Travis Edmonson of Bud & Travis
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Recollections & Comments 23
BERYL BROWNSTEIN, a Travis Edmonson fan of 56 years, shares some memories of Travis from his college days.
”In spring of 1951 Travis Edmonson and Roger Smith, the actor, also born in Nogales ,Arizona, used to serenade the girls' dorms at night at the University of Arizona in Tucson, sitting atop the rear wall outside the dorm building. It was such a treat; we all gathered at the back of the building to watch them.
With George (Nick) Nicholai (sp), also from Nogales and then in Tucson, I babysat with Travis' first born. I remember the living room, the low couch and coffee table. Although he married young, Travis had a real passion for the work and was bound to succeed.
An article in Vanity Fair (December, 2007) about Michelle Phillips mentions Travis and Bud and brought back instant memories.”
Beryl Brownstein
January 2008
JUDITH C. ASHLEY, now living on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State, has had her memories of Travis Edmonson's Malagueña Salerosa revived recently.
“I heard the Latin Album repeatedly in a friend's household in Arizona for about one month in 1973 ... I was in thrall to the voices of Bud and Travis, and then I traveled for a few years out of the States as was the way then, and lost all but the sound of the Malagueña. Years later when I tried to find them again, they were confused with numerous boy duos' names... There were a bunch.
Yesterday I was reading a Vanity Fair article about Michele Phillips and the Mamas and Papas, and mentioned were "Bud and Travis". It's been a long forty years to wait to hear my favorite version of " Malagueña Salerosa," but it's on my horizon now.
My Best to Travis. I'm very happy to find his music again.”
Jude Ashley
December 2007
JOE SANTOYO in southern California has been transferring all his Bud & Trabis LPs onto CD, but still ordered B&T In Concert from The Travis Edmonson Collection for its perfect sound.
“I never stopped liking Travis' and Bud's faces on the album cover of B&T in Concert, and I still love "La Vaquilla Colorada."
Joe D. Santoyo
January 2008
KIKI RODRIGUEZ is a second generation Travis Edmonson fan whose bringing the music of Bud & Travis to contemporary audiences with his band.
” My Dad was a hardcore Bud and Travis fan and used to play their records all the time. I always feel like a little kid again whenever I hear their music.
Today, I play in an acoustic coffee house-bar band and one of our songs is "Jenny On A Horse" and every time people will come up to us and inquire about it!”
Kiki Rodriguez
December 2007
DENIS LIEBL adds to his earlier remarks in this section.
“My true love of folk music surfaced with the amazing sound, harmony, talent and humor of Bud and Travis. After hearing a few of their songs, like Last Train to San Fernando, Delia's Gone and They Call the Wind Mariah, I knew this was the music I would not only be listening to, but also playing…though I didn't play an instrument yet. I took guitar lessons, classical guitar no less, and played those songs from the debut album over and over until I figured out the chords and the unusual strumming style that set Bud and Travis apart from every other group. And there were many from that era. I was hooked.
Around 1959 or 1960, I was thrilled to be in attendance at a live concert at our local movie theater, the Loyola Theater in Westchester, California (near LAX). My date and I sat in the first row and were most entertained by the incredible talents of the 3 players on the stage, mostly the two playing guitar and singing. The one with the beautiful voice and quick wit, Travis, put me on the path to forming a group in my freshman year in college in 1961 and competing in the annual Spring Sing for Loyola University at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in May of 1961, where we took first place in the “Novelty” category as the “Four Flats.” How incredible that we would play on the same stage that a year earlier the legendary “In Concert” albums were recorded, a point of trivia that did not escape me.
While I purchased most of the vinyl versions of the Bud & Travis albums (and still have most of them), I have no means to play them anymore and had slowly slipped away from their music over the years. Once in a while I have had a longing for one song or another from the collection and tried to find them in CD format. While surfing one day I found The Travis Edmonson CD Collection, and my music was back.
I have now rediscovered the amazing talent and enduring music of Travis Edmonson, from his Gateway Singers days, to Bud and Travis and his solo career, and am amazed by this great body of work. So much of this music is just as strong and well received as it was back in the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's. I play it for so many people for whom the music of Bud and Travis is new, and have yet to find anyone who wasn't completely captivated and entertained by the songs, guitar magic and the humor as a complete entertainment package.
The legend lives on, and so does the man who created the legend. His strength and resilience has been more than an inspiration to me. And his music has been the best Music I've Known, the absolute soundtrack for my life that I now share with my beautiful bride, Linda, who is now a great fan of Travis' as well. Ttravis, we thank you, we love you!”
Denis Liebl
November 2007
GENE SMITH plans to take his new Bud & Travis CDs on the road with him.
“There are times I'm in my attic and see all the 33 records, all the great music of those times, and I get really nostalgic about the good old days. Have been able to get many of the old groups, and now Bud & Travis on CD!”
Gene Smith
December 2007
GLENN PETERSEN, a professor of anthropology, is one of those who cite Travis Edmonson as a strong influence in their lives.
“Bud & Travis' music had a big influence on my life. I saw them perform in concert in Santa Barbara a couple of days after Jack Kennedy was shot. I bought most of their records, all of which I still have (though I recently got some of the Travis Edmonson Collection CDs, so I can honorably retire the vinyl).
I still think about things like the old banjo key of fronk minor and licorice pizza. In retrospect it seems truly odd that a 16-year old kid would have been so transfixed by Travis' Spanish ballads, but I was. I subsequently lived and worked a lot in Latin America over the years and my knowledge of and love for this music has served me well. To this day I still wander down the street singing “Te seguiré hasta el fin de este mundo” (it helps that in my neighborhood there's been a huge influx of Mexican immigrants and Mexican restaurants on almost every corner), and even my daughter knows the tune.
But it was really “Joey” that got to me. I've gone several times over the years to the New York City Opera to see “Most Happy Fella,” just to hear “Joey” sung in context. The song was a catalyst for my joining the Navy, and military service in Asia exposed me to the Pacific Ocean and some of the tiny islands there.
When I got my discharge I went to college, and became an anthropologist, so I could go live on one of those islands. I wound up as Margaret Mead's last grad student at Columbia University, and have been doing research in the islands of Micronesia since the early 1970s, teaching at the City College of New York for the past 30 years now. And there's no job in the world more suited to me. But if it hadn't been for Bud & Travis' “Joey,” I really doubt that I would have made it here.
A long way of saying to Travis how his music touched me, of saying thanks, and of wishing him a great Diamond Jubilee year.”
Glenn Petersen
November 2007
FOREST DORAN in Oregon has special memories of Malagueña Salerosa.
” I'd like for Travis to know how much his music has meant to my family.”
Forest Doran
December 2007
CURTIS HARE in Arizona got a pleasant surprise for Christmas when his daughter presented him with two Bud & Travis CDs.
"Bud & Travis were playing in a place on east Indian School Road in Phoenix when I had the pleasure of seeing them perform live. - memory says it was something like a coffee house. I recall thinking
what a great duo they were. Great music.”
Curtis Hare
December 2007
DAN RODGERS in southern California is represents a family full of Bud & Travis fans.
“Bud & Travis were the best! Golden Apples of the Sun, Malaguena, Los Dos - all songs that changed my life (and my family's too). We loved their music!”
Dan Rodgers
December 2007
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