Chronicle: Singer/songwriter/producer Thom Bresh passed away yesterday (5/23) after a battle with esophageal cancer. He was 74. Born in Hollywood, CA, Bresh grew up unaware that Country Music Hall of Famer and friend of the family Merle Travis was actually his biological father. Once he learned that truth, he vowed not to publicly discuss the relationship until both Travis and his stepfather had passed. Bresh was a child actor and then began a rock and roll recording career in the early '60s. By the 1970s, Bresh had moved into country and scored a top 10 hit with "Home Made Love" in 1976; he was also nominated for ACM Top New Male Vocalist that year. As a producer, he was later nominated for two Grammys and one Academy Award. Bresh was known for the thumb-style guitar playing he learned from Travis and was inducted into the Thumbpickers Hall of Fame in 2001. No word on services.