Merle Travis
American country/Western singer-songwriter and musician · United States · On the map · Musicians · Lived 1917 to 1983 · aged 65
Merle Robert Travis was an American country and western singer, songwriter, actor, and guitarist. Born in Rosewood, Kentucky, his songs' lyrics were often about the lives and the economic exploitation of American coal miners.
Merle Travis is read about 226 times a day, in 17 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 9 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 111 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?People around Merle
Close ties
- Grandpa Jones Bandmate in Brown’s Ferry Four
Dolly Parton Duets: Dark as a Dungeon
Fred Zinnemann Directed From Here to Eternity (1953)
Chet Atkins Duets: The Atkins-Travis Traveling Show (1974)
Jerry Reed Produced The Atkins-Travis Traveling Show (1974)
Lambert Hillyer Directed Beyond the Pecos (1945)
Buddy Adler Produced From Here to Eternity (1953)
Ed Earl Repp Wrote Galloping Thunder and Cyclone Fury
Ray Nazarro Directed Galloping Thunder and Roaring Rangers- Ken Nelson Produced Walkin' the Strings (1960)
Media & music
Photos 1
Awards
About this person
Among his many well-known songs and recordings are "Sixteen Tons", "Re-Enlistment Blues", "I Am a Pilgrim", and "Dark as a Dungeon". He is best known today, though, for 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. 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 plucked by the index finger. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1977.
