Marty Stuart facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marty Stuart
Stuart at MerleFest in 2012
Background information
Birth name	John Marty Stuart
Born	(1958-09-30) September 30, 1958 (age 66) Philadelphia, Mississippi, U.S.
Genres	Country bluegrass
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar mandolin
Years active	1968–present
Labels	Sugar Hill, Columbia, MCA, Universal South, Superlatone, Ridge Runner

John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass singer, songwriter, and musician. He started his music career in 1968. Stuart first toured with Lester Flatt and then with Johnny Cash's band. He began his solo career in the early 1980s.

Marty Stuart is known for mixing different music styles like rockabilly, country rock, and bluegrass. He often works with other artists and performs cover songs. He also has a unique style of dressing on stage.

His most successful period was in the early 1990s with MCA Records Nashville. Stuart has released over 20 studio albums. More than 30 of his songs have appeared on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His song "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'", a duet with Travis Tritt, reached the highest spot on the charts.

Stuart has won five Grammy Awards and was nominated 16 times. He is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

John Marty Stuart was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi, on September 30, 1958. He learned to play the guitar and mandolin when he was a child. By the age of 12, he joined a gospel music group called The Sullivans.

While playing with The Sullivans, Stuart met Roland White. White was a mandolin player in Lester Flatt's band. In 1972, White invited Stuart to play with Flatt at a concert. This led to Stuart becoming a regular member of Flatt's band. He toured with them until Flatt retired in 1978. That same year, Stuart recorded his first independent album, With a Little Help from My Friends.

After working with Flatt, Stuart played with Vassar Clements and Doc Watson. In 1980, he joined Johnny Cash's band. In 1982, Stuart released his second album, Busy Bee Cafe, on Sugar Hill Records. This album was a jam session with many country and bluegrass artists, including Cash, Watson, and Earl Scruggs.

In 1985, Stuart went with Johnny Cash to Memphis. He played on the Class of '55 album, which also featured Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Jerry Lee Lewis. After that recording session, Carl Perkins gave Stuart his guitar. Later that year, Stuart left Cash's band and signed a record deal with Columbia Records.

Recording Career Highlights

Stuart released his first album with Columbia, Marty Stuart, in 1985. His first song from the album, "Arlene", was his first to appear on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Three other songs from the album also charted in 1986: "Honky Tonker", "All Because of You", and "Do You Really Want My Lovin'". These songs were not as successful.

Because "Arlene" did well, Marty was nominated for Top New Male Vocalist at the Academy of Country Music Awards. He recorded another album for Columbia called Let There Be Country. Two songs from this album, "Mirrors Don't Lie" and "Matches", charted in 1988. However, Columbia decided not to release the full album because the songs didn't do well. Stuart then left the label.

Joining MCA Records (1989-1991)

After a short time back with The Sullivans, Marty Stuart returned to Nashville. He signed with MCA Records in 1989. His album Hillbilly Rock was released that year. This album had four songs that charted on Hot Country Songs. The first was a cover of Johnny Cash's "Cry! Cry! Cry!". Next was "Don't Leave Her Lonely Too Long", which Stuart co-wrote. These songs did not chart high.

However, the album's title track became Stuart's first top-10 country hit in 1990. The last song released from the album was "Western Girls". Hillbilly Rock was certified gold in 1997, meaning it sold over 500,000 copies.

His second MCA album, Tempted, came out in 1991. This album had four songs that charted between 1991 and 1992: "Little Things", "Till I Found You", "Tempted", and "Burn Me Down". All of these, except "Till I Found You", reached the top 10.

In 1991, Stuart also co-wrote "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'" with Travis Tritt. This song was on Tritt's 1991 album It's All About to Change. It became Stuart's highest-charting song, reaching number two on Hot Country Songs in early 1992. It also won Stuart his first Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. The success of this song led to Stuart and Tritt touring together in 1992. They called their tour the No Hats Tour because they didn't wear cowboy hats like many other country musicians.

Later MCA Years (1992-1995)

Stuart often works with Travis Tritt, shown here in 2014.

Stuart's next MCA album, This One's Gonna Hurt You, was released in 1992. The first song, "This One's Gonna Hurt You (For a Long, Long Time)", was another duet with Travis Tritt. It was a top-10 hit in 1992. Other songs from the album, like "Now That's Country" and "High on a Mountain Top", were not as successful. Johnny Cash sang on the song "Doin' My Time". The song "Me and Hank and Jumpin' Jack Flash" included old voice recordings of Lester Flatt, Hank Williams, and Ernest Tubb. This One's Gonna Hurt You was certified gold in 1993.

Stuart won his second Grammy Award in 1993. This was for Best Country Instrumental Performance. He was one of several artists featured on Asleep at the Wheel's cover of "Red Wing".

Love and Luck was his next album, released in 1994. Only one song from this album, "Kiss Me, I'm Gone", made it into the top 40. The album included two cover songs: "If I Give My Soul" by Billy Joe Shaver and "Wheels" by The Flying Burrito Brothers. It also had a mandolin instrumental called "Marty Stuart Visits the Moon".

After this album, MCA released a collection of his songs called The Marty Party Hit Pack in 1995. This album included songs from his earlier MCA albums, plus "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'". It also had two new songs, "The Likes of Me" and "If I Ain't Got You". Two cover songs were also included: Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" and The Band's "The Weight". Both of these new songs were released as singles in 1995, but they did not reach the country music top 40. The Marty Party Hit Pack became Stuart's fourth and final gold album in 1998.

Stuart released Honky Tonkin's What I Do Best in 1996. This album had two more songs that charted: the title track (another duet with Travis Tritt) and "You Can't Stop Love". The title track also won Stuart an award from the Country Music Association.

Career Since the Late 1990s

Stuart released another album in 1999 called The Pilgrim. Only one song from it, "Red, Red Wine and Cheatin' Songs", charted that year. This album told a story about a love triangle. It featured voices from Pam Tillis, George Jones, and Emmylou Harris. Johnny Cash also recited a poem on the album. After this album did not sell well, Stuart left MCA in 2000.

His next album was Country Music in 2003, released on Columbia Records. For this album, Stuart formed a new band called Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives. The band included Harry Stinson on drums, Kenny Vaughan on guitar, and Brian Glenn on bass guitar. The album featured covers of songs by Porter Wagoner and Carl Butler and Pearl. It also included a duet with Merle Haggard called "Farmer's Blues". Two songs from the album, "If There Ain't, There Ought'a Be" and "Too Much Month (At the End of the Money)", both charted.

In 2005, Stuart started his own record label, Superlatone Records. He used it to release gospel and roots music. Stuart released three albums on Superlatone: Souls' Chapel, Badlands, and Live at the Ryman. In October 2005, Stuart released Badlands: Ballads of the Lakota. This album honored the Sioux culture in what is now South Dakota. In 2007, Stuart produced Porter Wagoner's last album.

In August 2022, Stuart signed a new record deal with Snakefarm Records. This was his first new deal in almost 10 years. He also toured Europe with the Fabulous Superlatives, performing in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. Sam Williams, Hank Williams' grandson, opened for them.

The Fabulous Superlatives

The Fabulous Superlatives in 2022: from left to right Stuart, Vaughan, Stinson, Scruggs

The Fabulous Superlatives have been Marty Stuart's band since 2002. The band includes Stuart on guitar and mandolin, Kenny Vaughan on guitar, and Harry Stinson on drums. Brian Glenn played bass from 2002 to 2008. Paul Martin was on bass from 2008 to 2015. In 2015, Chris Scruggs took over on bass and also played steel guitar. All the band members also sing.

Musical Style and Image

Marty Stuart sees himself more as a stylist than just a singer. This means he uses a mix of different musical approaches. His main musical influences include Johnny Cash, Bill Monroe, and Muddy Waters.

In the 1990s, Stuart's look was very distinctive. He often wore his long black hair, which had some gray, tied with a black or pink bandana headband. He also wore faded jeans, a black T-shirt, cowboy boots, a concho belt, and a fancy suit jacket covered in rhinestones. These jackets were designed by Nudie Cohn.

Equipment and Memorabilia

Stuart is famous for his large collection of country music items. Some of his collection was shown at the Tennessee State Museum in 2007. This exhibit was called "Sparkle and Twang: Marty Stuart's American Musical Odyssey." The exhibit later traveled to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Ohio and the Arkansas Statehouse Museum.

In early 2018, Stuart helped create an exhibit at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was called "Marty Stuart's Way Out West: A Country Music Odyssey." This exhibit showed how the West Coast influenced country music. It featured items from artists like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and Stuart himself. Many items came from Stuart's own collection, including the last photo of Johnny Cash, which Stuart took four days before Cash passed away.

Marty Stuart in January 1993, with Clarence White's B-Bender guitar

Yvonne and Mavis Staples of the Staple Singers gave Marty Stuart one of their father "Pops" Staples' guitars after Pops passed away. Mavis Staples explained that her father was like a godfather to Marty. She said Marty is the only person she has heard who sounds like her father when he plays guitar.

Stuart's guitars also include 'Clarence', a special two-tone Fender Telecaster. This guitar used to belong to Clarence White. It is the original B-Bender guitar, designed by White and Gene Parsons around 1967. This special feature allows the guitarist to change the pitch of the guitar's 'B' string. This lets them play in a style similar to a pedal steel guitar. Stuart bought this unique guitar in 1980 from White's widow. He continued to play it in concerts as of 2019.

The Marty Stuart Show

Stuart hosts The Marty Stuart Show, which features traditional country music. The show is similar to old country music shows like The Porter Wagoner Show and Hee Haw. The Marty Stuart Show started airing on November 1, 2008, on RFD-TV. Even though no new episodes have been made since 2022, the network still shows old episodes. These are called The Best of the Marty Stuart Show.

Each episode features music by Stuart and his band, the Fabulous Superlatives. Stuart hosts and produces the 30-minute shows. WSM disc jockey and Grand Ole Opry announcer Eddie Stubbs is the show's announcer.

Country Music Foundation and Hall of Fame

Stuart is a member of the board of the Country Music Foundation. He has also been a past president of the foundation. Stuart has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1992. On August 12, 2020, Stuart was chosen to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Personal Life

Marty Stuart's first wife was Cindy Cash, Johnny Cash's daughter. They were married from 1983 to 1988.

Since July 8, 1997, Stuart has been married to country artist Connie Smith. He had admired her since he was a child. Stuart met Smith when he was 12 years old. She came to the Indian reservation in his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi, to perform at a fair. Stuart said he told his mother then that he would marry Connie Smith. Smith says that keeping the Lord at the center of their lives helps their marriage last.

Discography

Awards and Nominations

A. shared with Joe Nichols, Rhonda Vincent, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, James Taylor, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Terri Clark, Merle Haggard, Carl Jackson, Ronnie Dunn, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Glen Campbell, Leslie Satcher, Kathy Louvin, Pamela Brown Hayes, Linda Ronstadt, Patty Loveless, Jon Randall, Harley Allen, Dierks Bentley, Larry Cordle, Jerry Salley, Dolly Parton, Sonya Isaacs, Del McCoury, Pam Tillis, Johnny Cash and The Jordanaires.
B. shared with Everett Lilly, Bea Lilly, Charles Lilly, Daniel Lilly, Mark Lilly, Rhonda Vincent, Billy Walker, Ronnie McCoury, Rob McCoury, David Ball, Charlie Cushman, Larry Stevenson, Joe Spivey, Eddie Stubbs, Jason Carter, Dickey Lee, Freddie Weller, Mike Bub, Rad Lewis, Andy May, Darrin Vincent, Marcia Campbell, Clay Rigdon, Eric Blankenship and Bill Wolfenbarger.