“Return To Me” | Marty Robbins

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Jan. 5: It’s been too long since we’ve heard from Marty Robbins here on 3 Chords a Day, so I’ve cued up a number that was released as a single 32 years ago today.

Like many a country artist on a CBS label, Robbins spent time with Billy Sherrill as his producer. Marty could sing in any style, and Sherrill could produce in any style. Their style on this, a cover of the two-decade-old Dean Martin pop effort, was pure countrypolitan. In fact, Dino’s dabbles in country music in the ’60s and ’70s didn’t sound altogether different from this. (Robbins paid Romance-language homage to Martin by singing a verse in Spanish, a la Martin’s verse in Italian.)

Clearly this isn’t the honky-tonk or boogie music that I prefer. But there’s hardly a Marty Robbins song I don’t like, or a Billy Sherrill-produced cut not worth giving a listen. Put ’em together, and you can’t go wrong. I bet you won’t even notice there’s no steel or fiddle!