Marty Stuart
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Marty Stuart is an American country musician, known for both his traditional style, and eclecting mergings of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music. Infamous for his flamboyantly hedonist party image, he is known for wearing rhinestone-studded "Nudie suits" onstage.
Born in Philadelphia, Mississippi, on September 30, 1958, Stuart was obsessed with country music, teaching himself to play the guitar and mandolin. By the age of 12, he was perfoming with the bluegrass family act The Sullivan Family. He later met Roland White, a member of Lester Flatt's band, and opened for them in Delaware in 1972. He remained with the band until 1978, when Flatt retired due to health problems.
Stuart went on to do session work with Vassar Clements and Doc Watson, and joined Johnny Cash's backup band in 1980. He released his first solo album, Busy Bee Cafe, in 1982, a jam album for Sugar Hill, with guest appearancs including Cash, Watson, and Earl Scruggs. He left Cash's band in 1985, signing with Columbia Records, and released his self-titled debut album in 1986. Although it had a Top 20 country hit, the album sold poorly, and he was dropped by Columbia. Afterwards, he rejoined the Sullivans as their mandolinist.
In 1989, Stuart joined with MCA, and released Hillbilly Rock, which was more successful, gaining significant media attention, including reviewers who compared him to Dwight Yoakam. In 1991, he released Tempted, which was also successful, with three top 10 hits. In 1992 he released This One's Gonna Hurt You, which was his first gold album. The title track had a duet with Travis Tritt.
With his sales slipping afterwards, Stuart struggled to reinvent himself, and MCA released a Greatest Hits collection in 1994. Stuart went on to appear in a series of Marty Party concert specials on The Nashville Network. In 1996 he became president of the Country Music Foundation, and arried Connie Smith in 1997. He left MCA in 2000, joining Sony, releasing a new album in 2003.
Stuart has one of the largest collections of clothing associated with country music's past, featuring classic suits by Nudie and Turk from such greats as Rose Maddox, Porter Wagoner and Hank Williams
On June 23 2004, Stuart was arrested in Hendersonville, Tennessee, on suspicion of DUI.