Travis, Merle

Travis, Merle

▪ American musician
in full  Merle Robert Travis 
born Nov. 29, 1917, Rosewood, Ky., U.S.
died Oct. 20, 1983, Tahlequah, Okla.

      American country (country music) singer, songwriter, and guitarist who popularized the complex guitar-picking technique now known as the Travis style, or Travis picking, whereby the index finger plays the melody while the thumb plays rhythmic accompaniment. Travis was also a popular singer and writer of hits in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

      The son of a Kentucky coal miner, Travis learned the banjo-derived picking style to which he gave his name from Mose Rager and Ike Everly (father of the Everly Brothers (Everly Brothers, the)). He played with several bands, performed on WLW radio's Boone County Jamboree, and recorded for King (with Grandpa Jones as the Sheppard Brothers) in Cincinnati, Ohio, before moving to California. There he worked first as a studio musician, then began a solo career in 1946 with a double-sided hit (“Cincinnati Lou” and “No Vacancy”). The next year he began a string of hits (with seven Top Ten songs) that lasted until the early 1950s. He also wrote huge hits for others, notably “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)” for Tex Williams in 1947 and “Sixteen Tons” for Tennessee Ernie Ford in 1955. A sometime actor, Travis appeared in the film From Here to Eternity (1953). He continued recording with limited success in the 1960s, but in 1974 he and Chet Atkins (Atkins, Chet), whose playing he greatly influenced, won a Grammy for their album The Atkins-Travis Traveling Show. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1977.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Travis, Merle (Robert) — born Nov. 29, 1917, Rosewood, Ky., U.S. died Oct. 20, 1983, Tahlequah, Okla. U.S. country music singer and songwriter. Travis learned banjo as a youth, later applying banjo technique to the guitar. He worked on radio in Cincinnati in the 1930s.… …   Universalium

  • Travis, Merle (Robert) — (29 nov. 1917, Rosewood, Ky, EE.UU.20 oct. 1983, Tahlequah, Okla.). Cantautor estadounidense de música country. Aprendió el banjo en su juventud y después aplicó esta técnica a la guitarra. En la década de 1930 trabajó en la radio de Cincinnati.… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Merle Travis — and his Gibson Super 400 at the Country Music Hall of Fame Background information Birth name Merle Robert Travis …   Wikipedia

  • Merle Travis — Nombre real Merle Robert Travis Nacimiento 29 de noviembre de 1917 Rosewood, Kentucky, Estados Unidos Fallecimiento 20 de octubre de 1983 Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Estados Unidos Pareja …   Wikipedia Español

  • Merle Robert Travis — Merle Travis Pour les articles homonymes, voir Merle et Travis. Merle Robert Travis (29 novembre 1917 20 octobre 1983) est un célèbre guitariste américain, à Rosewood (Kentucky). Il a composé de nombreux morceaux de picking.… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Merle travis — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Merle et Travis. Merle Robert Travis (29 novembre 1917 20 octobre 1983) est un célèbre guitariste américain, à Rosewood (Kentucky). Il a composé de nombreux morceaux de picking. Biographie… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Merle Travis — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Merle et Travis. Merle Robert Travis (29 novembre 1917 20 octobre 1983) est un célèbre guitariste américain, né à Rosewood (Kentucky). Il a composé de nombreux morceaux de picking. Sommaire …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Merle Travis — (* 29. November 1917 in Rosewood, Kentucky; † 20. Oktober 1983 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma) war ein US amerikanischer Country Musiker und Songwriter. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Anfänge 2 Karriere …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Merle Haggard — Haggard at the White House for the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors Background information Birth name Merle Ronald Haggard Also …   Wikipedia

  • Merle Haggard — Haggard at the White House for the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors Nombre real Merle Ronald Haggard Nacimiento 1937 de a …   Wikipedia Español

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