Marty Robbins

Marty Robbins on stage

Marty Robbins (September 26 1925 – December 8, 1982) was one of the most popular American country and western singers of his era. For most of his nearly four decade career, Robbins was rarely far from the country music charts. Several of his songs also became pop hits. Robbins also made many starts in the NASCAR Winston Cup series.

Life

Robbins was born Martin David Robinson in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona. His father took odd jobs to support the family of ten children, but alcoholism led to divorce in 1937. Among the warmer memories of his childhood, Robbins recalled having listened to stories of the American West told by his maternal grandfather, Texas Bob Heckle, a former Texas Ranger and medicine show performer.

Marty Robbins stage costume

Robbins left the troubled home at the age of 17 to serve in the United States Navy during World War II. He was stationed in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific. To pass the time during the war, he learned to play the guitar, started writing songs, and came to love Hawaiian music.

After his discharge from the military in 1945, he began to play at local venues in Phoenix, then moved on to host his own radio station show on KTYL. He later had his own television (TV) show on KPHO in Phoenix. After Grand Ole Opry star Little Jimmy Dickens made a guest appearance on Robbins' TV show, Dickens got Robbins a record deal with Columbia Records. Robbins soon became a popular singing star at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennnessee. He was especially known for his kindness toward his many fans.

In 1948, Robbins married the former Marizona Baldwin (September 11, 1930 - July 10, 2001) to whom he dedicated his song My Woman, My Woman, My Wife. They had two children, a son, Ronnie Robbins (born 1949), and a daughter, Janet (born 1959).

His musical accomplishments include the first Grammy Award ever awarded for a country song, for his 1959 hit and signature song "El Paso," taken from his album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs. In addition to its success on the country charts, "El Paso" was the first song to hit number one on the pop chart in the 1960s. Robbins was the hottest singer in America in the early 1960's, a country artist who held simultaneous the top three records on Billboard's Hot 100 Pop Chart simultaneously with "A White Sport Coat," "El Paso," and "Don't Worry." The latter sound, featuring a guitar solo in the lower register played through a malfunctioning amplifier, is recognized as the first popular song with electric guitar distortion effects, the precursor of the "fuzz" tone now a standard feature for nearly all rock guitarists.

Robbins died of complications following cardiac surgery. At the times of their deaths, Marty and Marizona lived in Brentwood in Williamson County, outside Nashville. They are interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville.

Legacy

Robbins won the Grammy Award for the Best Country & Western Recording 1961, for his follow-up album More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, and was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1970, for "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife."

He was named "Artist of the Decade" (1960-69) by the Academy of Country Music, was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982, and was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998 for his song "El Paso." The song was performed live by the Grateful Dead more than 385 times between 1969 and the group's 1995 disbandment.

Robbins was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975. For his contribution to the recording industry, Robbins has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6666 Hollywood Blvd.

In addition to his recordings and performances, Robbins was an avid race car driver, competing in NASCAR races, including the Daytona 500. In 1967, Robbins played himself in the car racing film Hell on Wheels.

Selected discography

"Just a Little Sentimental" (1951)
"I'll Go On Alone" (1953)
"That's All Right Mama" (1954)
"Singing the Blues" (1956)
"Carl, Lefty, and Marty" (1956)
"Rock'n Roll'n Robbins" (1956)
"The Song of Robbins" (April 29, 1957)
"A White Sport Coat" (1957)
"Story of My Life" (1957)
"Song Of the Islands" (December 30, 1957)
"Marty Robbins" (December 20, 1958)
"The Hanging Tree" (1959)
"El Paso" (1959)
"Big Iron" (1960)
"Ballad of the Alamo" (1960)
"Don't Worry" (1961)
"Devil Woman" (1962)
"Ruby Ann" (1962)
"Begging to You" (1964)
"Cowboy in the Continental Suit" (1964)
"Ribbon of Darkness" (1965)
"Tonight Carmen" (1967)
"I Walk Alone" (1968)
"You Gave Me a Mountain" (1969)
"My Woman, My Woman, My Wife" (1970)
"Walking Piece of Heaven" (1973)
"El Paso City" (1976)
"Among My Souvenirs" (1976)
"Return to Me" (1978)
"Some Memories Just Won't Die" (1982)
"The Strawberry Roan"
"A Hundred And Sixty Acres"
"They're Hanging Me Tonight"
"Cool Water"
"Billy The Kid"
"Utah Carol"
"The Master's Call"
"Running Gun"
"In The Valley"
"The Little Green Valley"
"The Hanging Tree"
"Saddle Tramp"
"I Hang My Head and Cry"

Sources

IMDb Bio

Credits

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