Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs

Marty Robbins was an established country act by 1959, but this album made him a household name. His rich, agile voice had as much in common with Top 40 crooners as country singers, and his charismatic delivery helped land a number of these cuts on the pop charts. "Big Iron" and "El Paso"—both penned by Robbins—were huge hits, offering dramatic narratives full of danger and romance. And traditional tunes like "Billy the Kid" and "Utah Carol" fit perfectly into the mythic Western world Robbins conjured up.