Gene Watson's Peers: Marty Stuart
Gene Watson's peers within the country music
industry believe in the sheer talent of this unassuming man from east Texas,
so much so that Gene is regarded by many of them as 'the singer's singer' -
and rightly so!
All of Gene's Peers who were contacted in 2006 were most
gracious with their time & words. It is here, within this special part of
gene-watson.com, that you have an opportunity to read a quote from
Marty Stuart, which he submitted to
this site on Monday 30 January 2006.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you'
to
Marty Stuart who has made a special
contribution to a unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone Star
Hero'.
Marty Stuart
This quote was submitted on Monday 30 January 2006
'Gene Watson is as authentic as Texas rain, and is a
true master of the country song'.
Thank you, Marty Stuart, for your
support of Gene Watson.
About Marty Stuart...
Marty Stuart was born John Marty
Stuart in
Philadelphia, Mississippi on 30 September 1958. He has become renowned
for both his traditional style & eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk
& traditional country music.
Marty is also known for wearing rhinestone-studded Nudie suits onstage, but
after the passing of his friend & former father-in-law Johnny Cash (26
February 1932 - 12 September 2003), he
now wears black in his honour.
Marty Stuart has, since an early age, been obsessed with country music; he
was so obsessed in fact, that he taught himself how to play the guitar &
mandolin. When he was twelve years old, Marty started performing with
the bluegrass group the Sullivans. He later met Lester Flatt
band-member Roland White who invited Marty to play with him & the Nashville
Grass at the Labor Day gig in Delaware in 1972. After this, White
asked him to join the band permanently & Marty accepted. Marty stayed
with Lester Flatt up until Flatt broke up the band in 1978 due to Flatt's
failing health.
In 1979, Lester Flatt passed away so Marty pushed forward & worked with
fiddler Vassar Clements. He also worked with guitarist Doc Watson.
In 1980, Marty Start joined Johnny Cash's backing band. The previous
year, Stuart had seen the release of his first solo album, 'With a Little
Help From My Friends', which was released on Ridge Runner Records.
In 1982, Marty released a second album, 'Busy Bee Cafe', which was released
on Sugar Hill Records. Both albums ('With a Little Help From My
Friends' & 'Busy Bee Cafe') were strongly bluegrass albums, but they failed
to garner any success for Stuart.
In 1983, Marty Stuart married Johnny Cash's daughter, Cindy & in 1985 he
left Cash's band to pursue a solo career. He immediately landed a
recording contract with Columbia Records & released a self-titled album on
the label in 1986. The 'Marty Stuart' album didn't sell; Stuart
recorded a follow-up album, 'Let There be Country' but Columbia Records
failed to release it.
Marty's marriage to Cindy Cash ended in divorce in 1988, which led to
Stuart's return home to Mississippi. Roland White invited Stuart to
rejoin his band as their fiddler & this helped Stuart build his confidence
to try again at becoming a singer.
In 1989, Marty Stuart soon returned to Nashville where he landed a deal with
MCA Records; his first album on the label, 'Hillbilly Rock', was released
that year. In 1990, he finally made it big with the album, when two of
his songs from 'Hillbilly Rock' became hits; the title track was his first
Top Ten hit on the country charts, while 'Western Girls' just broke the Top
20. In 1991, he released 'Tempted', the title track of which became
Marty's first Top 5 country hit.
In 1991, Marty co-wrote 'The whiskey ain't working' with Travis Tritt; this
track was included on Tritt's 1991 album 'It's All About to Change' & became
Marty's biggest hit. In 1992, Stuart released the 'This One's Gonna
Hurt You' album on MCA Records. The album's title track, a duet with
Travis Tritt, was released as a single & became another Top Ten hit for
Stuart. 'This One's Gonna Hurt You' became Marty Stuart's first gold
album.
In 1994, Marty Stuart saw the release of his 'Love & Luck' album; three
singles were released from it, but only one ('Kiss me, I'm gone') made the
Top 40. His record sales began to slip & led to MCA releasing 'The
Marty Party Hit Pack' compilation album in 1995.
On Tuesday 8 July 1997, Marty Stuart married legendary country music artist
Connie Smith. In 1998, he helped
produce Smith's comeback album 'Connie Smith' (Warner Bros. Records, 1998);
Marty co-wrote eight out of the ten songs on the album.
In 1999, Marty saw the release of 'The Pilgrim', another unsuccessful album
chart-wise. Stuart left MCA Records in 2000 & signed with Sony,
releasing a new album ('Marty Stuart & the Fabulous Superlatives').
In 2005, Marty Stuart launched a custom record label, Superlatone Records,
in order to issue overlooked southern gospel & roots music recordings.
Marty released three critically acclaimed collections on Superlatone namely
'Souls' Chapel', 'Badlands' & 'Live at the Ryman'. In October 2005,
Stuart released a concept album, 'Badlands: Ballads Of The Lakota', which
paid tribute to the Sioux culture in what is now South Dakota.
In 2007, Marty Stuart's collection of music memorabilia & photography was
exhibited at the Tennessee State Museum under the banner 'Sparkle & Twang:
Marty Stuart's American Musical Odyssey'. It was also in 2007 that
Marty produced country music legend Porter Wagoner's debut album on the
predominantly punk label Epitaph Records.
Connie Smith provided harmony vocals on 'A good place to turn around', a
track included on Gene Watson's 'In a Perfect
World' (Shanachie Records, 2007).
Visit Marty Stuart's Official Site
Visit Connie Smith's Official Site
Visit Marty Stuart's Fan Site (run
by Sherry Mattioli in Nashville)