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Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
American guitarist and record producer
1
Tommy Emmanuel
Tommy Emmanuel
Australian guitarist
2
Doc Watson
Doc Watson
American guitarist, songwriter and singer
3
Scotty Moore
Scotty Moore
American musician
4
Lenny Breau
Lenny Breau
Canadian musician
5
Marcel Dadi
Marcel Dadi
French musician
6
Hank Penny
Hank Penny
American musician
7
Homer and Jethro
Homer and Jethro
band
8
Jerry Reed
Jerry Reed
American recording artist; country music singer, actor (1937-2008)
9
Steve Wariner
Steve Wariner
American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
10
Grandpa Jones
Grandpa Jones
banjo player and singer from the United States
11
Alice Stuart
Alice Stuart
American musician
12
Jerry Donahue
Jerry Donahue
American musician
13
Les Paul
Les Paul
American jazz guitarist, country guitarist, songwriter and inventor
14
Sebastian Schneider
Sebastian Schneider
Argentine musician
15
Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe
American bluegrass musician, songwriter
16
Carter Family
Carter Family
traditional American folk music group
17
Norman Blake
Norman Blake
American musician
18
Doyle Dykes
Doyle Dykes
American musician
19
John Renbourn
John Renbourn
English guitarist and songwriter
20
Earl Klugh
Earl Klugh
American jazz guitarist
21
Mark O'Connor
Mark O'Connor
American fiddle player
22
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
British songwriter, guitarist, and record producer
23
John Lee
John Lee
musical artist
Merle Travis
American country/Western singer-songwriter and musician

Merle Travis

Intro
American country/Western singer-songwriter and musician
Record Labels
Awards Received
Grammy Award
News

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 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.