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March 24
Why today? This song started it all for Marty Robbins — the “A” side of his first single, released on this date in 1952.
About the record: Columbia 4-20925, recorded Nov. 14, 1951, at the Radio Recorders studio in Hollywood. Its first album appearance was on the first of several comprehensive Robbins reissue projects by Germany’s Bear Family Records.
About the artist: Columbia Records already had a singer in the Eddy Arnold mold — George Morgan — in the early 1950s. Yet here was Martin David Robinson, plowing the same ground on his first session for the label. Apparently the bosses, alerted to Marty Robbins by Little Jimmy Dickens, recognized what the young Arizonan could bring to the table and figured he could do more than croon country weepers. Indeed — he could sing anything, as he’d prove soon enough. Honky-tonk, rockabilly, Hawaiian, Western, traditional pop, Nashville Sound, countrypolitan … what a talent. And you don’t have to take it from me. Take it from Pete Townshend of The Who, by way of his gentle tribute to the great Marty Robbins.
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March 24, 2010 at 9:27 AM
Diane Diekman
One amazing thing about this session is that an unknown singer would be allowed to record his own songs. The producer had sent Marty a group of songs, and he didn’t bother to learn them because he preferred ones he’d written. He also resisted pressure to give the session leader co-writer credit. It was rather gutsy of him–and an indication of how his independence made him a success. As always, I thank you for remembering Marty. I referred extensively to this box set while writing “Twentieth Century Drifter: The Life of Marty Robbins.”