Marty Robbins was born Martin David Robinson on September 26, 1925, near Glendale, Arizona. Their family was poor and Marty’s father was a heavy drinker. This led to his parent’s divorce when Marty was twelve. Marty, and eight siblings, lived with his mother who was of Paiute descent. Marty’s maternal grandfather, Texas Bob Heckle, was a Paiute medicine man, and Marty used to listen to his stories of the old West, which undoubtedly inspired many of the Western ballads that he would write later in life.

In 1943 at the age of seventeen, Marty joined the navy. He served in the Pacific theater during WWII where he learned to play the guitar, sing, and write songs during his free time.

In 1946, Marty left the navy and started singing in clubs and on a local hometown radio station. His mother strongly disapproved of him singing in clubs, so he used the name Jack Robinson so that she wouldn’t find out.

By 1950, he was a regular on radio station KTYL in Mesa, AZ, and had his own TV show – Western Caravan – on KPHO in Phoenix. Soon thereafter, Marty moved to Nashville where he cut his first record deal with Columbia Records and joined the Grand Ole Opry.

By the late 1950s, Marty had become a household name with two number one hit songs, “I’ll Go on Alone” in 1952, and “Singing the Blues” in 1956. But his biggest hit, and the song that is most often associated with him, was released in 1959, “El Paso,” which became a number one Country and Pop hit, making Marty the first crossover country artist in U.S. music history. It sold over one million copies and was the first country song to be awarded a Grammy.

By the end of his musical career, which spanned four decades, Marty had 94 songs on the Billboard country record charts including sixteen at the number one spot. He won two Grammys, got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, numerous ACM and CMA awards, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Besides being a singer and songwriter, Marty was an actor, starring in at least a dozen different movies and tv shows. He was also a professional NASCAR driver, participating in thirty-five NASCAR Winston Cup/Grand National races and finishing in the top ten in six of them.

Marty Robbins died on December 8, 1982, six days after suffering his third heart attack. He was fifty-seven years old.

Almost everyone remembers “El Paso” (1959), but few people realize that it was the first of a trilogy of songs about El Paso. In 1966, Marty recorded a prequel called “Feleena (from El Paso).” It tells the story of Feleena, the Mexican girl who falls in love with the wild cowboy from the first song. In it, we learn her history as well as her tragic end. Then in 1976, Marty completes the trinity with the song “El Paso City.” In this song, a passenger in a flight over El Paso City is reminded of a song he heard long ago about a cowboy and a girl. Marty had planned to do a fourth song, “The Mystery of Old El Paso,” but died before he could complete it.

Marty once said, “The great songs just come out. If it comes quick, just leave it that way.” This happened twice during his career; when he wrote “El Paso” and when he wrote “El Paso City.” Each song was written in a matter of minutes. “No longer,” said Robbins, “than the amount of time it takes to sing them.”

Enjoy the El Paso trilogy of songs linked below.