Marty was just a little boy when he first met future-wife and Grand Ole Opry star Connie. His mom took him to see Connie live in concert in their Mississippi hometown. "She was my mother's favorite singer. We had a record of her at our house called Miss Smith Goes To Nashville. It had a beautiful photograph of her on the cover. I thought she was the prettiest girl in the world, so I had my mama take me to buy me a yellow shirt, so Connie would notice me that night," Marty tells The Boot. "After the concert, me and my sister got our picture made with her and I got her autograph. On the way home I told my mama that I was going to marry her. I was 12 then. It took 25 years to figure it out, but it worked!"

The couple married in 1997, after dating three years. Marty says his wife has taught him some important lessons. "With Connie, I have learned about balancing love and music," he says. "She puts a whole lot more emphasis on family life than I ever did and she's been a great sense of balance to me."

By Deborah Evans-Price