It all started when Marty Stuart was just 11-years-old, in the summer of 1970, when Connie Smith—17 years Marty Stuart’s senior—was already an established star, and had landed over a dozen Top 10 hits. Connie Smith happened to be Marty Stuart’s mother’s favorite singer, right behind Marty Robbins.
There are not many sectors of bluegrass music that weren’t at one point or another touched by the work of mandolin player Roland White. The brother of fellow bluegrass legend and later country rocker Clarence White, an original member of The Kentucky Colonels…
To help in the COVID-19 recovery effort, the Hall of Fame is planning a special live streaming event that will match up many of the iconic instruments in the “Precious Jewels” collection and other displays with many of the best artists and players of today.
Nobody does more to preserve the history and pay forward the legacy of country music than Marty Stuart, musician or otherwise. And now that boy from Philadelphia, Mississippi who gave himself completely to the music at the tender age of 12 is officially a Hall of Famer.
Even though names like Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff, and The Carter Family loom large for many of country music’s devoted fans, they don’t necessarily rise to the level of household names like Ernest Tubb, and of course the great Hank Williams, who was the centerpiece of the third installment of the Ken Burns ‘Country Music’ documentary.
You’ll be hard pressed to present another country music personality more responsible for helping to save country music in the last quarter century than Marty Stuart. Though he never had the big hits as some of his contemporaries, his work both in the public eye and behind-the-scenes to preserve the legacy of country music is unparalleled.
Maybe you know the name Curly Seckler, or maybe you don’t. Maybe you’re a fan of his contributions, or maybe this is the very first time you’re hearing the name. But it is the name of the man who held the distinction of being the oldest living legend in country music—a direct link to the very founding of the genre.
“The results are absolutely exquisite,” Marty Stuart says. “I invite the viewer to come along with me and the Superlatives to Pine Ridge. By way of Reid Long’s camera, we’ll take you deep inside of a world filled with wonderful people, that most people don’t even know exist.”
You would think there would be much more important business to attend to in the lives of country music fans than to worry about what clothing accessories Marty Stuart chooses to adorn his wardrobe with, but you may not find a another topic of more intrigue or discussion amongst some country listeners than why Marty decides to indulge in neck finery as part of his public fashion.
When it comes to the preservation of the history and sound of country music, you can make the case there is nobody who does it better and with more passion and dedication than Marty Stuart. Tireless and true to his convictions, from his music, to his archive of memorabilia, to his presence on television and the Grand Ole Opry stage, and to some of the thankless things he does well out of the public eye…
As some of you may already know, I’ve got a good friend named Pointer, and every year we get together for an annual trip to downtown Nashville around Labor Day. Pointer and I are great friends and we both love country music, but we couldn’t be on more opposite sides of the country music spectrum. Pointer loves to have his picture taken in front of things.
George Strait might have put out an album called Twang, but Ghost Train is the one that delivers it. This album is heavily guitar-driven from the start, turning the twang on the Telecasters to 10 and leaving it loud in the mix. Its the kind of twang that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Then add some Ralph Mooney pedal steel on top and Ghost Train might be the freshest, funnest and truest traditional country album to come out of Nashville in years.