I have most of his stuff on my Ipod and Iphone. Big Iron is a favorite of mine. Like most of my music tastes the stuff done before the Beatles showed up was so much better.
"Any idiot can face a crisis,it's the day-to-day living that wears you out."
Many many years ago I bought his three LP records with all the gunfighter ballads on them and at that time 8 tracks were king. I had a friend record them on an 8 track.I still have it today,but last year I found the CD that is out with all of them on it. It also has the short and long version of El Paso on it. When I was in high schol "A White Sports Caot" was on the best sellers list.That was in the 50's
Seem to remember it was '56 or '57. Heard the writer of the song was from Cotton Valley, La.
Marty was known to be one of the nicest and most charitable guys in the Opry. All the more of a shame that he died so young.
I used to suspect that he and Ray Sawyer (front man for Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show) might be the same guy.
One day it occurred to me how much they looked alike. I mean, if Marty had let his hair and 'stache grow scruffy, slipped on a gold tooth and an eyepatch, ...bada-bing, they could have passed for twins.
Then I started trying to remember if I ever had seen them together. And I couldn't think of a single time I ever had seen Marty and Ray on the same stage. Not once. And to compound the suspicion, they both were git-pickers (big gasp!). Although I have to admit I never saw Ringo Starr and Yassir Arafat on stage together, but I found that only slightly less suspicious.
Which got me to thinking. What if, every so often, the grind of being an Opry star started to wear on Marty, so he'd let his hair grow for a bit and then take a little "Dr. Hook" vacation? And how could it be I'm the only person who's figured out his little scheme?
Anyway, Marty died and Ray didn't, which sorta put a crimp on that theory.
Last edited by XL5; 10/28/11.
Alle Fähigkeit ist vergeblich, wenn ein Engel in Ihrem Notenloch uriniert -- old German proverb