Marty Robbins

Martin David Robinson , known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, multiinstrumentalist, and racing driver. One of the most popular and successful country and western singers of all time for most of his near fourdecade career. Robbins often topped the country music charts, and several of his songs also had crossover success as pop hits.

Robbins was born in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix in Maricopa County, Arizona. His mother was mostly of Paiute Indian heritage. Robbins was reared in a difficult family situation. His father took odd jobs to support the family ofchildren, but his drinking led to divorce in 1937. Among his warmer memories of his childhood, Robbins recalled having listened to stories of the American West told by his maternal grandfather, Texas Bob Heckle. Robbins left the troubled home atto serve in the United States Navy as an LCT coxswain during World War II. He was stationed in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean. To pass the time during the war, he learned to play the guitar, started writing songs, and came to love Hawaiian music.

Source: Wikipedia