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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZSTUART, Marty(b 30 September 1958, Philadelphia MS) Country singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer; a child prodigy who later sounded like a throwback to the '50s rock'n'roll era, but always with a traditional country feeling. He played regularly with the Sullivans gospel group when age twelve; a year later he was playing guitar and mandolin with Lester Flatt and worked his way up to sing both lead and harmony vocals. He joined Doc and Merle Watson '79, worked with Johnny Cash (and married Cash's daughter Cindy, later divorced). He made his own first album Busy Bee Cafe for Sugar Hill '82 with a superstar cast of guests. He left Cash '85 and signed to Columbia determined to pursue a solo career, but although nominated as best male vocalist by the ACM in '86 his albums were not successful. He worked with the Sullivans again '88; then Tony Brown signed him to MCA '89 and the commercial breakthrough got under way with Hillbilly Rock '90: retro-country blended with a rock beat and a first-class stage act won him a large following. Teamed with Travis Tritt for the 'No Hats Tour' and had success with duet hits 'The Whiskey Ain't Workin' '91 and 'This One's Gonna Hurt You (For A Long, Long Time)' '92. Joined Grand Ole Opry '93. He is an avid record and memorabilia collector, owning the biggest collection of Hank Williams artefacts; also collections of guitars, stage outfits, etc. He is a keen photographer, responsible for cover on Johnny Cash's The Adventures Of Johnny Cash '82, and was heavily involved in advertising campaigns enticing fans to visit Nashville and the Opryland Theme Park. His albums included Marty Stuart '86 on Columbia; Tempted '91, This One's Gonna Hurt You '92, Love And Luck '93, Honky Tonkin's What I Do Best '96 all on MCA; Once Upon A Time '92 on CMH. He married Connie Smith '97. He has scored films, contributed many duets with others and produced many albums, acquired many awards and honorary degrees, and served as president of the Country Music Foundation, all the while staying clear of big-hat arena-style music and faithful to himself. He formed his own band the Fabulous Superlatives in 2002 (all-round multi-talents Kenny Vaughan, Harry Stinson, Paul Martin); six albums with them included Tear The Woodpile Down 2012 on the Superlatone label. He appears weekly on cable's RFD-TV, and The Marty Stuart Show is reminiscent of The Porter Wagoner Show, which once ran for 20 years on TV: having watched that show with his dad, he produced Wagoner's last album, which led to a Wagoner comeback, playing Madison Square Garden before he died, with Stuart sitting in on guitar. |