How important was Marty Robbins in forming the unique cultural identity of American Music?
I think Marty Robbins’ genius was that he synthesized so many different styles of music. He was a master at singing standards, American Songbook, Hawaiian music, Hispanic music, cowboy music, rock ’n’ roll and blues. He just had a tremendous grasp of all the uniquely American idioms and that was why he was so incredibly important. He did them all well, he did them all incredibly well. Marty from the get-go had not only country appeal but pop appeal. “Singing the Blues,” “A White Sport Coat (and a Pink Carnation),” “The Story of My Life,” “El Paso,” “Don’t Worry” – these were all major pop hits as recently as the late ’60s. He was making the pop charts and his appeal crossed over to a wide segment of the population. What do you think drew his fans to him and what were the keys to his success? Speaking personally (and I’ve had Marty Robbins 45s since I was a child), I think it’s that word that is so overused today – charisma. He had charisma; he looked like a star and he sang like a star
