![]() ![]() Among its early practitioners was the black country blues guitarist Arnold Shultz. ![]() Merle's guitar playing style was developed out of a native tradition of fingerpicking in western Kentucky. (This is the same coal mining county mentioned in the John Prine song "Paradise".) He became interested in the guitar early in life and originally played one made by his brother. Travis reportedly saved his money to buy a guitar for which he had window-shopped for some time. Merle Travis was born and raised in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, a place which would inspire many of Travis' original songs. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1977. Travis picking is a syncopated style of guitar fingerpicking rooted in ragtime music in which alternating chords and bass notes are plucked by the thumb while melodies are simultaneously plucked by the index finger. However, it is his unique guitar style, still called " Travis picking" by guitarists, as well as his interpretations of the rich musical traditions of his native Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, for which he is best known today. Among his many well-known songs and recordings are " Sixteen Tons", "Re-Enlistment Blues", " I am a Pilgrim" and " Dark as a Dungeon". ![]() His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic exploitation of American coal miners. Merle Robert Travis (Novem– October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. ![]()
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