Singing the Blues in a White Sport Coat

• Published in: Twentieth Century Drifter p. 53
• Main Author: Diekman, Diane
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United States University of Illinois Press 07.02.2012
• Subjects: Anthropology; Applied anthropology; Art music; Art songs; Artists; Arts; Behavioral sciences; Business; Business structures; Country music; Cultural anthropology; Economic disciplines; Economics; Employment; Falsetto; Folk culture; Folk music; Folkloristics; Folksongs; Guitars; High culture; Labor economics; Lutes; Music; Music genres; Music theory; Musical instruments; Musical performance; Musical pitch; Musical register; Musical rhythm; Musical time; Musicians; Occupations; Performing arts; Popular music; Singers; Singing; String instruments; Vocal registers
• ISBN: 0252036328; 9780252036323

“Marty Robbins did it this week—yes, he won the cherishedBillboard MagazineTriple Crown with his fabulously successful ‘Singing the Blues’ record for Columbia,” said aNashville Bannerarticle of November 22, 1956. The Triple Crown consisted of threeBillboardCountry Hit Parade charts—jukebox play, store sales, and radio play. Runner-up recordings were Ray Price’s “Crazy Arms,” Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel,” and Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line.”¹ “Singing the Blues” had come to Marty’s attention at WSM’s Friday Night Frolic more than a year earlier, when young Melvin Endsley from Arkansas rolled up in his wheelchair