Released in 1959, Marty Robbins’ hit song 'El Paso' topped country western charts and gave the legendary singer country street cred for capturing the true spirit of the western United States. Robbins ...

Keep your song short and to the point is the usual writing advice. Tell a story using the perfect words with a great melody, and try to bring it in under three minutes, including the intro. Then maybe ...

This week in 1960, Marty Robbins' Columbia Records single "El Paso" was in the middle of its chart run after entering the country music charts in November 1959 and topping both the pop and country ...

At nearly five minutes, Marty Robbins’ “El Paso” is the Infinite Jest of early chart-toppers. “El Paso” isn’t a dynamic song, exactly; it doesn’t swell with instrumentation as it goes along or build ...

The Number Ones is a new column where I’ll review every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present.