NOTE: My old HTML file containing "Stories and Memories" actually got too big to do any more text edits! That's why this section is now split in to Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6!
Go to Stories and Memories, part 5
Go to Stories and Memories, part 6
Go back to Stories and Memories, part 3
Go back to Stories and Memories, part 2
Go back to Stories and Memories, part 1
From Jason Tilley: Just purchased "The Best of Bud & Travis." It's wonderful! These guys had seven or eight albums worth of stuff. If they release another volume (or two) I'll buy it in a New York minute!!!
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From Dick Cerri: Bud & Travis were among my very favorites...still are. We hung out together whenever they came to Washington, DC. In fact, they made Washington their home base, one time when they had a series of concerts along the East coast. Bud brought his family and Travis brought Dian. The only thing I remember about Dian was that she recorded an album with the Greenbriar Boys and liked Bluegrass music. I escourted her to some of Washington's Bluegrass venues.
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From John Chaffee: I found your B&T home page while searching for lyrics to "It Was A Very Good Year" Great Job! Thanks to you, I have them now. I actually had remembered almost all of them from when I sang in a folk singing trio in the 60's we performed that song. As I read your B&T homepage, I wish that I had paid more attention to Bud and Travis's music when they were popular. Other favorites of mine that I didn't know were attributable to them include "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya" and "Cloudy Summer Afternoon."
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From John Tubbs: You've done an excellent job with the Bud & Travis site!!
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From Shirley Dorrington: Thanks for your efforts in getting a CD out of Bud & Travis. Your home page is great!
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From Ronald Wolek: Please accept my thanks for creating the Bud & Travis website!
I too have enjoyed listening to Bud & Travis since I was first introduced to them in the early 1960's. It is nice to finally see that they are getting the credit they deserve. Kudos on any influence you had in getting Collector's Choice to put the CD out. Got mine a week ago and have been enjoying it greatly.
I am not ashamed to admit that I am a "greedy" Bud & Travis fan. The CD has only served to whet my appetite for more. Even though the Collector's Choice CD contained material from the "In Concert" album, I would sure like to see the entire album reissued on its own CD. Is there any chance that there will be more Bud & Travis CDs available soon?
Thanks again for bringing Bud & Travis back into people's lives.
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From Jorge A. Ramirez: gadzooks! a bigger bud and travis fan than me. I discovered bud and travis in 1963, my freshman year at Laredo Junior College. I was a budding folkie and at one time had a duo that did B&T stuff. You see, the boleros that Travis favored were the stuff I was raised with in Laredo. One of my early converts to b&t is my visual artist friend cesar martinez. He recently dusted off the latin album and I've been playing it on my work commute for several weeks.
Incidentally, I too heard Bonsoir Dame on Northern Exposure. Talk about time travel. I sang that song in a play at Laredo Junior College in 63 or 64.
I am pleasantly shocked out of my gourd with the discovery of your web site. Thanks!
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From Tony: Hello Mr. Straw. I just purchased the B&T greatest hits album and while hearing it the memories began to flood in. Like your website!
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From Larry Waggoner: I just received my copy of the B & T CD from Collector's Choice. I haven't listened to the CD yet or even completely read the liner notes. I did jump ahead and saw your name and the Web site address. I'm looking forward to reading and listening to everything as time allows.
I have been a fan of Bud and Travis from the beginning. Living in Kansas, I never had the opportunity to hear them in person. The live albums have always been favorites. I have the eight original albums (1959 to 1965) and the separate albums, except "Travis on Cue". I'm looking forward to a great Bud and Travis weekend! Thanks for all your work with Bud and Travis.
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From Paul W. Savercool: I feel so fortunate to discover your web page, Tom - actually I got your web address from the catelog that offered the B and T CD, and what an absolute joy that was to hear them again. All of my B and T albums have been worn out and, one by one, slipped by the wayside over the years.
I was living in Venice when the guys played the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. I will never forget that one. Years later, '64 or'65, I saw them again at a performance in Stockton, California. I was lucky enough to get to know the two of them and will treasure that acquaintance.
You went through a lot of work on this web page. And I thank you for the chance to look back on their lives.
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From Alan Davis: I really appreciate your web site on Bud and Travis. I am 56 years old and was a huge Bud and Travis fan when I was in high school. In fact, back in those days (I graduated from high school in 1960) I teamed up with my closest friend and we played folk music at local school events. We did covers of a lot of B&T tunes. I had not thought about them for years until my wife and I, for fun, decided to do a duet of the Kingston Trio's "Scotch and Soda" at a party with a few friends. I thought about "Cloudy Summer Afternoon", which was a standard part of the repertory I used to do, and I thought, what the heck, maybe there's something on the internet about it. And here I find myself at your web site.
I do not watch much TV and was surprised that Bud and Travis were used on Northern Exposure. I am from the San Francisco peninsula originally, and while in my teens used to frequent the hungry i nightclub and the Purple Onion.
I love their Spanish pieces, but my all-time favorite B&T song is Malaguena Salerosa. Think I wore out that groove on the LP. Now, for the first time, I can see what the lyrics are, since I could not understand a few of the words in Spanish. It is one of my favorite tunes of any kind of music, and every time I see a mariachi group, I ask them to play it. But none do it with the flair that they brought to it.
The biographies are great, as is all the info about them.
The old albums I had were stolen with a collection of records back in the early 70s, and I have not had a chance to hear them since then.
I received the Best of Bud and Travis this week and have already played it 5 times. I found it at Amazon.com, not realizing that they had just added it to the catalog (my timing was perfect... I guess the Universe wanted me to wait until this moment to find your site). My wife, who is 36, had never heard of them. She was luke warm about the album the first time through, but she told me that after she has heard it several times now she is really getting hooked on them. It's Saturday morning and a business associate just walked in (the same age as my wife) and he mentioned how much he liked what he was hearing.
I'm on your list to support getting the whole B&T catalog reissued.
This experience has encouraged me to pull my 40-year-old Martin classical guitar out from under the bed. It is covered with scratches where my son (now 29) scraped it while using a pick and being a "rock musician" in his bedroom while in high school!
Best regards and thanks again!
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From Larry Saidman: I love your enthusiasm for Bud and Travis, and I heartily concur with your recommendations, particularly the Latin Album, and "Naturally".
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From Debby Parducci: I took guitar lessons from Frank Hamilton. When he left L.A. I took lessons from Bud Dashiell. Both wrote melodies to my lyrics although the songs were never published. Bud sang the one we wrote together in a club in Westwood. It is called I've Always Loved the Rain. I know that Bud has died. I have lost all my Bud Dashiell records.. The songs I would most like to find are Baltimore Oriole and Randy Newman's I Think It's Gonna Rain Today.
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From Mary Ellen Kokoszka: I recently "got online" and when I found out you had a B&T web site, I immediately put a bookmark on same and log on periodically. Just wanted you to know how much I appreciate all the pages you have on the great duo. I am a fan from 1949! I knew Travis from high school in Tucson, Arizona. He was in my senior class and we were also in the CYO at St. Peter & Paul parish in Tucson. He was always a very friendly and "neat" guy even back then. When he went professional, I, of course, bought as many albums as I could. I haven't been able to play them in the last few years as I have not had a phonograph.
I've subscribed to Collectors' Music for a few years now and about 3 years ago I wrote and asked when they might have a CD or cassette of Bud & Travis. Much to my surpise last fall when I got a catalog an album was on a front page! When it finally came (had to back order it was so popular) I noticed your web address and have been logged on ever since.
Three years ago I was visiting my daughter in Mesa, Arizona and noticed Travis' address and phone number was in the phone book. I got up the nerve to call and did talk to Travis; he said he did remember me. We had a great talk. A few months later I wrote him and he wrote me a nice letter back telling about his early career.
I just sent an e-mail to Collectors Music and Rhino Music telling them to make a new album! I will be first in line.
Keep up the good work! (How come you are such a good fan and weren't around in the 50's and 60's?)
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From Paul Rutter: I stumbled onto your B&T web site and it brought back a lot of memories. I even brought out the "In concert" album and listened to it last night. I have always wondered what happened to them now I am up to date.
My story goes back to 1962/1963 at Cal Poly College in San Luis Obispo. We were not one of the schools in the main stream of things at the time and the upcoming Bud and Travis concert was an event we all were looking forward to.I was lucky enough to get a date and barrow a car for the evening.
Our Electronic Engineering department got word that some of us were going to the concert and came out with the statement that engineering students did not have time for concerts. To empathize this they assigned an especially difficult set of homework problems due the next day. My roommates, who were not going, would do the majority of the problems and leave me just a few to do when I got home. I figured that this would work out since in those days the girls had to be in the dorm by 10 o'clock on weekdays. Well the school decided the concert was special and announced that the dorms would follow weekend rules. This meant that my date now had to be home by 2 am. I was horrified. I knew that according to the unwritten rules of dating it would be impossible to bring her home any earlier that 2am and that left little time for home work. So off we went.
I am not sure what Bud and Travis thought of the Cal Poly audience but I think we must have been one of the more enthustic ones-we loved them. When they finished their last number, left the stage and came back for the final song we would not stop clapping. They finally came out again and must of thought we were somewhat strange. They sang a few more songs and finally left. It was great and I bought the "In Concert" album at a time when I had no money.
When I finally arrived home (after a truly fantastic evening) my roommates were still working on the problems. I jumped in and we worked all night to finish. Needless to say we all had a bitter taste for our department however I was lucky enough to see B & T in concert. Thanks for your effort with the site.
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From Ed Cereda: I found the Best of Bud and Travis in Collector's Choice Music. Years ago I wore out the only record of theirs that I had and until last week given up hope of ever hearing them again. Are there any other CD's? I would like to hear more of their humor.
Thanks!
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From Bob Posch: Great news when i found your the b&t web site. i was stationed in hawaii from 58 to 61. I saw b&t at a club on the beach called the Clouds in i think 59 or 60. it was not a good venue for them, noisy and a semi sleaze place. i was 18 years old at the time, a naive farm kid from central minnesota. i think it was about 1960 when bud and the kinsman worked the international market place. i was there every night, got to know bud very well and spent a lot of time with him. he was a huge huge influence on me both personally as well as my career. i've spent a lot of years as a singer comic but do mostly comedy today. i work 50 weeks a year doing mainly conventions and dinner clubs and when my schedule allows i headline for the silver seas cruise line. if you were to stumbled into one of my shows, the bud dashiell guitar style and music would be blatantly obvious.
thank you for sharing your effort and time with all of the b&t fans.
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From Michael Dyal: Hi I'm a beginner guitarist who loves good music more than anything. I love Bud and Travis and was wondering if you know if there is somewhere on the web or something where I can get more chords/tabs to Bud and Travis songs and arrangements. (In my opinion they have some of the best) P.S. Do you know if somebody is going to release some more B&T on cd?
If you know anything please let me know!
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From Gorden Burgess: I'm sitting here in front of the computer, listening to the Best of...CD, which I purchased in a fit of retro-music passion as soon as I saw it in the catalog. My wife finally gets to hear the B&T songs I have babbled about for years, sans the snap, crackle and pops the vinyl has acquired over the years of abuse from mediocre record players and tequila spills. I found your address in the liner notes, and naturally I had to come on by. (By the bye, a nice job on the liner notes, also.)
B&T remain one of my favorite groups, having heard them for the first time in college in the mid sixties. A good friend and fellow aspiring guitarist had the In Concert album, and I had to special order it to get it at the time.
My thanks to you for the part you played in getting the CD re-released. I look forward to sharing hours of absolutely great, and often unique, music with people who have never had the pleasure.
Your web site is great, and I thank you for the time and effort you put into it. It was great to read the interview with Travis. . . You hit the nail on the head with your comments about the misperceptions of two very close friends sharing the stage.
I am e-mailing Gordon @ collectors choice to add my $16.95 worth of request for additional CD's. My vote goes to the Latin Album and In Concert for the next re-issues.
Over the years, I have requested Malaguena Salerosa y Los Dos in numerous latin american countries, and have enjoyed singing along with them, just as I learned from B&T 35 years ago.
Thanks again for the dedication and hard work.
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From Trudy Corcoran
: Tom, I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed reading all the Bud & Travis memorabilia on your B&T site. I grew up in Nogales with Travis, and have always been a great fan of his, as well as a friend. Used to go to the Hungry i when he was with the Gateway Singers... Saw him play with Bud a number of times. I haven't seen him for ages, since the late '70s actually. Am so glad that he is still alive and kicking and well!!\
PS Ordered the CD, of course. I have all the Gateways on wax, as well as two of his solo albums and a bunch of the B&T one. :-) Have to complete the collection!!
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From Chalie Whitefeather Phillips: During the late 80's and early 90's, Travis became my friend. I first heard him sing at a concert at the Temple of Music and Art in Tucson in 1965; his version of "Malaguena Salerosa" mesmerized me. My high school rock and roll band played on stage, as well as Los Chanquitos Feos, a mariachi group now graduated and playing at Disney World as Mariachi Cobre, the best mariachi group in the world now.
It wasn't until he heard me play guitar and sing after hours at the Gates Pass Inn in Tucson, that we began our friendship. At the time, he called me the best songwriter in Arizona. So now, after all these years, I finally have my own mini-studio and am sponsoring a songwriting contest at http://maxpages.com/songriderscash/Home
I also have just completed my first professional cut on CD, Sweet Dreams. I am working on including that song on a full CD album as well.
Travis is a name-dropper. He has mentioned that he bought Jose Feliciano his first American guitar and has a story of Jose riding his white horse all the way to the edge of the cliffs on his seaside ranch in California! Yikes, Jose can you see?
He also told me that John Denver bunked with him during the folk years. Travis was a lover so I don't believe anybody really bunked with him at all; I don't believe he ever slept at home.
And the stories of David Crosby's ability to hear harmonies that only the wind knows were fascinating.
Travis' nephew, Earl Edmondson, is a fantastic guitarist on the local scene, with connections to Laurie Lewis and other top-notch bluegrass musicians such as David McLaughlin (Frog Mountain).
Travis is a grand story teller: of vaqueros, of women, music, celebrities, human nature, indians, cowboys . . .
I haven't seen Travis since late 1994 but I keep seeing his trail. Long may you live, Travis, you bastard!
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From Diana Gard: I can't believe it! Today was my little brother's birthday and he got a Bud and Travis CD from my parents. I was so blown away since I've been searching forever for a CD, I got on the internet and looked up B&T and found you. I love these guys. I grew up on them. I thought I was the only one! My dad grew up in Tucson and knew Travis well. I got to see him play a solo act back in the late 70s when I passed through Tucson. I found out Travis had "died" when I was playing a gig at a local tavern in Seattle - some guy dedicated a song to Travis and told of his "death." Anyway - I think their rendition of Malaguena salerosa is the best thing ever sung and I've been praying for a CD - cause my record player just isn't cutting it in this day and age.
Thanks so much for your page!
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From Penny Powell: Hello there:
I'm writing to express my excitement at finding your web page. Yesterday my mom and I were driving down the highway talking about her brief and very happy friendship with Travis (one of my favorite photos of her from the 60's is one taken with Bud & Travis), of the well-loved Bud & Travis. She was longing to hear some of their songs, and lamenting the fact that our household no longer has a turntable on which to play her old records, when I remarked that perhaps I'd be able to find CD's at Amazon.com's music site. She's still wary of the wonders of the internet and just gave me a wistful look of hope. When she gets home today, and I tell her that I've found your web page, she is going to be thrilled and absolutely amazed!!
Thank you very much for being out there. I imagine that my mom isn't the only old folkie that you've made very happy with your cyber information. Take care.
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From Marcella Alohalani Boido, M.A.: It's "cojones," not "gajones." ("Balls.") Great web site!
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From Christine Morrison: Hi. I was so happy to see that a CD of Bud & Travis was available, My sister & I were great fans of theirs & we had several of their albums. I don't know if their are still in anyone of my family back east's possession. I sure wish all of them would get reissued..
From Lynne Siegel: Glad I found the website. I am living in Cambria, California and have always thought about these two. What's become of Travis and Bud?
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From Tim Day: Dear Tom , Oh, what wonderful memories your web page has brought me. I had the pleasure of meeting and playing with B&T at the Hungry i in S.F. in the little dressing, room sound room, catchall room to the left of the stage. They were on the same bill with Geoffrey Holder. I was auditioning for Paul Goldenberg the talent agent for Enrico Benduchi the i's owner and got an intro. Boy could they sing and play. Keep up the good work!
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From David King: Through a series of coincidences I was hired to play bass for Bud & Travis at the Cellar Door in Georgetown, DC in the spring of 1965. At the time I was graduating from the University of Miami in Florida. B & T's regular bass player, David "Buckwheat" Wheat, couldn't make the trip to DC. A friend of mine, Bill Teague, who was with The New Christy Minstrals was in the Cellar Door's manager's office when the call came in regarding Buckwheat. Bill said that he knew a bassist in Miami that was very good and I was hired on the spot.
I vaguely knew who they were, but didn't know too much of their music. Of course, neither of them showed up early that first night so that we could rehearse. So we met briefly in the dressing room, talked about what they might do, and went on stage saying " You'll do just fine". As a matter of fact I did pretty well!
We worked together for 10 days. When the gig was over they asked if I would like to join them as their regular bassist at the end of the summer. I met them the following August at the El Matador in San Francisco. We worked together for several months until they finally broke up. I remember that they joined Capital Records and we recorded 2 singles. One was written by Travis called "It Ain't Easy" and the other by Bud and me called "Chilena" (sort of like La Bamba).
The record company was quite excited about the recordings but Bud & Travis split up just before the record was to be released. (Bud felt that this was the shot in the arm that they needed to build a larger national audience. Travis wanted to go out on his own.)
Anyway, that was the end of Bud & Travis!
I stayed and worked with Bud for a few years after the break-up. I played on his solo album "I think it's going to rain today". Did you know that there was going to be a NEW BUD & TRAVIS? We met a young girl with the last name Travis. ( I can't remember her first name) We rehearsed and taught her a lot of the material but the idea fizzled out. Can you imagine the interest? The must fun time working with Bud was in the winter of 1966. We did a concet tour in Japan. We toured for 5 weeks, ending up with New Year's in Taiwan.
I stayed with Bud until August 1968. He was a tremendous influence on me. I must say that I feel terrible that I lost touch with him all those years. But this website brings back many beautiful memories with Bud & Travis.
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From Chuck Pinkerton: After discovering the Trio and several other gems a few years ago I started trying to track down B & T. Having recorded for Liberty, a pretty major player in those days, I figured they might get reissued also. No such luck. Until I discovered CDnow. Eureka! There it was; "The Best of Bud & Travis." I ordered it Immediately, it arrived yesterday, I put it on, turned up the volume and instantly got the proverbial "goose bumps." I closed my eyes and there they were, playing in my living room. It is, to say the least, a delightful collection of one of my all time favorite acts. They were a big influence on my own guitar playing. I can play rhythm a lot like Travis but I could never come very close to Bud.
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From Bill Schneiderman: Thanks for this web page. I have enjoyed these guys for decades and until the release of the CD I did not have a Bud and Travis record until about 1989 when I was able to trade a Cumberland Three album for the College Concert. I got the better of the deal. I wonder if someone might know from where their actual music training came. I seem to recall a television interview where one of the duo mentioned that they had studied guitar with Carlos Montoya. I often wondered given their ability to play mariachi music and some of the techniquesthat are reminiscent of Flamenco whether theither one may have actually studied the flamenco forms.
From E. C. Regan: Thank you for unearthing a very special part of my youth! During the last several years we have often received a catalogue of "oldies" presented on CD. Imagine my pleasure when I finally found Bud and Travis listed two weeks ago! In one swift movement, my AMEX card was in one hand as the other dialed the number so that I could place my order. It was absolutely wonderful to hear those clear melodic harmonies again. So wonderful, in fact, that I went down to the basement and resurrected all of my Bud and Travis albums. Our "stereo" had breathed its last many years ago, but I remained undaunted! A few phone calls found an old system right next door in my neighbor's spare room; I had no touble convincing her to lend it out for a few days! For the rest of that Saturday afternoon I was transported back to that era of music which has always remained my favorite. An added , very unexpected bonus, was the reaction of my eighteen year old daughter who is home from college for the summer. I must admit that she does have eclectic taste when it comes to music, but I never thought she, like her mother all those years ago, would be immediately entranced by Bud and Travis. My husband is now listening to both of of us humming and singing - often in Spanish!
After reading the liner notes that accompanied the CD, I contacted your web page. Few of my friends in college were able to understand the draw of these two musicians. I'm delighted to learn that Bud and Travis's fans are still out there! Unfortunately I never saw Bud and Travis perform in person. My mother still remembers that I somehow convinced her to accompany me to St. Boneventure University in Olean, New York to hear a concert that was scheduled there. From our Massachusetts home, that trip would have been a 10 hour train ride! Sadly for me - happily for my mother - the concert was cancelled.
Thanks again, Tom, for compiling all of this information. I look forward to even more Bud and Travis CD's in the future!
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From Mike Mott: I used to play in a folk music group back in the 60s and my playing partner was a huge fan of Bud and Travis. If memory serves me correctly they did a song with a title something like "When It's Fiesta Time in Guadalejara", and I would love to have that song once again. By the way, I certainly will order the other CD because I thought they were a special group too.
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Felicia Reid: I am a 49-year old labor & employment lawyer in San Francisco. I was raised on Bud and Travis: my dad was a folk music and hi fi afficionado. I had cousins in Long Beach who were also folkies and sang professionally at the Ash Grove and other local haunts in the area. We all loved Bud and Travis, and knew all their songs, patter and guitar riffs by heart. (Before Bud and Travis, of course, there were the Weavers and the Gateway Singers, and during and after the Kingston Trio and Ian and Sylvia.) But the guys were part and parcel of my adolescence, and my favorites. When I was 14 my dad took my brother (who is now a diplomat with the State Department), my best friend and me to see them live at a coffee house called The Land of Odin (I think it was in Escondido, CA). It was a very small, very dark venue. Intimate. And the show was electrifying. We were literally five feet from the stage. It was one of the peak experiences of my life.
I am writing because yesterday I bought the new CD (finally found it at Down Home Music in El Cerrito). When I listened to it last night, for the first time in 20 years, there I was, back again, at the land of Odin, in love, watching these firey, smart, rhythmic men make music and magic, confident and lyrical, witty and wicked, everything you knew REAL life was supposed to be.
Enjoyed the liner notes to the CD a lot. Now I want to be able to get ahold of the original albums!
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From ABBFJB@aol.com: Good review. I wasn't aware that B&T were featured on Northern Exposure (I don't watch TV) but I'm glad to hear they haven't been totally forgotten. I have their two-record album of the live performance at (I believe) the Hungry I, including those great songs like Malaguena Salerosa, Johnny, I hardly knew ye, Sloop John B, Delia's gone, and so on.
Perhaps I'm just an aging war baby overcome by nostalgia, but I'd love to see a revival of the great folk groups from the early 'sixties. Of the ones I followed the most ---Limelighters, Kingston Trio, B&T and Peter Paul and Mary-- I've always considered Bud and Travis to be, musically, the best (with apologies to the great Glen Yarbrough). Of the four, the only ones even heard of today are Peter Paul and Mary, who were --again, in my opinion-- musically the least interesting and accomplished of the lot. Oh well.
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From Mark Foote: Hello there! Thank you so much for your work on the Bud and Travis CD and home page. I'd begun to despair of ever hearing them again except on my very very well-worn LP's. I just saw the CD for the first time yesterday (and, of course, bought it instantly).
Any chance of the complete Santa Monica concert being put on CD? The selections on The Best of just whet the appetite...especially as half the fun is in their introductions. Sloop John B is a perfect example. The song is a wonderful "punch line," but the whole intro, with both talking at once, turns the entire piece into something much more (as the liner notes allude). I saw them live only once in a small club in San Diego, probably in 1965, near the end of their "second" career.
I'm a 53-year old guy from San Jose and lived through and loved the changes in music during the 50's and 60's and 70's especially. I was fortunate enough to be at the "official final" performance of The Kingston Trio (Nick, Bob, John) at the Hungry I in June of 1967--there's a show that someone probably has on tape...closed with Bob doing "Scotch and Soda" solo to an entire nightclub full of non-dry eyes.
I began this, and then went back and read some of the other comments on the B & T stories pages. It seems clear that "Malaguena Salerosa" is the song that affects most of us. For me, it's the one I always request from Mariachis. In fact, my wife and I had a Mariachi band play at our wedding reception, and our "first" dance was...guess what? Malaguena!
I have just once thing to say to the other B & T fans who've responded and commented: "Let's all room together next semester!"
Thank you again!
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From Lynn Ledgerwood: Thanks from my family for putting together the Best of ... let's hope there is room for Best of... Volume 2. If we keep this up we could reissue the whole oeuvre!
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From Jim Hassan: I am so excited...I recently got a computer and was searching rather aimlessly when I stumbled on a recently released CD by Bud and Travis. Their music has truly been a big part of my life...and for many of my friends to whom I introduced their music. I have the albums "Bud and Travis" and "Spotlight" but they are worn-out. My brothers (I have four) have asked me ever so often...when will they reissue the work of these two remarkable musicians and singers...Anyway, I ordered the CD, and wrote a review which Amazon. Com printed on B & T's CD page..... Gene Kelly encouraged me to write to Gordon Anderson which I have done...(a copy of which I am sending to you)...telling him that I would love it if they copied some of their albums to CD's.
In the meantime, I found your website this evening and have enjoyed it so very much....As you will note in my messages and review...I am an ardent fan and think that they are the greatest. Do you think there is a possibility that their albums will be issued on CD's. Do let me know if I can do anything to encourage this.
Thanks so much for all of your hard work and all of the information which I read with avid interest. I am sharing it with the many B&T fans that I know.
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From David Spero: Hello Tom, I really enjoy the Bud & Travis page!!! Bud Dashiell was a friend, and my first guitar teacher. I have some interesting stories about Bud...I can tell you that He was the warmest most sensitive man...His music would tell all...
From Doug Kennedy: I studied and played with Bud for a bout a year in 1968,1969 at his little place at Westwood Music. As I remember it , it was there not down the street but it was a long time ago and I could be slightly off. We used to drool over Lorca and Manzaneros guitars. He was the last person I talked to in July of 1969 when, I called him from the LA induction Center as I was being drafted out of college. I was saddened to hear of his death. Sure had a good time with him, especially all the Bossa Nova chords and trying to write hit songs that fit those patterns. I miss him.
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From Arch: My wife and I just received the "new" Bud & Travis CD. She and I met at a time shortly after Bud & Travis had released their Latin Album (1966), and we ran right out and bought it. We still have it (unuseable), but we feel and hope that with today's technology, it may be possible to obtain that album and other Bud & Travis albums on CD's.
By the way, until reading the literature that came with this CD, we had no idea what had happened Bud & Travis. It's sad to think that their talents never re-surfaced again. We always enjoyed their music, but eventually our record album became so scratched it became intolerable to listen. Now, we are anxious to listen to the "good stuff" again. We hope you can help.
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From Lex Smith: Thank you! for revitalizing the lost sounds of B&T. The cd is terrific; full of nostalgic moments for me and my generation ( I graduated from University of Arizona in '66). Travis, as a Nogales boy, was kind of an icon for all us guitar-playing, sick of Kingston Trio wannabes, attending high school in the early sixties and then in college as well. A good friend in California sent me the cd and he too is a great fan.
Thanks for renewing these great sounds and introducing the music to those who are not familiar with the unusual combination of the two together.
Thanks again!
From William Burke: Wonderful B&T web site. Just got the CD, wish it had South Coast on it, one of my all time favorites and I haven't heard it in over 20 years...sigh
Hopefully in the next compilation....
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From Vanessa Buchthal: Hi!
I just wanted to let you know that you have done me a major favor, given me back a piece of my childhood, and solved a mystery that's been plaguing me for decades (literally). When I was a small child in the early 60's, my father used to sing me an absolutely beautiful song before I went to sleep .... "she's the butterfly in my cottonwood tree, she's a sweet sip of cider in the sun, she's a bluebird's wing, she's the song I sing, when my day is done...." I cherished that song, but after he returned from Vietnam in 67 he stopped singing to us, and by the mid 1970's, when as a teenager I asked him to write down the lyrics because I couldn't remember any more than the first verse, he claimed he'd never heard of it.
I've been singing that first verse for 30 years, never found anyone who had *ever* heard of the song, and had begun to think that I had hallucinated it. But it stuck with me, there's something about the song that resonates, and I'm now singing it to my own baby daughter... and every single time frustrated that I only have one verse and scraps of the others.
In an idle moment, I did a search for the first lyric tonight, and *bam* -- one hit. On the lyrics section of your web page -- the song "Guess I'll Just Go Home" Wow, the entire song back for me again *sob* ... and now I know where it came from.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart! (And my daughter will thank you too :) )
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From Tom Barthel: Thanks for whatever you did to get the cd made, thanks. I have been a fan for a long time and I'm so glad for the cd and I hope that more will be forthcoming!
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From John McCollister: As a long time Bud and Travis fan, I appreciate the work you've done putting together a page to remember them. I've recieved the CD compilation of their work, and I still think they're the best! Great music to make fajitas and margaritas to... Ha.
Great site, and thanks again..
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From Muff Hackett: My mother brought me a copy of the 'Best of B & T' CD as a present today! I was thrilled - I grew up on B & T and never really believed that I would own my own copies (have cassettes to keep me going, but Mum and Dad don't have everything either.) Thanks so much for your efforts. I have written to Collector's Choice begging for 'More Best of' - hope it helps.
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From Lynn: I have the single "The Alamo" and it is among the top of my favorite "tunes"! Tho't B&T would like to know. I also have several albums but they're in storage so I can't say which for sure. One is original and very scratchy ... regards ...
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From Charlie Thomas: I have just visited your Bud and Travis home page etc. and I want to thank you for all the great information and memories. My reason for visiting your page is I was trying to find out what happened to Travis Edmonson. I am a Spanish professor st the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and I am doing what I'm doing because of a Bud and Travis concert in 1962. I have most of the albums which I, and my Spanish classes as well, have enjoyed through the years. La Vaquilla Colorada is always a favorite!
Anyway, without boring you with particular details, i was interested in getting and address/ e-mail for Travis as i really wanted to contact him to thank him for the inpiration. I have done a lot of translating of Latin American drama and prose http:www.vbe.com/~gmwchas and my latest project was adapting music from a folk group in Wisconsin, Northern Light, into a Chilean play I translated to make a musical/comedy. Once again, to keep it short, the musical/comedy will premiere this summer at the Blowing Rock Stage Company in North Carolina.
Thanks for sharing the Bud and Travis story with the world.!!
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From Betty: Via contact today with Charlie Phillips, I've been priveleged to learn about Bud and Travis, and read much you have posted on that site. I must honestly say, I knew nothing of Bud and Travis until today. And I wonder WHY ! Of course, it could be they just weren't 'hyped' by bigtime promoters ?
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From Bill Dudley: hey tom, good job on the pages; i enjoyed em. thanks for the b&t stuff
happy new year take care!
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From anonymous: For Christmas my husband got the CD Best of Bud & Travis. He says he's been looking for years for their album "Live at the Cellar Door." I hope it gets re-issued!
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From Christine Houde: Hello, Tom!
An infinite number of BLESSINGS on you and whoever else helped bring out this B&T CD. For nearly 30 years I have looked for reissues of their music and at last one has come! I sobbed through Malaguena Salerosa at least three times before I could bring myself to listen to any of the others. It is the most passionate and beautiful arrangement of this song I have ever heard.
Thank you, thank you, many many times, thank you!
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From David McCowen: Tom: What a wonderful discovery, your site. I just went through most all of it and need to go to sleep, but will revisit. My memories are from 1959-1962 approximately, when I and three or four of my guitar playing fraternity bros. at the KA House at Ga. Tech found out about B&T thru albums. For years we would try to emulate their songs. It was great fun. I got pretty good with Cloudy Summer Afternoon and Truly Do, but was never able to do the Salerosa stuff. I didn't grow up with that rhythm in Georgia.
Then in '62 I was drafted and was at Ft. Sill OK for 8 weeks, read that they were at the Buddhi Club in OK City. Went up and saw them. Hoyt Axton opened. Then, B&T came on and did all my favorites. Afterward I called some of my buddies and woke them up to rave.
Then, before I left OK, still '62, I couldn't make it back up to OK City to see Erik draling, so I called him at the club when he was there, and chatted. I was a fan of his Train Time album, and his work with the Weavers.
But the B&T experience was very memorable. I still have the vinyls of Perspective, Naturally, Bud and Travis In Person, In Concert, and Spotloight on B&T. Five in all. I think I had more, but these are in great condition.
Anyway, my late night discovery of your site now has kept me up late, so I'll close, but please update when you can and I'll come back some more. I'll also seek out the CD.
Thanks again, Tom, for this site.
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From Fran Kinski: I bought the Bud & Travis In Concert Album ( 2 record set) back in the early 60's, I guess, always thought they were the best folkgroup and I own every single Kingston Trio, Chad Mitchell Trio, Limelighters etc. etc 60's folk group albums. I also bought 3 other Bud & Travis albums back then. I still have them all, though they are very worn as over all these years they have always been my favorite. In recent years I have tried to find CD's, tapes, old albums ... whatever .... but whenever I mentioned Bud & Travis I would get this glazed look in return .... MAN ... am I glad I found you and there are others like me out there! I will keep track of your site, I am ordering the CD and would really like to see the In Concert also put out in CD ..... thanks .....
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From Stan Jeans: I had the B&T Latin Album on LP and wore it out a long time ago..I would like to get the CD!
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From J Germany: Thomas, Just wanted you to know I stumbled on your site for Bud and Travis, have been wishing for a miracle, a cd with Malaguena Salerosa and lamenting the condition of my old lp (sounds like popcorn), ordered their cd just now and am happy as a clam.
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From Jon M. Marshall: I had been stationed on a small Island in the Pacific and found your the record Bud and Travis in the PX. I was reassigned to Hickam AFB in Honolulu. While there I saw a performance at the Waikiki Shell. After the concert I was walking back to the International market place. Just as I passed I nightclub call the Clouds I noticed that Bud and Travis were Playing there. I ccouldn't wait to get in and sat through two performances. During one of the breaks the Kingston Trio came in to see them. Since I had gone to school with a guy from Nogales I came over to ask B&T if they knew him, and they said they did! We had gone to school together at New Mexico Military Institute. I enjoyed meeting B&T and they were kind enough to introduce me to the Kingston Trio. I will never forget that night. I have just purchased the cd and it brings back a lot of wonderful memories. All this happened in 1959. Thank god for Bud and Travis.
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From Kathryn Echert: I'm 45. My husband, George, is 53. After hearing Elvis sing "Are you lonesome tonight?" I remarked on what a good voice Elvis actually had, how long he could hold a note. Then, we started talking about our favorite singers and groups: Tom Jones, Cat Stevens, Righteous Bros., Johnny Mathis, PP&M, etc. The last group that came to mind, as we were going in to mass, was "Bud and Travis", who my uncle taught me to enjoy when I was about 3. George and I thought we'd have a really hard time finding B&T... maybe @ Tower Records, or a specialty store. We're at home now, after seeing "Galaxy Quest". Y2K ate my aol. I had to reinstall it. Durned thing ate my address book!! I signed on to iWON.com to get my 100 points for the day. Only 6 to go. What should I look up! I know! Put Bud and Travis in the Search box. When it came up, I called George away from the tv to see it for himself. Thank you so much! Almost makes up for having to redo my address book!!! Certain sure I'm going to order the CD!!
And makes me proud of the city we've lived in for almost our lives: Long Beach, CA!! Musically yours
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From Larry Sherwin: You know, you get to be a certain age and your favorite music came before tapes. There were two giant holes in my music past: B & T, and the Chad Mitchell Trio. Two groups that had in common the abilit to actually sing. I found a CMT CD about two weeks ago. Then, voila, I found the Bud and Travis CD. What a thrill to listen to them again. A friend and I sang in LA area coffee houses in the sixties. As luck would have it, he was a Spanish major at UCLA and I spoke a few words. We loved Bud and Travis and tried to emulate their mastery of so many kinds of music and their spirited humor. Thanks for helping make these old memories come alive again.
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From Nancy Class of 64: Thank you for the B and T web site. I thought that I was the only one that remembered the beautiful music. The grooves in my record must be almost through to the other side. Nice to know I can get a CD. I'm looking forward to reading all of the site. Thanks again.
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From Sid and Marilyn: Just got access to internet and one of the first things I did was search for B and T info. People who did not experience them, can not KNOW! My wife and I spent many an hour transfixed at the Ashgrove, a few feet away from the deepest musical presentations imaginable. We also recorded every Les Claypool program on KRHM, to hear the Boys and numerous other individuals and groups not available anywhere else. We had the pleasure of getting to know Les and Ann very well and did some remote taping with of interesting events. Of course, we were listening to KRHM when Les quit on the air. There went Bud and Trav and a whole lot more out of our lives. I'm interested in anything available, hopefully some things on video and or CD. B&T were on PBS special on Nov. 17, 1984. Aptly,
this was my present wifes' and my wedding day. We missed it. Ironically, my first wife informed me of the program later. Is there anyway to obtain that SPECIAL special??? I have lost track of Les. Any info? Thank you mega times for the effort you are making. We thought all was lost. Love ya Tom!
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From Spencer Moore: It was a real delight to see B&T again - however briefly. It was a bitter sweet thing to see the guys (who were so much older than me then) some thirty years or so younger than I am now. I think I saw them more than I saw any other live act - the Ashgrove,
Cosmo's Alley, Santa Monica Civic, the Troubador II(on La Cienaga) I loved those guys and still use a lot of their lines. As a matter of fact I think that the reason I'm living in Mexico can probably be traced back to Bud and Travis. I'm in the restaurant business in Cabo San Lucas and often play tapes of B&T in the restaurants. I always get asked - by both Mexicans and gringos- who is that group? and can you make me a copy? I always did, but I always felt guilty about beating the guys out of their royalties. It's nice to be able to direct someone to your site and to let them know that CDs are available. About 7 or 8 years ago I heard a tape of some Mariachis and they were doing what I had always thought were original B&T arrangements. As it turned out it was a group that had been popular in Mexico in the '40s. I wrote the name down, fully expecting to hunt down some tapes -but typically I lost the name. Do you have any idea what groups did influence the boys? If it's not prying - just how in the hell did you wind up being such a B&T freak and are you getting much response. I've forwarded your site to lots of folks and everyone seems to be delighted. I know I am. I eagerly await more. Thank You.
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