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Born
and raised in Glendale, AZ, Robbins (born Martin David Robertson,
September 26, 1925; died December 8, 1982) was exposed to music
at an early age. His mother's father was "Texas" Bob
Heckle, a former medicine show man who told his grandson cowboy
stories and tales of the traveling show. Robbins became enraptured
by the cowboy tales and, once he became a teenager, worked on
his older brother's ranch outside of Phoenix, concentrating
more on his cowboy duties than his studies. Indeed, he never
graduated from high school, and by his late teens, he started
turning petty crimes while living as a hobo. In 1943, he joined
the U.S. Navy to fight in World War II, and while he was in
the service, he learned how to play guitar and developed a taste
for Hawaiian music. Robbins left the Navy in 1947, returning
to Glendale, where he began to sing in local clubs and radio
stations. Often, he performed under the name "Jack Robinson"
in an attempt to disguise his endeavors from his disapproving
mother. Within three years, he had developed a strong reputation
throughout Arizona and was appearing regularly on a Mesa radio
station and had his own television show, Western Caravan, in
Phoenix. By that time, he had settled on the stage name of Marty
Robbins.
Robbins landed a recording contract with Columbia in 1951 with
the assistance of Little Jimmy Dickens, who had been a fan ever
since appearing on Western Caravan. Early in 1952, Robbins released
his first single, "Love Me or Leave Me Alone." It
wasn't a success and neither was its follow-up, "Crying
'Cause I Love You," but "I'll Go On Alone" soared
to number one in January 1953. Following its blockbuster success,
Robbins signed a publishing deal with Acuff-Rose and joined
the Grand Ole Opry. "I Couldn't Keep From Crying"
kept him in the Top Ten in spring 1953, but his two 1954 singles
-- "Pretty Words" and "Call Me Up (And I'll Come
Calling on You)" -- stalled on the charts. A couple of
rock & roll covers, "That's All Right" and "Maybellene,"
returned him to the country Top Ten in 1955, but it wasn't until
"Singing the Blues" shot to number one in fall 1956
that Robbins' career was truly launched. Staying at number one
for a remarkable 13 weeks, "Singing the Blues" established
Robbins as a star, but its progress on the pop charts was impeded
by Guy Mitchell's cover, which was released shortly after Robbins'
original and quickly leapfrogged to number one. The process
repeated itself on "Knee Deep in the Blues," which
went to number three on the country charts but didn't even appear
on the pop charts due to Mitchell's hastily released cover.
To head off such competition, Robbins decided to record with
easy listening conductor Ray Conniff for his next singles. It
was a crafty move and one that kept him commercially viable
during the peak of rock & roll. The first of these collaborations,
"A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation)," became
a huge hit, spending five weeks at the top of the country charts
in spring 1957 and peaking at number two on the pop charts,
giving him his long-awaited breakthrough record.
After "A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation),"
Robbins was a regular fixation on both the pop and country charts
until the mid-'60s. The Burt Bacharach and Hal David composition
"The Story of My Life" returned Robbins to the number
one country slot in early 1957 (number 15 pop), while "Just
Married," "Stairway of Love," and "She Was
Only Seventeen (He Was One Year More)" kept him in teen-pop
territory, as well as the upper reaches of the charts, throughout
1958. In addition to his pop records, Robbins recorded rockabilly
singles and Hawaiian albums that earned their own audience.
During that time, he began a couple of business ventures of
his own, including a booking agency and a record label called
Robbins. He also ventured into movies, appearing in the Westerns
Raiders of Old California (1957) and Badge of Marshal Brennan
(1958), where he played a Mexican named Felipe. The films not
only demonstrated Robbins' love for Western myths and legends,
but they signalled the shift in musical direction he was about
to take. Over the course of 1958 and 1959, he recorded a number
of cowboy and western songs, and the first of these -- "The
Hanging Tree," the theme to the Gary Cooper film of the
same name -- became a hit in spring 1959. However, the song
just set the stage for Robbins' signature song and biggest western
hit, "El Paso." Released in the summer, the single
spent six months on the country charts, including seven weeks
at number one, while hitting the top of the pop charts. A full
album of western songs, Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs,
became equally successful, reaching number six on the pop charts,
and by the mid-'60s, it had gone platinum.
"El Paso" began a very successful decade for Robbins.
"Big Iron," another western song, followed its predecessor
to the Top Ten of the country charts in 1960, but it wasn't
until 1961 that he had another huge hit in the form of "Don't
Worry." Fueled by a fuzz-toned guitar (the first country
record to feature such an effect), "Don't Worry" spent
ten weeks at number one and crossed over to number three on
the pop charts. The following year, "Devil Woman"
became nearly as successful, spending eight weeks at number
one; it was followed by another number one, "Ruby Ann."
Between "Don't Worry" and "Devil Woman,"
he had a number of smaller hits, most notably the Top Ten "It's
Your World," and for the rest of the decade, his biggest
hits alternated with more moderate successes. With his career
sailing along, Robbins began exploring racecar driving in 1962,
initially driving in dirt-track racing competitions before competing
in the famous NASCAR race. However, car racing was just a hobby,
and he continued to have hits in 1963, including the number
one "Begging to You." The following year, he starred
in the film Ballad of a Gunfighter, which was based on songs
from his classic album.
Robbins' chart success continued throughout 1964, before suddenly
dipping after he took Gordon Lightfoot's "Ribbon of Darkness"
to number one in spring 1965. For the remainder of the year
and much of the next, his singles failed to crack the Top Ten,
and he concentrated on filming a television series called The
Drifter, which was based on a character he had created. He also
acted frequently, including the Nashville exploitation films
Country Music Caravan, The Nashville Story, and Tennessee Jamboree
and the stock-car drama Hell on Wheels. Though "The Shoe
Goes on the Other Foot Tonight" reached number three in
1966, it wasn't until "Tonight Carmen" reached number
one on the country charts in 1967 that his career picked up
considerably. During the next two years, he regularly hit the
Top Ten with country-pop songs like "I Walk Alone"
and "It's a Sin." Robbins suffered from a heart attack
while on tour in August 1969, which led to a bypass operation
in 1970. Despite his brush with death, he continued to record,
tour, and act. Early in 1970, "My Woman My Woman My Wife"
became his last major crossover hit, reaching number one on
the country charts and 42 on the pop charts and eventually earning
a Grammy award.
Robbins left Columbia Records in 1972, spending the next
three years at Decca/MCA. Though "Walking Piece of Heaven,"
"Love Me," and "Twentieth Century Drifter"
all reached the Top Ten, most of his singles were unenthusiastically
received. Nevertheless, he sustained his popularity through
concerts and film appearances, including the Lee Marvin movie
A Man and a Train and Guns of a Stranger. In March 1974, Robbins
became the last performer to play at the Ryman Auditorium,
the original location of the Grand Ole Opry; a week later,
he was the first to play at the new Grand Ole Opry House.
The honors and tributes to Robbins continued to roll out during
the mid-'70s, as he was inducted into Nashville Songwriters
International Hall of Fame in 1975. That same year, he returned
to Columbia Records, and over 1976 and 1977 he had his last
sustained string of Top Ten hits, with "El Paso City"
and "Among My Souvenirs" reaching number one. Following
this two-year burst of success, Robbins settled into a series
of minor hits for the next four years. In October 1982, he
was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Two months
later, he suffered his third major heart attack (his second
arrived in early 1981), and although he had surgery, he died
on December 8. In the wake of his death, his theme song to
Clint Eastwood's movie Honky Tonk Man was released and climbed
to number ten. Robbins left behind an immense legacy, including
no less than 94 charting country hits and a body of recorded
worked that proved how eclectic country music could be. ~
Hank Davis, All Music Guide
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