Someone must have been messing with Wikipedia, because back then, they showed November 17 as his birthday. Either that, or I have some weird issue with cutting and pasting. The entry shows November 29 as his date of birth now. I'm updating my earlier post.
October 20, 2017: October 20: This Day in Music
So far, I've managed to avoid the water cooler that has been spiked with LSD, which has affected so many other posters in the DU Lounge this afternoon.
http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/
1983, American country and western singer, songwriter, Merle Travis died of a heart attack aged 65 {so I've outlived him, but with many fewer hits}. Acknowledged as one of the most influential American guitarist's of the twentieth century. Wrote 'Sixteen Tons' 1955 US No.1 for Ernie Ford. He appeared in the 1953 movie From Here to Eternity singing ‘Reenlistment Blues’.
Here's a pretty tune,
I'll See You in My Dreams, written in 1924:
For those of you with color monitors:
"I'll See You in My Dreams" is a popular song. It was written by Isham Jones, with lyrics by Gus Kahn, and was published in 1924. Originally recorded by Isham Jones and the Ray Miller Orchestra, it charted for 16 weeks during 1925, spending seven weeks at number 1. Other popular versions in 1925 were by Marion Harris; Paul Whiteman; Ford & Glenn; and Lewis James.
The song was chosen as the title song of the 1951 film I'll See You in My Dreams, a musical biography of Kahn.
Popular recordings of it were made by many leading artists including Cliff Edwards (1), Louis Armstrong, Pat Boone, Bing Crosby (recorded November 27, 1947), Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Mario Lanza, Tony Martin, Anita O'Day, The Platters, Ezio Pinza, Sue Raney, Jerry Lee Lewis (1958, instrumental), Andy Williams, and Linda Scott. A "Texas Swing" version of the song was recorded by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys.
The song was also recorded by Django Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, and inspired Merle Travis to record it as a guitar instrumental. Many other guitarists including Chet Atkins and Thom Bresh followed in Merle's footsteps. Michel Lelong, a French guitarist, published the first tab of this Travis' arrangement for the American publisher/guitarist Stefan Grossman's Guitare Workshop during the 1980s, following by Thom Bresh (Merle Travis 's son) for Homespun Tapes, and Marcel Dadi for Stefan Grossman 's Guitar Worshop.
It was recorded by Mario Lanza on his Coca-Cola Show of 1951-2 and is available on a compilation album mastered from those same shows, and featuring the same title, I'll See You in My Dreams, released by BMG in 1998.
An early version was recorded by Hawaiian steel guitar originator Joseph Kekuku in 1925.
(1) mentioned in the DU Lounge just a few days ago: {who can point me to that thread?}
Merle Travis
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.
1955, Elvis Presley and Bill Haley and his Comets both appeared at Brooklyn High School auditorium, Cleveland.
Oooof! I wish I had a video of that.
= new reply since forum marked as read
