Marty Stuart

John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician.

John Marty Stuart was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi, on September 30, 1958.

Stuart learned to play guitar and mandolin as a child, and by age 12, he had joined a gospel band called The Sullivans.

Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as a solo artist in the early 1980s.

He is known for his combination of rockabilly, country rock, and bluegrass music influences, his frequent collaborations and cover songs, and his distinctive stage dress.

While a member of this band, Stuart met mandolinist Roland White, a member of Lester Flatt's backing band; White invited Stuart to perform with Flatt at a concert in Delaware in 1972, which led to him becoming a regular member of that band.

He continued to tour in this capacity until Flatt retired in 1978, and recorded an independent album called With a Little Help from My Friends that same year.

After this, Stuart performed with Vassar Clements and Doc Watson before joining Johnny Cash's band in 1980.

In 1982, he released a second album called Busy Bee Cafe on Sugar Hill Records.

The album was composed of a jam session that included a number of country and bluegrass performers such as Cash, Watson, and Earl Scruggs.

In 1985, Stuart accompanied Johnny Cash to Memphis and played on the Class of '55 album that also featured Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

At the end of the session, Perkins presented Stuart with his guitar.

Later that year, Stuart left Cash's band and landed a recording contract with Columbia Records.

Stuart released his self-titled debut album on Columbia in 1985.

The album accounted for Stuart's first chart entry on Billboard Hot Country Songs charts with his first single release, "Arlene".

Three other singles charted from the album in 1986: "Honky Tonker" and "All Because of You", both written by Steve Forbert, and Stuart's own "Do You Really Want My Lovin'".

However, these songs were less successful on the charts.

AllMusic writer Jim Worbois gave the album a mixed review, stating that it was "Not a great album, but made somewhat more interesting by some of the people appearing on the record and the inclusion of two Steve Forbert songs."

He recorded a second album for Columbia titled Let There Be Country, which charted two singles in 1988: the Merle Haggard composition "Mirrors Don't Lie" and "Matches".

Due to the underperformance of the singles, Columbia chose not to release the album, and Stuart exited the label to return to Mississippi.

After briefly rejoining the Sullivans, he returned to Nashville and signed with MCA Records in 1989.

That label issued the album Hillbilly Rock that year.

Co-produced by Tony Brown and session guitarist Richard Bennett, the album charted four singles on Hot Country Songs.

First was a cover of Cash's "Cry! Cry! Cry!", followed by "Don't Leave Her Lonely Too Long", which Stuart wrote with Kostas.

His greatest commercial success came in the first half of the 1990s on MCA Records Nashville.

Stuart has recorded over 20 studio albums, and has charted over 30 times on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.

His highest chart entry is "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'", a duet with Travis Tritt.

Stuart has won five Grammy Awards out of 16 nominations.

He is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame.

While these were unsuccessful on the charts, the album's title track (written by Paul Kennerley) became Stuart's first top-ten country hit in 1990.

The album's final release was "Western Girls", which Stuart also co-wrote.

His second MCA album, Tempted, followed in 1991.

The album charted four singles on Hot Country Songs between 1991 and 1992: "Little Things", "Till I Found You", "Tempted", and "Burn Me Down", of which all except "Till I Found You" reached the top ten.

Bennett and Brown stayed on as producers, with the former also contributing alongside Stuart on both guitar and mandolin.

Kennerley and Kostas contributed as both songwriters and backing vocalists; also performing backing vocals on some tracks were Billy Thomas and Ray Herndon, who were also recording on MCA in McBride & the Ride at the time.

Jana Pendragon of AllMusic gave the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, comparing it to Dwight Yoakam's Hillbilly Deluxe in style and saying, "Stuart kicks country-pop in its well-defined hindquarters[…]But Stuart is just as deadly when he slows things down and does a ballad."

Also in 1991, Stuart co-wrote a song with Travis Tritt called "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'".

Recorded on the latter's 1991 album It's All About to Change, this song was released in between "Tempted" and "Burn Me Down".

It would go on to become Stuart's highest chart entry, reaching number two on Hot Country Songs in early 1992.

Hillbilly Rock was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1997 for shipments of 500,000 copies.