 |
| By NBC Television [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
Martin David Robinson and his twin sister Mamie Ellen Robinson were born September 26, 1925.
Martin's father was an abusive man, an alcoholic. The powerful Arizona desert was Martin's playground and sanctuary. He took on the name "Marty Robbins" when, as a young adult, he started singing in public. He didn't want his family to know what he was doing because they would consider singing a lazy way to make a living. It wasn't until he became famous that he openly admitted his career choice
Marty married Marizona Baldwin in 1948, and they were happily married the rest of his life.
Although rock 'n roll was usurping most all other genres of music by the late 1950s, Marty always favored Country and Western music. He was a fan of Gene Autry and never outgrew his desire to be a "singing cowboy." His recordings of such songs as "El Paso," "Big Iron," and "The Hanging Tree" helped revive Western music.
Marty made a TV series that lasted only twelve episodes in 1965. It was called The Drifter and starred Marty as a singing cowboy, always on the move. And he also appeared in films such as Buffalo Gun (1961) with fellow Country music legends Webb Pierce and Carl Smith, Ballad of a Gunfighter (1963), and Guns of a Stranger (1971), which Marty co-produced.
Even after experiencing a couple of heart attacks and bad wrecks, he still liked to race cars, which was a lifelong love for him.
In December, 1982, Marty went through one last heart attack. On December 8, 1982, days after an 8 1/2-hour operation, Marty Robbins died, leaving his wife and two children.
********************************
Sources:
"Twentieth Century Drifter: The Life of Marty Robbins" by Diane Diekman.