Canadian rockabilly guitar master Paul Pigat was in the process of recording a new solo album when he suddenly realized country guitar virtuoso Merle Travis[1]...
Canadian rockabilly guitar master Paul Pigat was in the process of recording a new solo album when he suddenly realized country guitar virtuoso Merle Travis[1] would've turned 100 this year.
"When I discovered his birthday was November 29, 1917, I decided to put my solo record on hold and do a Cousin Harley[2] album instead," Pigat said, referring to his longtime band.
"This tribute is important because [Merle Travis] is such a huge influence on me. I'm also a firm believer that most guitar players are somehow influenced by Merle—they just don't realize it. He influenced Chet Atkins and Scotty Moore for starters, so I rest my case."
The album, Blue Smoke: The Music of Merle Travis, will be released November 25 via Little Pig Records[3]. You can get an early taste of the new disc below, courtesy of our premiere of Cousin Harley's rocking cover of Travis' "Deep South."
The album, Cousin Harley's sixth studio effort, was recorded at Heavy-o-Sonic Studio[4] in Vancouver and features Pigat on guitar and vocals, Keith Picot on upright bass and Jesse Cahill on drums. Marc L'Esperance engineered the project and contributed harmony vocals. The disc includes new spins on 11 Travis classics, including "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)," "Sixteen Tons," "Divorce Me C.O.D.," "Blue Smoke" and "Cincinnati Lou."
Pigat also contributed an original song, "Rosewood, Kentucky,"[5] as a tribute to Travis' birthplace. Travis died in 1983.
"Merle's swinging fingerstyle playing, driving backbeat and wry sense of humor are cornerstones of the Cousin Harley sound—always has been, always will be," Pigat says in the album's liner notes. "And, although we've taken some liberties and added a bit of the trademark Cousin Harley flair to Merle's original recordings, we didn't veer too far