Merle Robert Travis was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics were often about the lives and the economic exploitation of American coal miners. Among his many well-known songs and recordings 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 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.
Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking. The term "fingerstyle" is something of a misnomer, since it is present in several different genres and styles of music—but mostly, because it involves a completely different technique, not just a "style" of playing, especially for the guitarist's picking/plucking hand. The term is often used synonymously with fingerpicking except in classical guitar circles, although fingerpicking can also refer to a specific tradition of folk, blues and country guitar playing in the US. The terms "fingerstyle" and "fingerpicking" are also applied to similar string instruments such as the banjo.
"Little Martha" was the only Allman Brothers Band track written solely by group leader and partial namesake Duane Allman. The song first appeared as the final studio track on the Allman Brothers Band's fourth album, Eat a Peach, released in 1972. The track was recorded in October 1971, a few weeks before Duane Allman's death in a motorcycle accident.
Takoma Records was a small but influential record label founded by guitarist John Fahey in the late 1950s. It was named after Fahey's hometown, Takoma Park, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C.
Flatpicking is the technique of striking the strings of a guitar with a pick held between the thumb and one or two fingers. It can be contrasted to fingerstyle guitar, which is playing with individual fingers, with or without wearing fingerpicks. While the use of a plectrum is common in many musical traditions, the exact term "flatpicking" is most commonly associated with Appalachian music of the American southeastern highlands, especially bluegrass music, where string bands often feature musicians playing a variety of styles, both fingerpicking and flatpicking. Musicians who use a flat pick in other genres such as rock and jazz are not commonly described as flatpickers or even plectrum guitarists. As the use of a pick in those traditions is commonplace, generally only guitarists who play without a pick are noted by the term "fingerpicking" or "fingerstyle".
American primitive guitar is a fingerstyle guitar music genre, developed by the American guitarist John Fahey in the late 1950s. While the term "American primitivism" has been used as a name for the genre, American primitive guitar is distinct from the primitivism art movement.
Preston Reed is an American fingerstyle guitarist. He is noted for a two-handed playing style and compositional approach that uses the guitar's body as a percussion instrument.
One Guitar No Vocals is an instrumental album by American guitarist Leo Kottke, released in 1999.
Try And Stop Me is a 2004 album by guitarist Leo Kottke. It contains some of Kottke's first forays into improvisation. All songs are unaccompanied guitar solos with the exception of "Banks of Marble" in which Kottke is supported by the band Los Lobos.
Leo Kottke is the first album on the Chrysalis label by American guitarist Leo Kottke, released in 1976. It reached #107 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts.
Greenhouse is American guitarist Leo Kottke's fifth album, his second on the Capitol label, released in 1972. It was recorded in three days. From the liner notes: "In the sense that my guitars were once plants, this record's a greenhouse.” There are seven instrumentals and four vocals. It reached No. 127 on the Billboard 200 chart.
12-String Blues, is the first album by American guitarist Leo Kottke, released in 1969.
Michael Gulezian is an American composer and fingerstyle guitarist. He is noted for dramatic compositions, a penchant for manipulating metre, an affinity for open tunings, and an unconventionally free two-handed technical approach. Gulezian's use of bottleneck slide on 12-string guitar, coupled with his command of reverse analog reverbs have made his recordings notable for their dream-like sonic atmosphere. Gulezian inhabits a musical territory between his mentor John Fahey and Gulezian's friend and colleague Michael Hedges.
Leo Kottke/Peter Lang/John Fahey is a split album by American guitarists Leo Kottke, Peter Lang, and John Fahey, released in 1974.
Instrumentals: The Best of the Chrysalis Years is a 2003 compilation of American guitarist Leo Kottke's releases on the Chrysalis label. It includes previously unreleased tracks. The Chrysalis release Essential covers the same time period, presenting a different line up of tracks.
Instrumentals: The Best of the Capitol Years is a 2003 compilation of American guitarist Leo Kottke's releases on the Capitol label. It was released at the same time as Instrumentals: The Best of the Chrysalis Years.
The Leo Kottke Anthology is a two-disc compilation of American guitarist Leo Kottke's releases on the Takoma, Capitol and Chrysalis labels, covering the first 15 years of his career. It includes liner notes by Kottke himself for each song and an essay by Mark Humphrey.
A Shout Toward Noon is an album by American guitarist Leo Kottke, released in 1986.
6- and 12-String Guitar is the second album by Leo Kottke, a solo instrumental steel-string acoustic guitar album originally released by John Fahey's Takoma Records in 1969. It is popularly known as the Armadillo album after the animal illustrated in the distinctive cover art. Although Kottke has had a prolific career as a recording artist, 6- and 12-String Guitar remains his best-known album.
Stefan Grossman is an American acoustic fingerstyle guitarist and singer. His discography consists of 22 studio albums, 2 live albums, 12 compilations, 22 videos, and 14 collaborations with other artists. In addition, his production, compositions and guitar work have been featured on a number of albums by other artists.
