Marty Stuart: Having A Party

We've always wanted to write a headline like that. And it is true--in the Marvel comic book about Marty and his hound dog, Oscar Lee Perkins, that's due out late this month.

Marty really does have a hound named Oscar (for Lonzo and Oscar) Lee (for Jerry Lee Lewis) Perkins (for Carl). And in any musical battle between Marty and just about anybody else, well, our money's on the guy from Philadelphia, Mississippi, who first climbed on Lester Flatt's tour bus as a full-time musician when he was only 13 years old.

Folks whose introduction to Marty was his Grammy-winning duet with Travis Tritt, "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'," may not realize that underneath the wild hair and glittery Manuel jacket is a phenomenally talented man with a bone-deep love of country music.

Before going solo, he toured with Doc Watson, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. And Marty has since played on albums by many of today's top artists as well as making eight of his own.

If you missed some, you can catch up a little with the new Marty Party Hit Pack. It's a greatest-hits collection with two new cuts, including his latest single, "If I Ain't Got You." The album takes its name, of course, from his TNN specials, "The Marty Party."

Only Marty Stuart would know that if you invited dobro legend Uncle Josh Graves, a couple of Kentucky Headhunters, master fiddler Vassar Clements and Travis Tritt for a back porch jam session, you would end up with magic.

If you missed that "Party," you can catch the repeat on July 11. And you're also invited to the third party, "Marty Stuart Goes Rockin'," with guests The Mavericks, Steve Earle and Jerry Lee Lewis. It airs on September 27.

Recently, we caught up with Marty by phone "somewhere in Michigan" between the sound check and the show. He said he was just back from a rare weekend off, where he went fishing and "caught some chiggers, some ticks and a lot of brim." One thing we hope he catches soon is a huge radio hit. It's the one thing missing from his career.

He's come so close so many times to having that huge breakthrough single, which seems mandatory these days to being considered a big star But, if respect and affection made No. 1 radio hits, Marty would have them by the bushel basket because he's got plenty of both from everybody in the music business.

If the fate of country music ever did depend on Marty Stuart, we wouldn't have a thing to worry about.

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