Cousin Harley's latest album, Blue Smoke: The Music of Merle Travis, is a tribute compilation Pigat made to honour Merle Travis 100 years after his birth. "I was just snooping around on the Internet and discovered Merle Travis was born in November of 1917," said Pigat during the CBC Radio One program Hot Air. Travis was a prolific country and western song writer known for his unique guitar picking style called "Travis Picking." Possibly the most famous Travis song covered in Blue Smoke is the classic 1946 song Sixteen Tons. When he moved to Vancouver, and began pursuing music, Pigat was exposed to more of Travis and his guitar-picking style.

Source: CBC News February 18, 2018 17:00 UTC