(b.Merle Robert Travis, 29 November 1917, Rosewood, Kentucky, d. 20 October 1983, Tahlequah, OK)

Says Tennessee Ernie Ford, ‘Merle Travis was one of the most talented men I ever met. He could write songs that would knock your hat off, but he was a chronic alcoholic and when those binges would come, there was nothing we could do about it.’ Travis died in October 1983.