07/10/2025
Marty Robbins during , while serving in the U.S. Navy.
Martin David Robinson
(September 26, 1925 β December 8, 1982)
American country and western singer and songwriter.
He was one of the most popular and successful singers of his genre for most of his nearly four-decade career, which spanned from the late 1940s to the early 1980s. He was also an early outlaw country pioneer.
Born in Glendale, Arizona, Robbins taught himself guitar while serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and subsequently drew fame performing in clubs in and around his hometown. In 1952, he released his first number-one country song, "I'll Go On Alone". Four years later, he released his second number-one hit "Singing the Blues", and one year later, released two more number-one hits, "A White Sport Coat" and "The Story of My Life". In 1959, Robbins released his signature song, "El Paso", for which he won the Grammy Award for Best Country and Western Recording. The song began Robbins' association with Western balladry, a style that became a staple of his career. His later releases that drew critical acclaim include "Don't Worry", "Big Iron", "Devil Woman", and "Honkytonk Man", the last for which the 1982 Clint Eastwood film is named, and in which Robbins made his final appearance before his death.
Over the course of his career, Robbins recorded more than 500 songs and 60 albums, and won two Grammy Awards, was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and was named the 1960s Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music. - wiki