Post by topgsfan on Aug 22, 2013 15:12:13 GMT -5
Marty Robbins
Probably my favorite photo of Marty Robbins.
Marty Robbins was an iconic country and Western singer.
Early Life
Marty Robbins was born Martin David Robinson on September 26, 1925 in the lonesome desert town of Glendale, Arizona. One of nine children, Robbins' father was an amateur harmonica player, but it was the boy's grandfather, a traveling salesman and first-rate storyteller of old Western tales, who had the greatest influence on Robbins' musical development. "His name was 'Texas' Bob Heckle," Robbins later recalled. "He had two little books of poetry he would sell. I used to sing him church songs and he would tell me stories. A lot of the songs I've written were brought about because of stories he told me. Like 'Big Iron' I wrote because he was a Texas Ranger. At least he told me he was."
As a boy, Robbins was also inspired by Western movies; he was especially taken with Gene Autry, the original "Singing Cowboy." Robbins would work out in the cotton fields before school in order to save up money to see each new Autry film. He remembered sitting in the front row of those pictures, "close enough so I could have gotten sand in the eyes from the horses and powder burns from the guns. I wanted to be the cowboy singer, simply because Autry was my favorite singer. No one else inspired me."
In 1937, when Marty Robbins was 12 years old, his parents divorced; he and his eight siblings moved with their mother to Phoenix. After dropping out of high school, Robbins and one of his brothers spent some time herding goats and breaking wild horses in the Bradshaw Mountains outside of Phoenix. When Robbins enlisted in the United States Navy in 1943 and was deployed to the Pacific Theater of World War II, it was his first time traveling beyond the borders of Arizona. During his service in the Navy, Robbins participated in the successful campaign to recapture the island of Bougainville from Japanese forces. During his down time in the service, hoping to distract himself from the horrors of war, Robbins taught himself to play the guitar and made his first sustained efforts at songwriting. When he returned to home to Phoenix in 1946, he had set his heart on a career in show business.
Radio Star
Robbins got his start singing with local bands in bars and nightclubs around the Phoenix area, and in particular at a local club named Fred Kares. At the same time, he worked construction jobs; one day, while driving a brick truck, he heard a country singer featured on the local radio station KPHO and, convinced that he could do better, drove right down to the station and earned a place on the show.
By the close of the 1940s, Robbins had his own radio program called "Chuck Wagon Time" as well as his own local TV show, "Western Caravan." In 1951, after a Columbia Records scout traveled to Phoenix to watch "Western Caravan" live, the label signed Robbins to a record contract. Although his first single, "Love Me or Leave Me Alone" (1952), was not especially successful, Robbins soon scored the first of his many top ten singles with his 1953 song "I'll Go on Alone." He landed another hit months later with "I Couldn't Keep from Crying," and around the same time he was invited to become a regular member of the Grand Ole Opry, the nation's most popular country radio show, broadcast live every week out of Nashville, Tennessee.
Over the next 25 years, Robbins remained a staple of Grand Ole Opry cast, starring alongside such other country music greats as Chet Akins, Jimmie Rodgers and Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters.
Mainstream Success
Robbins' first No. 1 single was the 1956 hit "Singing the Blues." He followed with two more No. 1's in 1957, "A White Sport Coat" and "The Story of My Life," as well as two other major hits in the same year, "Knee Deep in the Blues" and "Please Don't Blame Me." In 1959, Robbins released an album called Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, featuring two of his most popular and enduring songs: "El Paso" and "Big Iron." "El Paso" won the Grammy Award for Best Country and Western recording. With a big, resonant voice and a flair for storytelling in the old Western mode of his grandfather, Robbins continued to churn out chart-topping songs through the 1960s. His most famous tracks of the era include "Devil Woman," "Beggin' to You," "The Cowboy in the Continental Suit," "Ruby Ann" and "Ribbon of Darkness."
Meanwhile, Robbins was indulging a lifelong fascination with auto racing. He began in the early 1960s by racing stock cars on small dirt tracks; by the end of the decade, he had progressed from small, local races to the NASCAR Grand National division where he competed with the likes of Richard Petty and Cale Yarbrough.
A major heart attack near the end of the 1960s hardly sidelined Robbins for long. By the end of 1969, he had scored his biggest hit in years with the ballad "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife," winning him his second Grammy award. Robbins also continued NASCAR racing, but after three near fatal crashes in 1975 he finally decided to give up driving to focus once again on his music. In the worst of these crashes, an incident that proved both Robbins' fearlessness and his compassion, he swerved into a concrete wall at 145 mph to avoid smashing into a fellow racer's car that had stalled in front of him.
Robbins' 1970s hits included "Jolie Girl," "El Paso City," "Among My Souvenirs" and "I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)."
Robbins married Marizona Baldwin Robbins in 1948. They had two children and remained married until his death. In 1982, Robbins was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Although he had fallen very ill, Robbins managed to release one last single that year, fittingly titled "Some Memories Won't Die," before he passed away on December 8, 1982 at the age of 57.
Marty Robbins enjoyed one of the most illustrious careers in the history of country music. He recorded over 500 songs and 60 albums, won two Grammy Awards, and placed at least one song on the Billboard singles charts for a remarkable 19 consecutive years. Most remarkably, according to Robbins himself, he accomplished all this without any special musical talent. "I've done what I wanted to do," he said in an interview near the end of his life. "I'm not a real good musician, but I can write pretty well. I experiment once in a while to see what I can do. I find out the best I can do is stay with ballads."
Later Years
A major heart attack near the end of the 1960s hardly sidelined Robbins for long. By the end of 1969, he had scored his biggest hit in years with the ballad "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife," winning him his second Grammy award. Robbins also continued NASCAR racing, but after three near fatal crashes in 1975 he finally decided to give up driving to focus once again on his music. In the worst of these crashes, an incident that proved both Robbins' fearlessness and his compassion, he swerved into a concrete wall at 145 mph to avoid smashing into a fellow racer's car that had stalled in front of him.
Robbins' 1970s hits included "Jolie Girl," "El Paso City," "Among My Souvenirs" and "I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)."
Legacy
Robbins married Marizona Baldwin Robbins in 1948. They had two children and remained married until his death. In 1982, Robbins was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Although he had fallen very ill, Robbins managed to release one last single that year, fittingly titled "Some Memories Won't Die," before he passed away on December 8, 1982 at the age of 57.
Marty Robbins enjoyed one of the most illustrious careers in the history of country music. He recorded over 500 songs and 60 albums, won two Grammy Awards, and placed at least one song on the Billboard singles charts for a remarkable 19 consecutive years. Most remarkably, according to Robbins himself, he accomplished all this without any special musical talent. "I've done what I wanted to do," he said in an interview near the end of his life. "I'm not a real good musician, but I can write pretty well. I experiment once in a while to see what I can do. I find out the best I can do is stay with ballads."
www.biography.com/people/marty-robbins-20651271?page=3
Probably my favorite photo of Marty Robbins.
Marty Robbins was an iconic country and Western singer.
Early Life
Marty Robbins was born Martin David Robinson on September 26, 1925 in the lonesome desert town of Glendale, Arizona. One of nine children, Robbins' father was an amateur harmonica player, but it was the boy's grandfather, a traveling salesman and first-rate storyteller of old Western tales, who had the greatest influence on Robbins' musical development. "His name was 'Texas' Bob Heckle," Robbins later recalled. "He had two little books of poetry he would sell. I used to sing him church songs and he would tell me stories. A lot of the songs I've written were brought about because of stories he told me. Like 'Big Iron' I wrote because he was a Texas Ranger. At least he told me he was."
As a boy, Robbins was also inspired by Western movies; he was especially taken with Gene Autry, the original "Singing Cowboy." Robbins would work out in the cotton fields before school in order to save up money to see each new Autry film. He remembered sitting in the front row of those pictures, "close enough so I could have gotten sand in the eyes from the horses and powder burns from the guns. I wanted to be the cowboy singer, simply because Autry was my favorite singer. No one else inspired me."
In 1937, when Marty Robbins was 12 years old, his parents divorced; he and his eight siblings moved with their mother to Phoenix. After dropping out of high school, Robbins and one of his brothers spent some time herding goats and breaking wild horses in the Bradshaw Mountains outside of Phoenix. When Robbins enlisted in the United States Navy in 1943 and was deployed to the Pacific Theater of World War II, it was his first time traveling beyond the borders of Arizona. During his service in the Navy, Robbins participated in the successful campaign to recapture the island of Bougainville from Japanese forces. During his down time in the service, hoping to distract himself from the horrors of war, Robbins taught himself to play the guitar and made his first sustained efforts at songwriting. When he returned to home to Phoenix in 1946, he had set his heart on a career in show business.
Radio Star
Robbins got his start singing with local bands in bars and nightclubs around the Phoenix area, and in particular at a local club named Fred Kares. At the same time, he worked construction jobs; one day, while driving a brick truck, he heard a country singer featured on the local radio station KPHO and, convinced that he could do better, drove right down to the station and earned a place on the show.
By the close of the 1940s, Robbins had his own radio program called "Chuck Wagon Time" as well as his own local TV show, "Western Caravan." In 1951, after a Columbia Records scout traveled to Phoenix to watch "Western Caravan" live, the label signed Robbins to a record contract. Although his first single, "Love Me or Leave Me Alone" (1952), was not especially successful, Robbins soon scored the first of his many top ten singles with his 1953 song "I'll Go on Alone." He landed another hit months later with "I Couldn't Keep from Crying," and around the same time he was invited to become a regular member of the Grand Ole Opry, the nation's most popular country radio show, broadcast live every week out of Nashville, Tennessee.
Over the next 25 years, Robbins remained a staple of Grand Ole Opry cast, starring alongside such other country music greats as Chet Akins, Jimmie Rodgers and Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters.
Mainstream Success
Robbins' first No. 1 single was the 1956 hit "Singing the Blues." He followed with two more No. 1's in 1957, "A White Sport Coat" and "The Story of My Life," as well as two other major hits in the same year, "Knee Deep in the Blues" and "Please Don't Blame Me." In 1959, Robbins released an album called Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, featuring two of his most popular and enduring songs: "El Paso" and "Big Iron." "El Paso" won the Grammy Award for Best Country and Western recording. With a big, resonant voice and a flair for storytelling in the old Western mode of his grandfather, Robbins continued to churn out chart-topping songs through the 1960s. His most famous tracks of the era include "Devil Woman," "Beggin' to You," "The Cowboy in the Continental Suit," "Ruby Ann" and "Ribbon of Darkness."
Meanwhile, Robbins was indulging a lifelong fascination with auto racing. He began in the early 1960s by racing stock cars on small dirt tracks; by the end of the decade, he had progressed from small, local races to the NASCAR Grand National division where he competed with the likes of Richard Petty and Cale Yarbrough.
A major heart attack near the end of the 1960s hardly sidelined Robbins for long. By the end of 1969, he had scored his biggest hit in years with the ballad "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife," winning him his second Grammy award. Robbins also continued NASCAR racing, but after three near fatal crashes in 1975 he finally decided to give up driving to focus once again on his music. In the worst of these crashes, an incident that proved both Robbins' fearlessness and his compassion, he swerved into a concrete wall at 145 mph to avoid smashing into a fellow racer's car that had stalled in front of him.
Robbins' 1970s hits included "Jolie Girl," "El Paso City," "Among My Souvenirs" and "I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)."
Robbins married Marizona Baldwin Robbins in 1948. They had two children and remained married until his death. In 1982, Robbins was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Although he had fallen very ill, Robbins managed to release one last single that year, fittingly titled "Some Memories Won't Die," before he passed away on December 8, 1982 at the age of 57.
Marty Robbins enjoyed one of the most illustrious careers in the history of country music. He recorded over 500 songs and 60 albums, won two Grammy Awards, and placed at least one song on the Billboard singles charts for a remarkable 19 consecutive years. Most remarkably, according to Robbins himself, he accomplished all this without any special musical talent. "I've done what I wanted to do," he said in an interview near the end of his life. "I'm not a real good musician, but I can write pretty well. I experiment once in a while to see what I can do. I find out the best I can do is stay with ballads."
Later Years
A major heart attack near the end of the 1960s hardly sidelined Robbins for long. By the end of 1969, he had scored his biggest hit in years with the ballad "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife," winning him his second Grammy award. Robbins also continued NASCAR racing, but after three near fatal crashes in 1975 he finally decided to give up driving to focus once again on his music. In the worst of these crashes, an incident that proved both Robbins' fearlessness and his compassion, he swerved into a concrete wall at 145 mph to avoid smashing into a fellow racer's car that had stalled in front of him.
Robbins' 1970s hits included "Jolie Girl," "El Paso City," "Among My Souvenirs" and "I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)."
Legacy
Robbins married Marizona Baldwin Robbins in 1948. They had two children and remained married until his death. In 1982, Robbins was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Although he had fallen very ill, Robbins managed to release one last single that year, fittingly titled "Some Memories Won't Die," before he passed away on December 8, 1982 at the age of 57.
Marty Robbins enjoyed one of the most illustrious careers in the history of country music. He recorded over 500 songs and 60 albums, won two Grammy Awards, and placed at least one song on the Billboard singles charts for a remarkable 19 consecutive years. Most remarkably, according to Robbins himself, he accomplished all this without any special musical talent. "I've done what I wanted to do," he said in an interview near the end of his life. "I'm not a real good musician, but I can write pretty well. I experiment once in a while to see what I can do. I find out the best I can do is stay with ballads."
www.biography.com/people/marty-robbins-20651271?page=3
