Credited with being one of country music's most influential guitar pickers, Merle Travis was born in Kentucky November 29, 1917. Though he would eventually be a star singer, songwriter, and even an actor, his first appearance on radio was during the Depression-era dance marathon. As he later said to writer Dorothy Horstmann, commenting on that first gig, "Imagine looking out a floor where the dancers are half asleep and being drug by their partner."

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The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, Inc.,
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