Thomas Grady Martin (January 17, 1929-December 3, 2001) was one of the most renowned, inventive and historically significant American session musicians in country music and rockabilly.
A member of Nashville A-Team, he played guitar on hits ranging from Roy Orbison's 'Oh, Pretty Woman' and Marty Robbins' 'El Paso' to Loretta Lynn's 'Coal Miner's Daughter' and Sammi Smith's 'Help Me Make It Through the Night'. During a nearly 50-year career, Martin backed such names as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Johnny Burnette, Woody and Arlo Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and Bing Crosby. He is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. (wikipedia)
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What a fun album of great country and rockabilly tunes. Grady Martin is of course the legendary and often uncredited sideman whose work as part of the Owen Bradley's A-team made him one of the top guitarists of the era.
While not as slick as the Chet Atkins, Grady Martin's work clearly illuminates the intersection of Western Swing, Honky Tonk Country and Rockabilly that was brewing in the early to mid-1950s. While many draw a direct line from the Blues to Rock, a more accurate map passes through these other areas of popular rural music in the southern and western United States. Jeff Beck may owe a greater debt to Bob Wills and Johnny Horton than most people think.
Throughout the disc, Martin shines with his raw, aggressive attack and biting tone. Pioneering use of slapback echo, distortion and string bending are here too, but what ties all these pieces together is Martin's terrific sense of composition. Every guitar part is just right for what the song and the vocalist needs - it is no wonder that Owen Bradley depended upon Martin to make hit records day after day.
(review, amazon.com)
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Grady Martin - Roughneck blues 1949-1956
(Rev-Ola 2007)
1. San Antonio Rose
2. My window faces the south
3. A-sleeping at the foot of the bed
4. Chattanoogie shoe shine boy
5. Diesel smoke, dangerous curves
6. (Now and then there's) A fool such as I
7. Hillbilly fever
8. Birmingham bounce
9. Don't you worry
10. It ain't gonna be like that
11. I'm a big boy now
12. My girl and his girl
13. Roughneck blues
14. Bird dog
15. Juke joint Johnny
16. I'm a one woman man
17. Baby's gone
18. Shake baby shake
19. All I can do is cry
20. It would be a doggone lie
21. I'm hungry for your lovin'
22. Three alley cats
23. Rock Billy boogie
24. Crazy, crazy lovin'
25. You're barking up the wrong tree
26. Bigelow 6-200
27. Everybody's rockin' but me
28. I'm coming home
29. Rock around with Ollie Vee
30. Modern Don Juan
31. The train kept a-rollin'
32. When my dream boat comes home
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