MARTY ROBBINS MEETS THE GLASER BROTHERS Marty Robbins always wanted his live shows to sound like the recordings. In 1957, with songs such as “White Sport Coat” on the charts, he needed background vocals. He found what he was looking for in Grand Island, Nebraska, when someone knocked on his dressing room door after a […]
FARON AND MARTY SIXTY YEARS AGO In June 1953, Faron Young and Marty Robbins were beginning to make names for themselves. They’d both debuted on the Billboard charts earlier in the year with their own songs. Marty’s “I’ll Go On Alone” went to number one, and Faron’s “Goin’ Steady” reached number two. Their second singles […]
FAREWELL TO RAY EMMETT Ray Emmett died in Nashville on June 2, 2013, at the age of 75. He had been ill for quite awhile. Ray fronted Faron Young’s Country Deputies band and played electric bass from 1973-1980 and from 1988 until the end. He also sang harmony on Faron’s records. Ray hosted one of […]
This periodic newsletter commemorates the lives of Faron Young and Marty Robbins. It’s been a year since the University of Illinois Press published Twentieth Century Drifter: The Life of Marty Robbins and reissued Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story in soft cover. Belmont Book Award Presentation
Marty Robbins 57 years ago On May 19, 1956, Marty hosted the Prince Albert portion of the Grand Ole Opry for the first time. He’d been a guest numerous times in the past five years on this prestigious half-hour NBC radio show. When time came to recite the Prince Albert jingle, “Nature in her own […]
Faron and Marty 54 years ago On April 7, 1959, Faron Young returned from a Hawaiian tour. His band, the Country Deputies, traveled there with him, as did his wife, Hilda. Other entertainers were Webb Pierce and Roy Drusky. Also on April 7, 1959, Marty Robbins, in an 8-hour session in Nashville, recorded all twelve tracks […]
February 1932 Faron Young was born in a two-bedroom rental house in Shreveport, Louisiana, on February 25, 1932. At that time, out in Arizona, Martin David Robinson and his twin sister were first graders at Sunnyside School in Cactus, 12 miles north of Phoenix. Their family had moved the previous summer into an abandoned two-room […]
We lost them in December December 8 marked the 30th anniversary of the death of Marty Robbins, and December 10 was the 16th anniversary of the death of Faron Young. I observed the dates by wrapping myself in their music–which never grows old.
This periodic newsletter commemorates the lives of Faron Young and Marty Robbins. The University of Illinois Press published Twentieth Century Drifter: The Life of Marty Robbins and reissued Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story in soft cover earlier this year. Has anyone downloaded either biography as an e-book? If so, I’d like to hear about it. Music in […]
E-BOOK UPDATE Twentieth Century Drifter and Live Fast, Love Hard are now both available on Amazon Kindle. Yeah!! They are supposed to be on Barnes & Noble Nook also. Someone please let me know if you find them there.