“El Paso“ is a country and western ballad written and originally recorded by Marty Robbins, and first released on Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs in September 1959…..which was released as a single the following month….and became a major hit on both the country and pop music charts….while reaching # 1 in both at the start of 1960…..and won the Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording in 1961….which remains as Robbins’ best-known song…..while being widely considered a genre classic for its gripping narrative which ends in the death of its protagonist, its shift from past to present tense, haunting harmonies by vocalists Bobby Sykes and Jim Glaser (of the Glaser Brothers) and the eloquent and varied Spanish guitar ….which is accompaniment by Grady Martin that lends the recording a distinctive Tex-Mex feel.
The name of the character Feleena was based upon a schoolmate of Robbins in the fifth grade, Fidelina Martinez. Members of the Western Writers of America chose “El Paso” as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time….as we here at ImaSportsphile are “tickled pink” to have this 1980 rendition of Robbins as performed live on Austin City Limits in 1980….in our treasure chest of vintage memories…..cuz this is one great song.
