Marty Robbins

Did You Know?

• Robbins was a staunch conservative and anti-communist, supporting Barry Goldwater in his 1964 presidential campaign as a southern director for "Stars for Barry."
• He developed cardiovascular disease early in life and suffered his first heart attack at age 43 in 1969.
• Following the release of Fallout: New Vegas, Robbins' song "Big Iron" substantially increased in popularity and inspired internet memes.

Early life

Martin David Robinson, known as Marty Robbins, entered the world on September 26, 1925, in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix in Maricopa County. When he was 12, his parents, John "Jack" Robinson and Emma Heckle, divorced in 1937. Robbins fondly remembered the Western tales told by his maternal grandfather, "Texas Bob" Heckle, a traveling salesman, storyteller, and local medicine man. His grandfather carried two small books of poetry to sell, and Robbins would sing him church songs in exchange for stories.

Many of Robbins' songs, including "Big Iron," grew from those tales—his grandfather claimed to have been a Texas Ranger. Robbins left high school in Glendale before joining the Navy, working as an amateur boxer, ditch digger, truck driver, ice deliveryman, and mechanic's helper. At 17, he served in World War II as an LCT coxswain in the U.S. Navy, stationed in the Solomon Islands. There, he learned guitar, began writing songs, and developed a love for Hawaiian music.

After his discharge in 1947 and marriage the next year, he performed at local venues in Phoenix. By the early 1950s, he hosted his own show on KTYL and later the television program Western Caravan on KPHO-TV. When Little Jimmy Dickens appeared on that show, Dickens helped Robbins secure a recording contract with Columbia Records.

Career

Marty Robbins was a regular performer on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. According to music journalist Mary Harron, he represented the Nashville establishment that younger country fans turned away from in the 1970s in favor of the outlaw country sound of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. She described him as part of the Jim Reeves era, and noted he proudly wore embroidered cowboy suits. His most famous song is the Western ballad "El Paso," but he also crossed into rock-influenced country with tracks like "White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation," keeping a dapper image throughout his career.

In 1980, he performed on the fifth season of the PBS show Austin City Limits. Beyond music, Robbins was a dedicated race car driver. He competed in 35 NASCAR Grand National Series races, earning six top-10 finishes, one of which was the 1973 Firecracker 400. He portrayed himself in the 1967 racing film Hell on Wheels.

He favored Dodges built by NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Cotton Owens, owning and racing Chargers and later a 1978 Dodge Magnum. He also drove the pace car at the 60th Indianapolis 500 in 1976. His final race was a Junior Johnson-built 1982 Buick Regal at the Atlanta Journal 500 on November 7, 1982, one month before he died.

Music and honors

Although by 1960 Robbins' output was largely Western and some country music, his initial hits such as "Singing the Blues," "Knee Deep in the Blues," "The Story of My Life," "She Was Only Seventeen," and "A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation" were generally regarded as more pop/teen idol material than his hits from 1960 onward. In 1957, he wrote and recorded "A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation," which sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold record.

His musical accomplishments include the Grammy Award for his 1959 hit and signature song "El Paso," taken from his album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs. "El Paso" was his first song to hit number one on the pop chart in the 1960s, followed by "Don't Worry," which reached number three on the pop chart in 1961, becoming his third and last top-10 pop hit. "El Paso" was followed by one prequel and one sequel: "Faleena (From El Paso)" and "El Paso City."

He won the Grammy Award for Best Country and Western Recording 1961 for his follow-up album More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, and was awarded another Grammy, for Best Country Song, in 1970, for "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife." Robbins was named Artist of the Decade (1960–1969) 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 "El Paso." When recording his 1961 hit "Don't Worry" at Bradley Studios in Nashville, session guitarist Grady Martin accidentally created the electric guitar "fuzz" effect when his six-string bass was run through a faulty channel in the studio's mixing console; Robbins decided to keep it in the final version.

Robbins was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6666 Hollywood Boulevard.

Racing career

Marty Robbins funneled his music fortune into a serious passion for NASCAR racing. He made it a point to compete annually at major tracks like Daytona and Talladega, squeezing in smaller events whenever his schedule allowed. Over his career, he notched six top-ten finishes, with his best result a fifth-place showing at the 1974 Motor State 360 in Michigan. His cars, built and maintained by Cotton Owens, were unmistakable in two-tone magenta and chartreuse, most often sporting the number 42, though he also used 6, 22, and 777.

After running various makes, he bought a 1972 Dodge Charger from Owens. Following several heavy crashes in the 1970s, Owens rebuilt it, updating the body to 1973–1974 Charger specs and later to 1978 Dodge Magnum sheet metal, which he raced through 1980. For his final outings in 1981 and 1982, he rented a 1981 Buick Regal. At the 1972 Winston 500, Robbins shocked everyone by running laps 15 mph faster than his qualifying speed.

When NASCAR tried to give him the Rookie of the Race award, he refused, having removed the mandated restrictor plates from his carburetor, admitting he just wanted to see what it felt like to lead. At the 1974 Charlotte 500, he may have saved Richard Childress’s life by deliberately hitting a wall instead of T-boning Childress’s car, which was stalled sideways on the track. A year after Robbins died in 1982, NASCAR honored him by naming the annual race at Fairgrounds Speedway the Marty Robbins 420.