Marty Robbins
Marty Robbins (born September 26, 1925 as Martin David Robinson in Glendale , Arizona , † December 8, 1982 in Nashville , Tennessee ) was an American country singer and songwriter. In his thirty-year career, he has had numerous hits in both the country and pop charts, including his best-known song El Paso .
Life
Beginnings
Robbins childhood was shaped by his grandfather Bob Heckle, who as a traveling “miracle doctor” had a large supply of stories from the Wild West . The boy was also taken with the popular western films of the thirties with the great star Gene Autry . He dropped out of school, worked intermittently on his brother's ranch and, as a hobo , came into conflict with the law several times. In 1943 he joined the US Navy. Here he learned to play the guitar and wrote his first songs. He owed the breakthrough in his songs to his father, who often supported and accompanied him. After his release, he made a living in his hometown of Glendale with appearances in the club scene and on local radio stations. His music went down well with the audience, and so he got his own show on a Phoenix- based TV station, the Western Caravan .
Career
In 1951, Little Jimmy Dickens appeared on Robbins TV show and was impressed by the young singer. He recommended him to the Columbia label, and a few months later a record deal was signed. His first two singles were unsuccessful, but I'll Go on Alone reached number one on the country charts in January 1953. Robbins moved to Nashville with his wife and children and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry . He also got a job at the renowned Acuff Rose publishing house.
It was the time of musical upheaval. The rock 'n' roll dominated the scene and urged the country music in the background. Marty Robbins was one of the few who was flexible enough to adapt to the new circumstances. He initially covered a few rock'n'roll tracks with moderate success and then turned to pop music. In 1956 he achieved another top hit with Singing the Blues , which stayed at the top of the country charts for thirteen weeks. Guy Mitchell dominated the pop market with the same title . With his next but one single, A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation) produced by Mitch Miller , he had his big break in 1957. The song he wrote himself, in which the Ray Conniff Singers participated, made it to the top of the country charts and to number two on the pop hit parade.
Robbins recorded a few more pop-oriented songs until he had his biggest hit in 1959 with the sentimental western song El Paso . The piece stayed at the top of the country charts for six weeks and earned him a Grammy in 1961 . An equally successful album followed, Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs , which was inspired by his grandfather's stories. Robbins had thus ended his pop phase and in the following years mainly published Western songs, often with a Tex-Mex touch. With hits like Devil Woman , Don't Worry or Ruby Ann , he achieved further number 1 hits. Occasionally he went on excursions into Hawaiian music or jazz .
During these years he took on small roles in western films for the first time. In 1962 he started racing, which soon became his great passion. The sales of his records decreased slightly, although he was still regularly represented in the top 10 and had a few number 1 hits. He still performed at the Opry every week. There were also numerous stock car races. In 1969 he suffered a severe heart attack , which he survived without any consequences. In 1971 he won his second Grammy with My Woman, My Woman, My Wife .
In 1972, after twenty years, he left the Columbia label and switched to Decca Records . However, the success did not materialize here, so that after three years he returned to his old label. Almost immediately he had his next number 1 hits with El Paso City and Among My Souvenirs . In 1974 he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame . In the same year he had a serious racing accident that resulted in several broken bones.
Over the years, its popularity waned. A new generation of musicians had come to the fore. Marty Robbins concentrated more and more on the film business and also took on the lead role in a television series. In 1982 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame . Two months later, on December 8, 1982, he died of another heart attack in Nashville. In a thirty-year career that spanned North America as well as Europe, Robbins achieved 94 hits, including 17 number 1 hits in the country charts.
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
 US
|
Country
|
|||
| 1959 | Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs |
UK20 (1 week) UK |
US-  |
- | |
| 1961 | More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs | - | - | - | |
| 1962 | Devil Woman | - | - | - | |
| 1963 | Return Of The Gunfighter | - | - |
Country6 (12 weeks) Country |
|
| 1964 | RFD | - | - |
Country4 (28 weeks) Country |
|
| 1966 | What God Has Done | - | - |
Country26 (2 weeks) Country |
|
| The Drifter | - | - |
Country6 (26 weeks) Country |
||
| 1967 | Tonight Carmen | - | - |
Country4 (25 weeks) Country |
|
| My kind of country | - | - |
Country9 (19 weeks) Country |
||
| 1968 | I walk alone | - |
US160 (7 weeks) US |
Country2 (26 weeks) Country |
|
| By The Time I Get To Phoenix | - | - |
Country8 (19 weeks) Country |
||
| 1969 | It's a sin | - |
US194 (4 weeks) US |
Country6 (29 weeks) Country |
|
| Marty's Country | - | - |
Country20 (12 weeks) Country |
||
| 1970 | My Woman, My Woman, My Wife | - |
US117 (16 weeks) US |
Country2 (35 weeks) Country |
|
| 1971 | Marty Robbins' Greatest Hits, Vol. III | - |
US143  (10 weeks)US |
- | |
| Today | - |
US175 (6 weeks) US |
Country15 (15 weeks) Country |
||
| Marty Robbins' Greatest Hits, Vol. IV | - | - |
Country5 (22 weeks) Country |
||
| The World Of Marty Robbins | - | - |
Country32 (13 weeks) Country |
||
| 1972 | Marty Robbins' All Time Greatest Hits | - | - |
Country25 (6 weeks) Country |
|
| I've Got A Woman's Love | - | - |
Country32 (8 weeks) Country |
||
| 1973 | Bound For Old Mexico (Great Hits From South Of The Border) | - | - |
Country32 (8 weeks) Country |
|
| This Much A Man | - | - |
Country3 (15 weeks) Country |
||
| Marty Robbins | - | - |
Country22 (9 weeks) Country |
||
| 1974 | Good'n Country | - | - |
Country7 (15 weeks) Country |
|
| Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? | - | - |
Country45 (3 weeks) Country |
||
| 1976 | El Paso City | - | - |
Country1 (28 weeks) Country |
|
| No Sign Of Loneliness Here | - | - |
Country31 (7 weeks) Country |
||
| 1977 | Adios amigo | - | - |
Country5 (18 weeks) Country |
|
| 1978 | Don't Let Me Touch You | - | - |
Country24 (17 weeks) Country |
|
| Greatest Hits Vol. IV | - | - |
Country44 (7 weeks) Country |
||
| 1979 | Marty Robbins Collection |
UK5  (14 weeks)UK |
- | - | |
| The performer | - | - |
Country47 (2 weeks) Country |
||
| All around cowboy | - | - |
Country45 (7 weeks) Country |
||
| 1983 | Come back to me | - | - |
Country25 (38 weeks) Country |
|
| Some Memories Just Won't Die | - | - |
Country25 (18 weeks) Country |
||
| Biggest hits | - |
US170 (9 weeks)US |
Country17 (23 weeks) Country |
||
| A Lifetime Of Song 1951-1982 | - | - |
Country36 (12 weeks) Country |
||
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More studio albums
- 1956: Rock'n Roll'n Robbins (1956)
- 1957: The Song of Robbins (1957)
- 1957: Songs of the Islands (1957)
- 1958: Marty Robbins (1958)
- 1961: Just a Little Sentimental (1961)
- 1962: Marty After Midnight (1962)
- 1962: Portrait of Marty (1962)
- 1963: Hawaii's Calling Me (1963)
- 1963: Return of the Gunfighter (1963)
- 1964: Island Woman (1964)
- 1964: RFD (1964)
- 1965: Turn the Lights Down Low (1965)
- 1966: Saddle Tramp (1966)
- 1966: What God Has Done (1966)
- 1966: Drifter (1966)
- 1967: My Kind of Country (1967)
- 1967: Tonight Carmen (1967)
- 1968: By the Time I Get to Phoenix (1968)
- 1968: The Bend in the River (1968)
- 1969: Singing the Blues (1969)
- 1969: Country (1969)
- 1970: Story of My Life (1970)
- 1970: El Paso (1970)
- 1971: From the Heart (1971)
- 1971: The World (1971)
- 1972: Own Favorites (1972)
- 1972: Bound for Old Mexico (1972)
- 1972: I've Got Woman's Love (1972)
- 1972: Have I Told You Lately (1972)
- 1972: This Much a Man (1972)
- 1973: Marty Robbins (1973)
- 1974: Good'n Country (1974)
- 1975: Two Gun Daddy (1975)
- 1975: No Signs of Loneliness Here (1975)
- 1976: El Paso City (1976)
- 1977: Adios Amigo (1977)
- 1977: Don't Let Me Touch You (1977)
- 1979: The Performer (1979)
- 1979: All Around Cowboy (1979)
- 1980: With Love (1980)
- 1981: Everything I've Always Wanted (1981)
- 1982: Come Back to Me (1982)
More albums
- 1959: Marty's Greatest Hits (US:gold Gold )
- 1972: All Time Greatest Hits (US:gold Gold)
- 1983: Some Memories Just Won't Die
- 1983: Lifetime of Song
- 1985: Super Hits (US:gold Gold)
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
UK
|
US
|
Country
|
|||
| 1956 | Singing the blues | - | - |
US26 (18 weeks) US |
- | |
| 1957 | A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation) | - | - |
US2 (26 weeks) US |
- |
with Ray Conniff (orchestra)
Author: Marty Robbins |
| The Story of My Life | - | - |
US30 (24 weeks) US |
- | ||
| 1958 | Just married | - | - |
US35 (16 weeks) US |
- |
with Ray Conniff
Authors: Barry De Vorzon , Al Allen |
| Stairway of Love | - | - |
US68 (4 weeks) US |
- | ||
| She Was Only Seventeen (He Was One Year More) | - | - |
US27 (13 weeks) US |
Country29 (1 week) Country |
with Ray Conniff
Author: Marty Robbins |
|
| 1959 | The hanging tree | - | - |
US38 (13 weeks) US |
Country15 (9 weeks) Country |
with Ray Conniff theme
song of the film Der Galgenbaum Authors: Max Steiner , Mack David , Jerry Livingston |
| Cap and Gown | - | - |
US45 (6 weeks) US |
- |
Authors: Sid Tepper, Roy C. Bennett
|
|
| El Paso |
DE38 (1 week) DE |
UK19 (9 weeks) UK |
US1 (22 weeks) US |
Country1 (26 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
Grammy Hall of Fame |
|
| 1960 | Big Iron | - |
UK48 (1 week) UK |
US26 (10 weeks) US |
Country5 (14 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| Is There Any Chance | - | - |
US31 (12 weeks) US |
- |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| Five Brothers | - | - |
US74 (4 weeks) US |
Country26 (4 weeks) Country |
Author: Tompall Glaser
|
|
| Ballad of the Alamo | - | - |
US34 (13 weeks) US |
- | ||
| 1961 | Do not worry | - | - |
US3 (15 weeks) US |
Country1 (19 weeks) Country |
with guitar accompaniment by Grady Martin
Author: Marty Robbins |
| Jimmy Martinez | - | - |
US51 (5 weeks) US |
Country24 (4 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| It's your world | - | - |
US51 (9 weeks) US |
Country3 (20 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| I told the brook | - | - |
US81 (4 weeks) US |
- |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| 1962 | Love Can't Wait | - | - |
US69 (6 weeks) US |
Country12 (9 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| Devil Woman | - |
UK5 (17 weeks) UK |
US16 (11 weeks) US |
Country1 (21 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| Ruby Ann | - |
UK24 (6 weeks) UK |
US18 (10 weeks) US |
Country1 (14 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| 1963 | Cigarettes and Coffee Blues | - | - |
US93 (2 weeks) US |
Country14 (9 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins; First recording: Lefty Frizzell (1958)
|
| Begging to You | - | - |
US74 (5 weeks) US |
Country1 (23 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| 1968 | I walk alone | - | - |
US65 (8 weeks) US |
Country1 (15 weeks) Country |
Original: Eddy Arnold (1945); Author: Herbert Wilson
|
| 1970 | My Woman, My Woman, My Wife | - | - |
US42 (8 weeks) US |
Country1 (17 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
Grammy (Country Song) |
More country hits
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Country
|
|||
| 1952 | I'll go on alone | - |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| 1953 | I couldn't keep from crying | - |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| 1954 | Call Me Up (And I'll Come Calling on You) | - |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| Pretty words | - |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| 1955 | Maybellene | - |
Original / author: Chuck Berry
|
| That's all right | - |
Original / author: Arthur Crudup
|
|
| Time Goes By | - |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| 1956 | I Can't Quit (I've Gone Too Far) | - |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| 1957 | Knee deep in the blues | - |
Author: Melvin Endsley
|
| Please don't blame me | - |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| Teen-Age Dream | - |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| The Same Two Lips | - |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| 1958 | Ain't I the Lucky One |
Country23 (5 weeks) Country |
Author: Melvin Endsley
|
| 1962 | Sometimes I'm tempted |
Country12 (13 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| 1963 | Not So Long Ago |
Country13 (11 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| 1964 | Girl from Spanish Town |
Country15 (11 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| The Cowboy in the Continental Suit |
Country3 (21 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| One of these days |
Country8 (17 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| 1965 | Old Red |
Country50 (1 week) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| While you're dancing |
Country21 (10 weeks) Country |
Author: Bobby Braddock
|
|
| Ribbon of Darkness |
Country1 (21 weeks) Country |
Author: Gordon Lightfoot
|
|
| 1966 | Count me out |
Country14 (11 weeks) Country |
Author: Jack Pruett
|
| Mr. Shorty |
Country16 (14 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| Private Wilson White |
Country21 (7 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| The Shoe Goes on the Other Foot Tonight |
Country3 (18 weeks) Country |
Author: Buddy Mize
|
|
| 1967 | Fly, butterfly, fly |
Country34 (11 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| Gardenias in Her Hair |
Country9 (14 weeks) Country |
Authors: Joy Byers, Bob Tubert
|
|
| No tears, Milady |
Country16 (12 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| Tonight Carmen |
Country1 (16 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| 1968 | Love is in the air |
Country10 (15 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| I walk alone |
Country1 (15 weeks) Country |
Author: Herbert Wilson
|
|
| 1969 | Camelia |
Country10 (13 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| I can't say goodbye |
Country8 (14 weeks) Country |
Authors: Joe Byers, Rink Hardin
|
|
| Its a sin |
Country5 (14 weeks) Country |
||
| 1970 | Jolie girl |
Country7 (14 weeks) Country |
Author: Ben Fowler
|
| 1971 | Early Morning Sunshine |
Country9 (14 weeks) Country |
Author: Jack Marshall
|
| Padre |
Country5 (12 weeks) Country |
Original: Padre Don José by Gloria Lasso (1956, French)
English version was a pop hit for Toni Arden in 1958 Music: Alain Romans , English text: Paul Francis Webster |
|
| Seventeen Years |
Country7 (8 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| The chair |
Country31 (5 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| 1972 | Love me |
Country34 (23 weeks) Country |
Original / Author: Jeanne Pruett
|
| The best part of living |
Country6 (16 weeks) Country |
Author: Bill Johnson
|
|
| This Much a Man |
Country11 (15 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| I've Got a Woman's Love |
Country32 (9 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| 1973 | A man and a train |
Country40 (8 weeks) Country |
|
| Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got) |
Country60 (7 weeks) Country |
Authors: Leon Ashley, Margie Singleton
|
|
| Crawling On My Knees |
Country9 (11 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| Walking Piece of Heaven |
Country6 (15 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| 1974 | Don't you think |
Country12 (15 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| Twentieth Century Drifter |
Country10 (14 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| Two Gun Daddy |
Country39 (11 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| 1975 | It takes faith |
Country76 (4 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| Life |
Country23 (12 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| Shotgun rider |
Country55 (9 weeks) Country |
Original: The Winters Brothers Band
Authors: Dennis Winters, Donnie Winters |
|
| 1976 | Among My Souvenirs |
Country1 (14 weeks) Country |
Authors: Lawrence Wright , Edgar Leslie (1927)
|
| El Paso City |
Country1 (16 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| 1977 | Adios amigo |
Country4 (13 weeks) Country |
Original: Bobby Vinton (1975), authors: Bobby Vinton, Ray Girado
|
| Don't Let Me Touch You |
Country6 (15 weeks) Country |
Authors: Marty Robbins, Billy Sherrill
|
|
| I Don't Know Why (I Just Do) |
Country10 (13 weeks) Country |
Authors: Fred Ahlert , Roy Turk
|
|
| 1978 | Please don't play a love song |
Country17 (12 weeks) Country |
Authors: Billy Sherrill, Skeeter Davis
|
| Return to me |
Country6 (13 weeks) Country |
||
| 1979 | All around cowboy |
Country16 (12 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| Buenos Dias Argentina |
Country25 (10 weeks) Country |
The German original was a number 3 hit for the German national soccer team in 1978.
Music: Udo Jürgens , English text: Ben Raleigh |
|
| Touch Me with Magic |
Country15 (13 weeks) Country |
Authors: Michael Utley, Steve Bogard
|
|
| 1980 | To Occasional Rose |
Country28 (12 weeks) Country |
Author: Dave Burgess
|
| One Man's Trash (Is Another Man's Treasure) |
Country72 (5 weeks) Country |
Authors: Don Winters, Don Winters Jr.
|
|
| She's Made of Faith |
Country37 (9 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| 1981 | Completely out of love |
Country47 (7 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
| Jumper Cable Man |
Country83 (4 weeks) Country |
Author: Marty Robbins
|
|
| Teardrops in My Heart |
Country45 (9 weeks) Country |
Original: The Sons of the Pioneers (1947)
Author: Vaughn Horton |
|
| 1982 | Honkytonk Man |
Country10 (17 weeks) Country |
Film: Honkytonk Man
Writer: Dewayne Blackwell |
| Some Memories Just Won't Die |
Country10 (18 weeks) Country |
Author: Bobby Lee Springfield
|
|
| Tie Your Dream to Mine |
Country24 (16 weeks) Country |
Authors: Tim Dubois, Van Stephenson, Sam Lorber, Jeff Silbar
|
|
| 1983 | Change of Heart |
Country48 (9 weeks) Country |
Author: Randy Sharp
|
| What If I Said I Love You |
Country57 (9 weeks) Country |
Authors: Charlie Black, Tommy Rocco
|
Filmography
Movies
- 1957 - The Badge of Marshal Brennean (Sheriff Brown cleans up )
- 1957 - Raiders of Old California
- 1960 - Country Music Jubilee
- 1961 - Buffalo Gun
- 1964 - The Ballad of a Gunfighter
- 1969 - From Nashville with Music
- 1973 - Guns of a Stranger
- 1982 - Honkytonk Man
(Music) TV shows
- 1965 - The Drifter
- 1977 - Spotlight
literature
- Melvin Shestack: The Country Music Encyclopaedia . Omnibus Press, London / New York / Sydney 1977, pp. 233-235.
Individual evidence
- ^ Bronson, Fred: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits . 3rd revised and expanded edition. New York City, New York: Billboard Publications, 1992, p. 63
- ↑ a b c Chart sources: Germany UK US US country
- ↑ US singles: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2006 . Billboard Books, New York 2007, ISBN 0-89820-172-1 . / US albums: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn presents the Billboard Albums . 6th edition. Billboard Books, New York 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
- ↑ Gold / platinum awards: UK (BPI, database search) US (RIAA)
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Robbins, Marty |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Robinson, Martin David (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American country singer and songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 26, 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Glendale , Arizona , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 8, 1982 |
| Place of death | Nashville , Tennessee , United States |