music historian and Travis authority Rich Kienzle.
- The 2002 Varèse Sarabande CD is a collection of remastered mid-50s live recordings, taken from appearances on Jimmy Wakely's radio show
- The 2003 Proper Records 2-CD album is a compilation of remastered recordings from 1943 to 1952 accompanied by a 15-page booklet listing recording dates and personnel. Includes rare Sheppard Brothers and Browns Ferry Four tracks.
- The 2003 Rounder Records CD is a concert recording of songs accompanied on acoustic guitar
- The 2008 2-CD Delta Leisure Group album is a digitally remastered compilation of recordings from the 1940s and 1950s.
Singles
Year | Single | US Country |
---|---|---|
1946 | "Cincinnati Lou" | 2 |
"No Vacancy" | 3 | |
"Divorce Me C.O.D." | 1 | |
"Missouri" | 5 | |
1947 | "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed" | 1 |
"Sweet Temptation" | 5 | |
"Steel Guitar Rag" | 4 | |
"Three Times Seven" | 4 | |
"Fat Gal" | 4 | |
1948 | "Merle's Boogie Woogie" | 7 |
"Kentucky Means Paradise" | 9 | |
"Crazy Boogie" | 11 | |
1949 | "What a Shame" | 13 |
1955 | "Wildwood Flower" (w/ Hank Thompson) | 5 |
1966 | "John Henry, Jr." | 44 |
Music DVDs
- 1994 Rare Performances 1946–1981, Vestapol (with 36-page booklet)
- 2002 Legends of Country Guitar, Vestapol (with Chet Atkins, Doc Watson and Mose Rager)
- 2003 More Rare Performances 1946–1981, Vestapol (with 21-page booklet)
- 2005 At Town Hall Party, Bear Family
Music films
1. Soundies Distributing Corporation (1946)
- "Night Train to Memphis"
- "Silver Spurs"
- "Texas Home"
- "Old Chisholm Trail"
- "Catalogue Cowboy"
- "Why'd I Fall for Abner" (with Carolina Cotton)
- "No Vacancy" (with the Bronco Busters and Betty Devere)
2. Snader Transcriptions (1951)
- "Spoonin' Moon" (with the Westerners and Judy Hayden)
- "Too Much Sugar for a Dime" (with the Westerners and Judy Hayden)
- "I'm a Natural Born Gamblin' Man" (with the Westerners)
- "Petticoat Fever" (with the Westerners)
- "Sweet Temptation" (with the Westerners)
- "Nine Pound Hammer" (with acoustic guitar)
- "Lost John" (with acoustic guitar)
- "Muskrat" (with acoustic guitar)
- "John Henry" (with acoustic guitar)
- "Dark as a Dungeon" (with acoustic guitar)
Filmography
Film appearances as musical performer
- 1944: I'm from Arkansas - Musician (uncredited)
- 1944: The Old Texas Trail - Guitar and Banjo Player (uncredited) (U.K. title: Old Stagecoach Line)
- 1945: Montana Plains (Short) - Musician
- 1945: When the Bloom is on the Sage (Short) - Himself
- 1945: Why Did I Fall for Abner? (Short) - Vocalist-Lead Guitarist
- 1945 Texas Home (with Carolina Cotton) - Himself - Lead Singer-Guitarist
- 1946: Roaring Rangers (U.K. title False Hero) - Guitar Player Travis (with the Bronco Busters)
- 1946: Galloping Thunder (U.K. title On Boot Hill) - Guitar Player (with the Bronco Busters)
- 1946: Lone Star Moonlight (U.K. title Amongst the Thieves) - Himself (with the Merle Travis Trio)
- 1946: Old Chisholm Trail (Short) - Vocalist
- 1947: Silver Spurs (Short) - Vocalist-Guitarist
- 1951: Cyclone Fury - Guitar Player (with the Bronco Busters)
- 1953: From Here to Eternity - Sal Anderson (vocal with acoustic guitar)
- 1966: That Tennessee Beat - Larry Scofield
Other film appearances
- 1945: Beyond the Pecos - Slim Jones (uncredited)
- 1961: Door-to-Door Maniac (U.S. video title Last Blood) - Max
- 1962: The Night Rider (TV Short) - Kentucky
- 1982: Honkytonk Man - Texas Playboy #3 (final film role)
Original film music
- 1976: Harlan County, USA
References
- ^ ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
- ^ Lightfoot, William E. 1990. "A regional musical style: The legacy of Arnold Shultz," in Sense of place: American regional cultures, edited by Barbara Allen and Thomas J. Schlereth, 120–137. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky; Kienzle, Rich. "The evolution of country fingerpicking" Archived September 30, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Merle Travis interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
- ^ "Drifting Pioneers". Hillbilly-music.com.
- ^ Truth is Stranger Than Publicity, 1995 ed.
- ^ "MERLE TRAVIS | Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum | Nashville, Tennessee". September 26, 2007. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007.
- ^ An interview with Merle Travis Yesteryear in Nashville, archived from the original on December 22, 2021, retrieved July 10, 2010
- ^ by William E. Lightfoot, 2003. The Three Doc(k)s: White Blues in Appalachia, Black Music Research Journal, Vol. 23, No. 1/2, pp. 167–193; see also "Brown's Ferry Four" by Bruce Eder, Allmusic
- ^ "Merle Travis". IMDb.
- ^ "Liberation sets 'Soundies' free". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ "The Ford Show. Season Five. 1960-'61". Ernieford.com. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ^ a b Chet Atkins, liner notes to 1996 reissue of the album Walkin' the Strings
- ^ Gold 2006.
- ^ Ferris, William R., Michael K. Honey and Pete Seeger,"Pete Seeger, San Francisco, 1989", Southern Cultures Volume 13.3, Fall 2007, pp. 5–38
- ISBN 9781610751391– via Google Books.
- ^ Available from Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop GW 918, 1993
- ^ "New York Times, October 22, 1983, Section 1, Page 28". The New York Times. October 22, 1983. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
Bibliography
- Travis, Merle. 1976. Foreword to Country Roots: the Origins of Country Music by Douglas B. Green. New York : Hawthorn Books. ISBN 0-8015-1778-8pbk
- Travis, Merle. 1979. "Recollections of Merle Travis: 1944–1955" (Parts 1 & 2). 1979. John Edwards Memorial Foundation Quarterly, Vol. XV, Nos. 54 and 55, pp. 107–114; 135–143.
- Travis, Merle. 1955. "The Saga of Sixteen Tons", United Mine Workers Journal, December 1, 1955.
- "Merle Travis on Home Ground", Interview with Hedy West in Sing Out, Vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 20–26.
- "Interview: Merle Travis Talking with Mark Humphrey" (Parts 1 to 4). 1981–1982. Old Time Music nos. 36–39, pp. 6–10; 20–24; 14–18; 22–25.
- Kienzle, Rich, 2004. "Merle Travis". In Paul Kingsbury, ed., The Encyclopedia of Country Music: the Ultimate Guide to the Music. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-517608-1
- Gold, Jude. 2006. "The secrets of Travis picking: Thom Bresh passes on the lessons of his legendary father, Merle Travis," Guitar Player, April 1, 2006.
- Eatherly, Pat Travis. 1987. In Search of My Father. Broadman Press. # ISBN 978-0-8054-5727-8
- Dicaire, David. 2007. The First Generation of Country Music Stars: Biographies of 50 Artists Born Before 1940. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-7864-3021-4
- Wolfe, Charles K. 1996. Kentucky Country: Folk and Country Music of Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-0879-7.