"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. It was released as a single the following month, and became a major hit on both the country and pop music charts, reaching Number One in both at the start of 1960. It won the Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording in 1961, and remains Robbins' best-known song. It is wide...
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"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. It was released as a single the following month, and became a major hit on both the country and pop music charts, reaching Number One in both at the start of 1960. It won the Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording in 1961, and remains Robbins' best-known song. It is widely considered a genre classic for its gripping narrative, haunting harmonies by Tompall and the Glaser Brothers and the eloquent Spanish guitar accompaniment by Grady Martin that lends the recording a distinctive Tex-Mex feel.
"El Paso" was, at some four minutes and forty-five seconds in duration, far longer than most contemporary singles. Robbins' record company was unsure if radio stations would play such a long song, and so released two versions of the song: the full-length version on one side, and an edited version on the other which was...
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