23 April 2018

A theme song for Initiative 185

Merle Travis, with help from Tex Williams, wrote Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (lyrics) in 1947, but Williams, whose inimitable talking blues style was perfectly suited for the song, made it famous. Here’s Williams toward the end of his career, wearing a costume that could melt dark glasses, effortlessly performing Smoke! in a concert hall. Travis is better known for writing Dark as a Dungeon and Sixteen Tons, and for his style playing a guitar that's still known as Travis Picking.