Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver.

Robbins was one of the most popular and successful country and western singers for most of his nearly four-decade career,[2][3][4] which spanned from the late 1940s to the early 1980s.

[5] Born in Glendale, Arizona, Robbins taught himself guitar while serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and subsequently drew fame performing in clubs in and around his hometown.

In 1959, Robbins released his signature song, "El Paso", for which he won the Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording.

Later releases that drew critical acclaim include "Don't Worry", "Big Iron", "Devil Woman" and "Honkytonk Man", the last for which the 1982 Clint Eastwood film is named, and in which Robbins made his final appearance before his death.

Robbins was a commercial success in both the country and pop genres, and his songs were covered by many other famous artists, including Johnny Cash, the Grateful Dead and Elvis Presley.

"[6] His music continues to have an influence in pop culture today, featuring prominently in several films, television shows and video games.

Robbins was born Martin David Robinson on September 26, 1925, in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix in Maricopa County.

[7] Among the warmer memories of his childhood, Robbins recalled having listened to stories of the American West told by his maternal grandfather, 'Texas Bob' Heckle (1847-1931),[9] who was a traveling salesman, raconteur and local medicine man.

Robbins would work as an amateur boxer, dig ditches, drive trucks, deliver ice, and serve as a mechanics helper.

[11] At 17, Robbins left home to serve in the U.S. Navy as an LCT coxswain during World War II.

To pass the time during the war, he learned to play the guitar, started writing songs,[12] and came to love Hawaiian music.

After his discharge from the military in 1947 and his marriage the following year, Robbins began to play at local venues in Phoenix,[12] In the early 1950s Marty moved on to host his own show on KTYL and then his own television show Western Caravan on KPHO-TV in Phoenix.

Music journalist Mary Harron wrote the following about him in The Guardian:[13] Robbins was a symbol of the Nashville establishment that younger country fans abandoned in the Seventies for the bleached-denim "outlaw school" of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.

Best known for the western ballad, El Paso, his career also touched the rock 'n' roll side of country in songs like White Sport Coat And A Pink Carnation, and he kept a touch of the dude about him to the end.In 1980, Robbins appeared on the PBS music program Austin City Limits (season 5).

[19] Although by 1960 Robbins' output was largely western (and some country) music, his initial hits like "Singing the Blues", "Knee Deep in the Blues", "The Story of My Life", "She Was Only Seventeen", and "A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation" were generally regarded as more pop/teen idol material than his hits from 1960 onwards ("El Paso" etc.).

When Robbins was recording his 1961 hit "Don't Worry" at the Bradley Studios in Nashville, session guitarist Grady Martin accidentally created the electric guitar "fuzz" effect – his six-string bass was run through a faulty channel in the studio's mixing console.

"[24] The Beasts of Bourbon released a song called "The Day Marty Robbins Died" on their 1984 debut album The Axeman's Jazz.

"Big Iron" was also covered by Mike Ness on his album Under the Influences, on which he paid homage to country music artists.

[25] Before Robbins died, he held a performance at the White House, alongside famous American singer Frank Sinatra.

Robbins' Dodge Magnum was restored by Owens and donated to the Talladega Museum by his family, and was displayed there from 1983 to 2008.

In 2014, Robbins' 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona was featured on an episode of Discovery Channels TV show Fat and Furious: Rolling Thunder.

In that same year, an episode of Velocity's AmeriCarna featured ex-race team owner Ray Evernham spearheading the restoration of another of Robbins' NASCAR racers, a 1964 Plymouth Belvedere.

For the 2021 Goodyear 400, Tyler Reddick's RCR #8 Nascar Cup car carries Robbins' signature magenta and chartreuse livery.