The next year Stuart produced the soundtrack album for the Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz movie All the Pretty Horses. Rutledge Hill Press published his annotated book of photographs, Pilgrims: Sinners, Saints, and Prophets, in 1999. Five years later, after the end of his marriage to Cindy Cash, he married fellow Opry star Connie Smith. In 1992 Stuart became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Stuart has also won several other Grammy Awards. He had better luck with his next label, MCA, where he scored five Top 10 singles, including “Hillbilly Rock,” “Tempted,” and “Burn Me Down.” His 1991 duet with Travis Tritt, “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’,” won a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Collaboration. Stuart signed with Columbia Records in the mid-1980s but failed to chart any substantial hits there. While it did not gain much critical attention, the follow-up collection, Busy Bee Café in 1982, did. Stuart released his first album, Marty, with a Little Help from His Friends, in 1977. The flashy dress and tall “rooster comb” hair became Stuart trademarks. Stuart also developed a passion for wearing and collecting the ornately decorated Nudie and Manuel stage costumes long favored by such traditional country acts as Porter Wagoner and Little Jimmy Dickens. Stuart’s array, which he labeled Sparkle and Twang, has subsequently been displayed at the Tennessee State Museum and in numerous other venues. He acquired a trove of Hank Williams artifacts so imposing that the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum borrowed it for an exhibition. As his income grew and his contact with his musical heroes intensified, he became a more systematic collector of costumes, instruments, letters, song manuscripts, photos, and related material. He also married Cash’s daughter, Cindy.įrom his boyhood, Stuart had squirreled away country music memorabilia in his room. Stuart next joined Johnny Cash’s band, remaining there until he started a solo career in 1985. After the ailing Flatt disbanded his group in 1978, Stuart toured with fiddler Vassar Clements and guitarists Doc and Merle Watson. Stuart was already a skillful mandolin and guitar player by the age of twelve, when bluegrass Lester Flatt hired him. Born John Martin Stuart in Philadelphia, Mississippi, on 30 September 1958, he was drawn to gospel, bluegrass, and country music almost from infancy. In addition, the set comes with a bonus CD of this landmark album.We talk to Stuart about the events that led to The Pilgrim, how he chose the guest artists, and what advice Johnny Cash gave him after the album’s commercial failure.A musical prodigy, singer, songwriter, record producer, writer, photographer, raconteur, collector, and archivist, Marty Stuart is among the most versatile figures in modern country music.
The 187 page coffee table item is chock full of essays about the writing and recording process, plus fantastic photographs, many that Stuart took himself. Now, 20 years later, he’s revisiting project in a beautiful, hard cover book called The Pilgrim, a Wall to Wall Odyssey from BMG books. Yet, the album’s commercial failure help set Stuart on a truer path musically. Unfortunately, the album was deemed out of step by his then-record label, who didn’t know what to do with it. Featuring guest performances from Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Ralph Stanley, and more, it was a heady project for sure. Based on true events from his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi, the album is a story of tragedy, loss and redemption.
In 1999, Stuart recorded a concept album called The Pilgrim. Marty Stuart has won multiple Grammys, had big hits on the Country charts, like “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin” with Travis Tritt, and has played with a who’s who of country legends.