Travis' Web Site Bud and Travis Gateway Singers Travis on Dolan's Site Wind Song on Dolan's Site
Travis Edmonson
An Arizona Treasure
An Arizona Treasure at an Arizona Treasure: Travis Edmonson at Tucon's Tohono Chul Park (a virtual visit)
Note: Paul Marks, a longtime fan, is recording a CD of folk and bluegrass music in Travis' honor, with all proceeds of the CD sales to go toward Travis' medical expenses. Details at Paul's Web site (Thor Audio)
Travis Edmonson is a special musician who has served as mentor to hundreds, and perhaps thousands of other artists, many of whom made it to the top.
Travis himself has had his time in the spotlight. In fact, "Spotlight on Bud & Travis" is the title of one of the 10 albums he made with Bud Dashiell, who was his partner off and on from about 1958 through 1965. Travis' greatest fame came from being part of that duo, appearing on national television many times (examples: they sang "La Bamba" on Ozzie & Harriet, were on the early 1960s Hootenanny Show several times, and also appeared on the Playboy Channel) and presented sold-out concerts all over the U.S. and beyond.
Travis is a 4th-generation Arizonan whose mother chose to have him born in Long Beach, California, because she felt the hospital there would be better. Travis tried to be born in Arizona. He did a lot of kicking in Yuma, but it didn't work.
Travis grew up in Nogales, Arizona, and spent a lot of time on the other side of the border in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. There he supplemented his musical education he was receiving as a choirboy in the Episcopal Church, learning to play and sing the music of that country. Travis did it so well, as a matter of fact, tht he was often featured at classy restaurants such as La Caverna (The Cave), a cute little curly-haired Gringo kid playing with the best of the Mariachi groups. Travis was proud of being able to play and sing that music, and took it to the world. Clearly, he introduced millions to Mexican music, through his concerts and recordings. And he played and sang it so beautifully that those millions learned to love it too.
Occasionally, Travis even sang Mexican music with The Gateway Singers, the excellent and very traditional folk group of which he was a part in the middle 1950s. Travis recorded three albums with this group, who some thought of as the West Coast's answer to the Weavers. One of those recordings, "The Gateway Singers in Hi Fi," features a very young Travis Edmonson singing what was to become his signature song, "Malaguena Salerosa." Eventually there would be six additional published recordings of that song, by Travis as a solo artist and by Bud & Travis. It's a beautiful song, and most people agree that NOBODY sings it like Travis. On his Web site, there is a page devoted to the song, with clips from the seven recordings listed in a way that one can listen to the entire song.
In 1965, Bud & Travis got together to produce the greatest of their great albums, one Travis had always wanted to do: The Latin Album, an exqusite album of beautiful music from Mexico and other Latin American countries. That album, along with several others, has been re-released as a CD, along with other recordings of Travis as a solo act, rediscovered after several decades.
Watch for Travis at concerts around the state. He often attends concerts by Dolan Ellis and Tim Wiedenkeller, among others. The Kingston Trio recently honored Travis at their Yuma concert and the Trio contingent that stages the annual "Trio Fantasy Camp" include Travis in their festivities.
Travis now lives in Mesa, but he has strong ties to Tucson, where he has served as Tucson's Singing Ambassador of Good Will for about 30 years.
Travis' Web Site Bud and Travis Gateway Singers Travis on Dolan's Site Wind Song on Dolan's Site