Its impressive guest list includes Johnny Cash, Ralph Stanley, Emmylou Harris, George Jones, and Connie Smith, who is now married to Marty. He added, “Ken Burns and I agree it’s about the stories.” The album progresses through nearly all types of country music, from Appalachian mountain music to bluegrass to outlaw country and even a bit of gospel. Stream The Pilgrim by Marty Stuart on Spotify:Īs Marty remarked, this is a country song if ever was one. There, he hands Rita the letter, then turns the gun upon himself. He gets his gun, and he goes to the hospital. Norman learns of this and writes a letter to Rita. Although nothing physical happens between them, they do fall in love. Rita does not tell the Pilgrim that she’s married.

Rita works at the local hospital, where she meets and befriends the titular Pilgrim. The town beauty Rita, defying her parents, marries a crazy ne’er-do-well, Norman, and he becomes possessive and abusive. He’s also acquired a huge collection of country music memorabilia, which he’s turned into a museum.Ī concept album, The Pilgrim is a country opera based on a story from Marty’s hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi. A skilled photographer, Marty has been documenting country music history with his incredible shots for more than four decades. “It was just loud.” Marty, who features prominently in the recent Ken Burns documentary “Country Music,” has a real commitment to preserving and interpreting the broad traditions of the country music genre.

“It wasn’t country, it wasn’t rock,” he said. Marty had also become dissatisfied with the type of music he was playing at the time. At first, he continued to chase that success, but as his mentors, Lester Flatt and Johnny Cash, taught him, you don’t chase, you lead. But, as the decade drew on, he fell out of favor at country stations. In the early ’90s, Marty achieved wide popular and mainstream radio success. Together, the band celebrated the 20th anniversary of Marty’s album The Pilgrim at The Birchmere on Feb. Marty is a former child prodigy who was already playing professionally with bluegrass legend Lester Flatt as a teenager. The Fabulous Superlatives - “Cousin” Kenny Vaughan on guitar, “Professor” Chris Scruggs laying down the bass, and “Handsome” Harry Stinson keeping the beat on the drums - are an all-star team of Americana players. If you have even the slightest interest in country music, you owe it to yourself to see Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives. Marty Stuart performs at The Birchmere on Feb.

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