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Merle Travis
Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and Western singer, songwriter, and musician born in Rosewood, Kentucky. His lyrics often discussed the life and exploitation of coal miners. Among his many well-known songs are "Sixteen Tons", "Re-Enlistment Blues" and "Dark as a Dungeon". However, it is his masterful guitar playing and his interpretations of the rich musical traditions of his native Muhlenberg County, Kentucky for which he is best known today. "Travis picking", a syncopated style of finger picking, is named after him. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1977.
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Albums by Merle TravisSort:By AlbumA - Z
Battleground Korea: Songs and Sounds of America's Forgotten War [2018]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Re-Enlistment Blues | 3:22 |
The Stars of Country Music [2015]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Bugle Call Rag | |
| Divorce Me C. O. D. | |
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | |
| Sixteen Tons |
Bob Dylan's Country Selection: Original Versions Of The Songs Dylan Covered [2011]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Dark as a Dungeon | 2:46 |
Born To Be Wild: The Country & Rockabilly Roots Of Ray Campi [2011]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Merle's Boogie Woogie | 2:45 |
Dylan: Out-Takes and Adaptations -- The Later Years [2011]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Sixteen Tons | 2:49 |
| Dark as a Dungeon | 2:46 |
The Guitar Picker [2010]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | 3:02 |
| Nine Pound Hammer | 1:58 |
| Dark as a Dungeon | 2:50 |
| Sixteen Tons | 2:53 |
| I Am a Pilgrim | 2:54 |
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 3:00 |
| Merle's Boogie Woogie | 3:03 |
| Re-Enlistment Blues | 3:24 |
| Gambler's Guitar | 2:38 |
| Beer Barrel Polka | 2:38 |
| Wildwood Flower | 2:57 |
| Bugle Call Rag | 2:23 |
| The Sheik of Araby | 2:06 |
Merle Travis Guitar/Walkin the Strings... Plus [2009]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Bugle Call Rag | 2:21 |
| The Sheik of Araby | 2:05 |
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed [*] | 2:56 |
Dim Lights, Thick Smoke and Hillbilly Music: 1947 [2008]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 3:00 |
The Definitive Collection [2008]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Dark as a Dungeon | 2:48 |
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | 2:59 |
| I Am a Pilgrim | 2:50 |
| Merle's Boogie Woogie | 3:00 |
| Nine Pound Hammer | 2:40 |
| Sixteen Tons | 2:51 |
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 2:58 |
Country Hit Parade [2005]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Sixteen Tons | 2:51 |
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 2:59 |
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | 3:01 |
| Dark as a Dungeon | 2:48 |
| Nine Pound Hammer | 2:40 |
I Am a Pilgrim [2005]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | 2:59 |
| Nine Pound Hammer | 2:40 |
| Sixteen Tons | 2:51 |
| Dark as a Dungeon | 2:48 |
| I Am a Pilgrim | 2:53 |
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 2:58 |
| Merle's Boogie Woogie | 3:32 |
Famous Country Music Makers [2004]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Sixteen Tons | 2:52 |
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | 3:01 |
| Dark as a Dungeon | 2:50 |
| Nine Pound Hammer | 2:41 |
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 2:59 |
| I Am a Pilgrim | 2:53 |
| Merle's Boogie Woogie | 3:03 |
Hot Pickin' [2003]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | 3:01 |
| Nine Pound Hammer | 2:41 |
| Sixteen Tons | 2:51 |
| I Am a Pilgrim | 2:51 |
| Dark as a Dungeon | 2:48 |
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 2:59 |
| Merle's Boogie Woogie | 3:05 |
| Bugle Call Rag | 2:20 |
Merle Travis in Boston 1959 [2003]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Nine Pound Hammer | 1:51 |
| Dark as a Dungeon | 3:14 |
| Re-Enlistment Blues | 2:56 |
| Sixteen Tons | 3:11 |
| I Am a Pilgrim | 3:23 |
The Legend of Merle Travis [2003]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | |
| I Am a Pilgrim | |
| Re-Enlistment Blues | |
| Nine Pound Hammer | |
| Sixteen Tons | |
| Dark as a Dungeon |
Best of Country: Home on the Range [2002]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 2:58 |
| Sixteen Tons | 2:51 |
Country Hits of the Forties [2002]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | 2:32 |
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 3:00 |
Country, Bluegrass and Mountain Music [2002]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | 3:03 |
| Sixteen Tons | 2:53 |
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 3:02 |
Sixteen Tons [2002]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Sixteen Tons | 2:52 |
| Nine Pound Hammer | 2:42 |
| Dark as a Dungeon | 2:50 |
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | 3:04 |
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 2:59 |
| Merle's Boogie Woogie | 3:04 |
| I Am a Pilgrim | 2:53 |
The Very Best of Merle Travis [2002]
That's Country [Goldies Box Set] [2001]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | |
| Divorce Me C.O.D |
American Roots: A History of American Folk Music [2000]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Nine Pound Hammer | 2:06 |
| Worried Man Blues | 2:38 |
As Good As It Gets: Western Swing [2000]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 2:57 |
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | 3:00 |
Tennessee Saturday Night: The Rural Route to Rock 'N' Roll [2000]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Merle's Boogie Woogie | 3:01 |
The Best of Merle Travis: Sweet Temptation 1946-1953 [2000]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | 3:00 |
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 2:59 |
| Sixteen Tons | 2:52 |
| Re-Enlistment Blues | 3:22 |
Turn Your Radio On (1944-1965) [1998]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Nine Pound Hammer | |
| Wildwood Flower | |
| Bugle Call Rag | |
| Tiger Rag | |
| Sixteen Tons |
Country Hoedown Shows & Films [1995]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| I Am a Pilgrim | 2:18 |
| Nine Pound Hammer | 3:06 |
| Dark as a Dungeon | 2:42 |
Guitar Retrospective [1995]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me) | 2:54 |
| Bye Bye Blues | 1:55 |
| After You've Gone | 2:13 |
| If I Had You | 2:59 |
Unissued Radio Shows, 1944-1948 [1995]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Nine Pound Hammer | 2:26 |
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | 2:17 |
| Darktown Strutters' Ball | 0:59 |
Guitar Rags & A Too Fast Past [1994]
Capitol Country Music Classics [1993]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | 2:57 |
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 2:57 |
| I Am a Pilgrim | 2:50 |
| Dark as a Dungeon | 2:42 |
| Merle's Boogie Woogie | 3:00 |
The Best of Merle Travis [1990]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | |
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | |
| Sixteen Tons | |
| Dark as a Dungeon | |
| I Am a Pilgrim | |
| Re-Enlistment Blues |
Hillbilly Music: Thank God!, Vol. 1 [1989]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Nine Pound Hammer | 2:41 |
| Merle's Boogie Woogie | 3:00 |
Guitar Standards [1980]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Don't Get Around Much Anymore | |
| For Me and My Gal | |
| After You've Gone | |
| It's De-Lovely | |
| Sweet and Lovely | |
| If I Had You | |
| Bye Bye Blues |
Country Guitar Giants [1979]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Beer Barrel Polka | 2:19 |
| San Antonio Rose | 3:07 |
| High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me) | 2:55 |
| Wildwood Flower | 1:40 |
Merle Travis Story: 24 Greatest Hits [1979]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 2:11 |
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | 2:15 |
| I Am a Pilgrim | 2:41 |
| Re-Enlistment Blues | 3:25 |
| Nine Pound Hammer | 1:46 |
| Sixteen Tons | 2:57 |
| Dark as a Dungeon | 3:59 |
Atkins-Travis Traveling Show [1974]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| If I Had You | 3:07 |
| Who's Sorry Now? | 2:10 |
| Nine Pound Hammer | 2:53 |
The Atkins-Travis Traveling Show/Reflections [1974]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| If I Had You | 3:07 |
| Who's Sorry Now | 2:10 |
| Nine Pound Hammer | 2:53 |
Back Home [1957]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Nine Pound Hammer | |
| Dark as a Dungeon | |
| Sixteen Tons | |
| I Am a Pilgrim | |
| Barbara Allen |
The Merle Travis Guitar [1956]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Bugle Call Rag | 2:19 |
| The Sheik of Araby | 2:03 |
| Nine Pound Hammer [*] | 2:39 |
| Sixteen Tons [*] | 2:51 |
| Dark as a Dungeon [*] | 2:48 |
| I Am a Pilgrim [*] | 2:50 |
Folk Songs of the Hills [1947]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Nine Pound Hammer | 2:41 |
| Sixteen Tons | 2:49 |
| Dark as a Dungeon | 2:45 |
| I Am a Pilgrim | 2:50 |
| Barbara Allen | 4:01 |
Folk Songs of the Hills (Back Home/Songs of the Coal Miners) [1947]
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Nine Pound Hammer | 2:39 |
| Dark as a Dungeon | 2:47 |
| Sixteen Tons | 2:50 |
| I Am a Pilgrim | 2:51 |
| Barbara Allen | 4:02 |
Classic Country Hits!
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Sixteen Tons [Recorded 1947] | 2:50 |
| Nine Pound Hammer [Recorded 1947] | 2:39 |
The Spirit of Country & Western: Country Classics & Beautiful Landscapes of the Wild West
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Sixteen Tons [*] | 2:50 |
Unknown Album
| Song | Duration |
|---|---|
| Re-Enlistment Blues | 3:25 |
| Sixteen Tons | |
| Divorce Me C.O.D. | 2:59 |
| So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | 2:59 |
| Dark as a Dungeon | 2:48 |
| Bugle Call Rag | 2:22 |
| If We Never Meet Again | 2:49 |
| I'm a Natural Born Gambling Man | 2:48 |
| Louisiana Boogie | 2:49 |
| Philosophy | 2:27 |
| Sioux City Sue | 2:30 |
| Cincinnati Lou | 2:36 |
| No Vacancy | 2:40 |
| T for Texas | 2:21 |
| Three Times Seven | 2:56 |
| Fat Gal | 2:36 |
| Kentucky Means Paradise | 2:36 |
| Sweet Temptation | 2:53 |
| Start Even | 3:08 |
| That's All | 3:00 |
| What a Shame | 2:46 |
| Lost John | 1:55 |
| Over By Number Nine | 3:08 |
| Missouri | 2:43 |
| Blues Stay Away from Me | 2:37 |
| Done Rovin' | 2:22 |
| The Sheik of Araby | 2:03 |
| San Antonio Rose | 3:07 |
| 16 Tons | |
| Over in Gloryland | 1:57 |
| Nine Pound Hammer | 2:38 |
| Wildwood Flower | 2:57 |
| Will the Circle Be Unbroken? | 2:56 |
| Crazy Boogie | 2:47 |
| Steel Guitar Rag | 2:44 |
| Amigo Bronco | 3:47 |
| Muskrat | 2:32 |
| I Like My Chicken Fryin' Style | 2:44 |
| I'm Sick and Tired of You Now | 3:03 |
| John Herny | 3:06 |
| When My Baby Double Talks to Me | 2:52 |
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