"Lester used to preach to me about building a slow foundation so you have something to fall back on in a cold season," Stuart summed up in the Chicago Tribune. I don't think it would've happened if it had been the Rolling Stones."įlatt proved to be an excellent role model, teaching Stuart a sure philosophy that has since served him well. "My parents were very skeptical about letting me go," he held in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "but they met with Lester and he assured them that he would assume all responsibility for me doing my schoolwork and sending most of my money home to go in the bank. Looking back Stuart remarked, "It was sort of a novelty-this old guy with this young kid-but the novelty was that I was so young and could really play." The 13-year-old dropped out of school and became a full-fledged professional musician, playing to crowds at the Grand Ole Opry and other venues. Stuart took a quick trip to Nashville, where he jammed with Flatt's sidemen Flatt overheard the youngster and invited him to join the band. "I'd learned that summer that I could get paid for playing music, the girls liked it, I could let my hair grow, and sleep late in the morning." "It was hard going back to school after all that," he admitted in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. There Stuart met his hero, Lester Flatt, and befriended a member of Flatt's band, the Nashville Grass. That summer, Stuart and his father journeyed to the famous Bean Blossom bluegrass festival in Indiana. The stage experience and consequent exposure to other musicians helped young Stuart hone his skills. By the time he reached 12 years of age, Stuart had so progressed on both the guitar and the mandolin that he was hired to tour with the Sullivan Family, a gospel group. Many children have indulged in such fantasies, but for Stuart, they became a reality. "My next-door neighbor got me a guitar when I was 4 or 5," he recounted in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "and I used to stand in front of the TV pretending I was playing along with Flatt and Scruggs." Porter Wagoner, Ernest Tubb, and the Wilburn Brothers ranked among Stuart's favorites, but one duo stood out in his mind. A good deal of his youth was spent in front of the television, absorbing every country music show he saw. Marty Stuart grew up in Philadelphia, Mississippi, the grandson of a fiddler. Country style." Stuart outlined his key to success: "The four things a hillbilly singer needs are a Cadillac, a Nudie suit, the right hairdo, and a pair of pointy-toed boots." And don't forget about the hair curious about his massive pompadour, Meyers wondered, "What does it take to achieve such a resplendent coiffure?" The answer, according to Stuart: "About four minutes, a 60-mile-an-hour wind, a $1 hairbrush, and an 87-cent can of Aqua Net." When I get on my bus and put on these clothes, I can almost feel something coming together." Entertainment Weekly writer Kate Meyers raved, "Marty Stuart reeks of style. In my case, they turn me into a hillbilly singer. The performer confessed in Country America that his fancy stage clothes are "uniforms." He contended, " transform you. The multitalented Stuart even coproduced an album for the Sullivans, a gospel work that earned critical acclaim.Īs a solo artist, Stuart has earned a measure of uniqueness with his passion for the flashiest stage attire he can borrow, buy, or collect from past country greats. Stuart has also done extensive studio work, backing up rockers Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and Billy Joel, in addition to a multitude of country artists. At the age of 13, he was regularly performing with bluegrass pioneer Lester Flatt and he spent much of the late 1970s touring with Johnny Cash. Indeed he is name a country or bluegrass master and chances are Stuart has played in that artist's band. "What I have a passion to do is to take what I've learned in the past with the masters and bridge it into the future," he said. An accomplished instrumentalist, Stuart has forged a path through the country ranks with a series of infectious hits such as "Hillbilly Rock" and "Little Things." He explained in the Richmond Times-Dispatch that his work is based on a fusion of bluegrass, vintage rock, and Western swing. The satin-and-rhinestone-clad country rocker aims to build on country's roots and bring an authentic hillbilly look and sound back to Nashville. Addresses: Publicist- Summer Harman, Gurley & Co, 1101 17th Ave. ![]() ![]() Born John Marty Stuart, September 30, 1958, in Philadelphia, MS married Cindy Cash (divorced).
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