Grady Martin plays the memorable riff on Roy Orbison's "Oh Pretty Woman." That alone makes him candidate for Rock 'n' Roll sainthood! However, he also helped invent 'guitar distortion.' A tube was blown in the middle of a take at a Marty Robbins session and the resulting fuzz-toned solo was left in the song, the 1961 smash hit "Don't Worry."Besides Chet Atkins, Martin was the only studio musician to play with both Hank Williams and Elvis Presley.. It was he who played the throbbing leads on Johnny Horton's 1956 hit "Honky Tonk Man," the exquisite nylon string guitar on Marty Robbins's 1959 crossover smash "El Paso," and Lefty Frizzell's 1964 "Saginaw Michigan." Though studio musicians in those days rarely received credit for their work, Martin's efforts didn't go unnoticed. Producers often designated him "session leader," which meant he led the musicians and directed the impromptu arrangements that became a landmark of Nashville sessions. First ever CD collection of the finest work of this Nashville legend, beautifully re-mastered by Norman Blake and Joe Foster! |