(Columbia) Arizona native Marty Robbins was always a fighter. As one of nine kids, he grew up in extreme poverty with an abusive father. When his parents eventually divorced, he spent much of his youth in and out of trouble almost getting himself shipped off to reform school. He enlisted in the Navy during WWII, and while stationed in the South Pacific he learned to play guitar, started writing his own songs and picked up a love of Hawaiian music. Upon his discharge he returned to Arizona, where he worked odd jobs and began playing guitar on the side for a local singer where Marty gained stage experience, and more than a little self-confidence. One day while listening to a local radio station he heard a singer they employed and said to himself he could do better than that. So the next day he walked into the station, sang them a song, and they fired the other singer and hired Marty on the spot. He had both a local radio and TV show for the next few years, when Little Jimmy Dickens made an appearance on his show. Little Jimmy was so impressed with Marty, he passed his name on to his label, Columbia A&R man Art Satherley flew to Arizona and signed Marty immediately. Even after signing a label deal, Marty's battles were far from over. He fought everyone from an unscrupulous label executive who insisted on getting half the writing credits before he'd let Marty record his original songs (an infuriated Marty called his bluff and was prepared to walk out when the exec relented) to battling Columbia's head of pop A&R, Mitch Miller, who kept undercutting Marty's success by having one of his pop acts record a song Marty had recorded, and then quickly releasing the pop version before Marty's version was released. He also resisted Columbia's efforts to box him into one particular sound- initially strictly as a balladeer. Marty would have none of it, he liked many styles of music and wanted to sing it all. After the blowup with Mitch Miller, Marty dabbled in a little bit of everything that included hard country, pop (such as "A White Sport Coat And A Pink Carnation) and rockabilly (as with a cover of Chuck Berry's "Maybelline") finding success that cut across all boundaries. 

In 1958, Marty recorded the title song for the Gary Cooper western "The Hanging Tree." After recording this song, Marty began longing for his western roots again. Through his turbulent childhood, Marty's escape had been in the the tales of the old west told to him by his maternal grandfather, 'Texas' Bob Heckle, who was an ex-Texas Ranger and former medicine show performer, and by working odd jobs during the week to scrape together the 25 cents he needed for Saturday afternoons he would spend at the movies with his hero Gene Autry. Marty wanted to record an album of Western music, but Columbia was adamantly against it, saying his voice wasn't suited to sing that style of music. However, once again, Marty won and during one afternoon he recorded his Western album, which was released in 1959.

Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, produced by Don Law, is a mix of original Marty Robbins penned songs of the old west, one written by the Glassers, and a few traditional western/cowboys songs. Marty proved Columbia couldn't have been more wrong in their assessment that his voice was not suited to western music, and instead, he wound up raising the bar and setting a new standard for the genre. With his amazing vocal range and clarity, Marty delivered the songs with such emotion and passion, his dramatic vocals made each song come to vivid life, like small videos that people were able to see with crystal clarity as they listened to the songs. Giving his breathtaking western portraits even further depth and texture, outstanding backing and harmony vocals were provided by The Glasser Brothers. Guitarists Grady Martin and Jack Pruett, who often recorded with Marty, add their stellar guitar work, particularly outstanding is the Spanish guitar, which contributed as much to the overall stunning results of the album, as the songs and Marty's vocals did.

Gunfighter Ballads was also a groundbreaking album in that it contained two songs penned by Marty that clocked in well over three minutes long. Radio had an 'unspoken' preference for songs whose running time was three minutes or less, which record labels obliged. Breaking every rule in the book at the time, Columbia released the 4 1/2 minute western epic, "El Paso" as a single. They shipped the single with two versions of the song, an edited, slightly shorter version as the "A" side (though still longer than three minutes, Columbia had hoped radio might at least give the shorter version a chance) and the original version as the "B" side. This fatalistic border tale of love, betrayal, and violence, complete with a gutwrenchingly sad ending, romanticized the old west and instantly captured the imagination of listeners. It was considered a breathtaking masterpiece with Spanish guitar and well placed harmonies adding to it's magnificent beauty, and radio opted for the full length version. Despite it's length, the song was a fast paced story that never dragged for a second, a Louis L'Amour novel set to music, and the listener hung on every word to find out where the story would go next and how it would end. Against all odds, "El Paso" went on to reach #1 on both the country and pop charts. The following year the song earned Marty a Grammy award for Song Of The Year- the first ever awarded to a country song.

With the success of the lengthy "El Paso," Columbia flush with confidence at breaking the 'time barrier,' next released the album's second longest song, another Robbins original, the gunfighter epic "Big Iron" which clocked in at an even 4 minutes. As well written and and dramatic as "El Paso," "Big Iron" did well on the charts, though didn't quite match the success of "El Paso," and peaked at #5 on the country chart and #26 on the pop chart. Another outstanding highlight on Gunfighter Ballads is yet another Robbins penned song, "Master's Call," a powerfully moving tale of an outlaw finding salvation and redemption. "They're Hanging Me Tonight" perfectly conveys the mournful regret over a crime of passion. The story of a gunfighter who meets his match in a bounty hunter is told in "Running Gun." The ballad of Billy The Kid and his showdown with Pat Garrett is spun in the traditional, "Billy The Kid." Marty pays homage to his silver screen heroes with an absolutely stunning rendition of the Sons Of The Pioneers' "Cool Water." He delivers a spirited version of "A Hundred And Sixty Acres" that paints a joyous picture of a man who feels he has everything he could ever want in the land he's been blessed with. "Strawberry Roan" is another western traditional telling a story of a cowboy vs. an 'outlaw' horse. "In The Valley" finds a cowboy mournfully pleading for his love to return, while a homesick cowboy yearns to return to "The Little Green Valley." In the fatalistic campfire ballad of cowboy "Utah Carol," Marty brings to life the story of how Utah bravely lost his life saving the boss' young daughter from a stampede.

With the release of Gunfighters Ballads and Trail Songs, Marty was hailed as a master of western music, among the greatest of the genre, if not the best it's ever seen. His songs were deeper than the usual western/cowboy songs, and he managed to convey both authenticity and romanticism- and yes, he proved that his gorgeous voice was more than suited to sing this style of music, capable of making the music not only a listening experience, but also a visual one. However, although More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs was released the following year, he had no intention of being pegged as a 'western singer' either, and continued on with his eclectic mix of musical styles, including his beloved Hawaiian music. Marty did continue to write and sing western songs throughout the rest of this career, which also included two re-visits to "El Paso" by way of "Feleena (From El Paso)" and "El Paso City."

Just as his grandfather's tales of the dusty old west, and Saturday matinees spent with Gene Autry and Roy Rogers inspired Marty Robbins' love of the west, perhaps unwittingly, Marty himself captured the imaginations of a whole new generation of kids with this breathtaking album of the old west- a generation that may have been too young to know Gene Autry or Roy Rogers, but the ones who tuned in every week to  watch the adventures of the old west on the small screen by way of Bonanza and Gunsmoke. In-between episodes, it was the stories of Gunfighter Ballads that held them captivated. And though the majority from that generation of kids eventually turned to rock or other music, and many grew into adulthood not listening to country music at all, this is one album that still captivates as much today as it did back then, as beloved and treasured old vinyl copies are fondly pulled out, or it was among the very first CDs that were bought to replace those worn out vinyl copies. "El Paso" has long gone on to become a classic, one of the best songs ever written. Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Ballads stands as Marty Robbins' masterpiece, a timeless, treasured classic. And to a generation of kids who grew up on it, it's become a comfort food- one that instantly evokes fond memories of the simpler, carefree days of youthful fantasies.

Note: This review is written about the original version of the album as released by Columbia on CD. When Columbia initially issued the album to CD, the cover art differed from the original cover art of the vinyl album.

In 1999, Sony re-released it as part of it's 'American Milestones' series in a 're-mastered, expanded' version that includes the original cover art and 3 bonus tracks. However, the Sony version inexplicably places the songs out of their original sequence, and the three 'bonus tracks' include the shortened version of "El Paso," along with "The Hanging Tree" and "Saddle Tramp," both of which can be found on other Marty Robbins albums. 

AnnMarie Harrington TakeCountryBack June 2003