MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: COUSIN HARLEY – BLUE SMOKE: THE MUSIC OF MERLE TRAVIS
By Bob Mersereau
December 13, 2017
Top 100 Canadian Singles
Because we focus so much on the rock and roll heroes, or the great jazz players of earlier in the 20th century, Merle Travis has been neglected, quite unfairly. Not only was he a guitar innovator and master player in the country/Western Swing world, he was a tremendous songwriter as well. Take his classics, 16 Tons and Dark As A Dungeon, certainly two of the masterpieces of the recording era, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.