Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic exploitation of American coal miners. Among his many well-known songs and recordings are "Sixteen Tons", "Re-Enlistment Blues", "I am a Pilgrim" and "Dark as a Dungeon". 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. 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. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1977.
2016
as Himself (archival footage)
1966
as Larry Scofield
1962
as Kentucky
1961
as Max
1953
as Sal Anderson
1951
as Guitar Player
1946
as Vocalist-Guitarist
1946
as Vocalist
1946
as Merle Travis
1946
as Guitar Player
1946
as Guitar Player Travis
1945
as Vocalist-Lead Guitarist
1944
as Musician