Merle Travis

One of the most influential country guitarists, Merle Travis inaugurated a cross-picking style of guitar playing in the 1930s and '40s that was forever after known as “Travis picking” and became a standard technique in country, folk, and rock. His guitar mastery sometimes overshadows his songwriting; born in Kentucky mining country, Travis wrote the miner's laments “Dark as a Dungeon” and “Sixteen Tons,” both of which became country standards. Travis made his final recordings for the CMH label in the late '70s and died of a heart attack in 1983.