Marty's Picture

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2429883825111&set=a.2429...

Marcus (Marty) Whiddon is an Icon in Country & Country Gospel Music. Below are a few comments from his bio.

Marty Whiddon Started singing and writing songs before he was ten years old. Even before he got his first guitar, which was about the age of 12, for a Christmas present. "Mama and Daddy didn't have the money, but one or two of my older sisters chipped in to make my dream come true. I learned my first three chords from an Uncle, Dewey Buckner, my Mama's only Brother, and a few more later from a Blind Man, Luther Dixon,"

At about the age of fifteen he and his twin Brother John joined a Saturday afternoon radio Jamboree in Dothan, Alabama at Radio Station WOOF. Marty quotes, "One incident of note when I was on that early morning show: We got a postcard from somewhere in California saying they had heard the show. We could hardly believe that a 5,000 Watt Station could skip across the top edge of the Gulf of Mexico all the way into California. That is until we read where they told us some of the songs we had sung that particular morning. They were pretty sure we wouldn't have believed them otherwise. At 650 on the dial though, 5,000 watts can go a pretty long ways if the weather's right. Guess it was the early morning.? The first Grand Ole Opry Star my brother and I on the same bill with was Wally Fowler and his Oak Ridge Quartet when they came to Troy, AL." Marty and a younger cousin, Harold Harrison, started an early morning radio show on the same radio station, WOOF, getting up to drive ten miles and be on the air for fifteen minutes at 4:30 in the morning. Then they had to get back home and catch the bus to school.

Marty moved to Montgomery, AL. in 1951, after getting a job with Western Electric, the Installation Unit of the Bell Telephone System. Music and radio was in his blood, and he soon found an early morning radio show with a singer by the name of John Williams at Station WMGY which was located right around the corner from where he worked, so he could do the show at 7 AM and rush around the corner to be at work by 7:30.Uncle Bob Helton, a legend in his day, and Doug Benton were the prime DJ's of Country Music in Montgomery at that time. Marty played one or two shows with them, and on one Radio Show with Uncle Bob, he met and played steel while a young Lamar Morris, -14 years old at the time,played electric quitar. Lamar was an excellent guitar picker even at that age and later went on to play with Hank Williams, Jr. a good many years. While in Montgomery Marty played on several radio stations with various bands, most of the time playing steel guitar with various local bands, like "Dot Conway and Sadie." In the meantime while Marty was playing Steel and rhythm guitar , he was continuing his writing and singing whenever and wherever he got the chance.

Later, when working with the Barker Brothers on WJJJ, if memory is right, he was able to follow them to WCOV Radio which was in the process of opening Montgomery's first TV Station. The Country Music DJ on WCOV Radio, Walt Spiro, lured us over to his staion with the idea of starting a TV Country music Show. Soon the Company went on the Air in 1953 with the First TV Station in Montgomery. I went with the Barker Brothers to WCOV, along with a friend of mine whom I talked the boys into letting come on and sing solos since most of the Brothers' songs were done as duets. They were reluctant, but finally agreed, and that's how me and my friend Jack Turner got to be on that First TV show, "The Bar 20 Barn Dance" TV show, the first Saturday they were on the air!

After about six months, Jack and I left the show and went to the first 50,000 watt radio station in Montgomery to do a Saturday matinee Jamboree type of show with local artists and country music groups. Renowned DJ's like Paul Simpkins, Fred Wambles,and Joe Rumore who was legendary in Birmingham, AL radio, also, broadcast and worked on "The Big Bam" Radio, WBAM. Rebe Gosdin, and Rabe Perkins were also Bluegrass and Bluegrass Gospel favorites on that station.) with a show known as Rebe and Rabe. I played Steel Guitar with a number of groups and artist on that original show for awhile.

I moved back to the Dothan area after medically retiring from Western Electric after 23 years. I soon got back into playing music as a singer and fiddle player on the Taylor Made Opry, a WTVY radio station show broadcast from the old Houston Theater in downtown Dothan. There I got to mix, mingle and play fiddle some with such Grand Ole Opry stars as Dell Wood, The Duke of Paducah, Ernie Ashworth, the late Nat Stuckey, and David Frizzel. Later, I went to the J & J Opry which was a community type Opry house in Ashford, Alabama which was run by Mr. Jack Cochran,
now deceased, He became a good friend of mine and helped make it possible (along with another good Pharmacist Friend in Midland City, Al. named Jack Sewell), for me to get one of my record albums produced. We stayed with the
J & J about ten years.

During all the above mentioned years I was writing and recording some of my material, and getting a few songs by some local artists recorded in Nashville and some local studios. That's where I got to record with some of the best in country music. Such legendary studio musicians as Bunky Keels, who played with Jim Reeves up until the time Jim died in a plane crash. Bunky just missed being on that plane because of a prior committment down in the state of Georgia, he later told me.

Also, Fred Carter, Hargus Robbins, Lloyd Green, Dave Kirby, D. J. Fontana, Scotty
Moore, Vic Jordan and Al Gore, who both played some and engineered on a dozen or so
of my first recordings in Nashville, both at The Old Starday Studio, and at Music City
Recorders, and others, including Porter Wagoner' Studio. Al is the same big ol' loveable guy that was a co-writter on "Diggin' Up Bones" with Paul Overstreet. He played a demo cut of the song for me on one of my visits to Nashville, just before it was released. He told me that he was really excited that it was going to be released by a young singer named Randy Travis, whom I hadn't heard of at that time. I agreed with him though that it was gonna be a hit, and it was. I sure was proud for him, because he had been working in those dimly lit studios for 12 to 16 hours a day and night for about 20 years and he deserved a break. Al and his wife Jean are still my friends and I always try to see them and visit in their home in Hendersonville where he has those big Gold and Platinum Records hanging on the wall.

Some Publishers of my songs include: Granny Music, Trio, Beechwood, Tangi, API, Amqi, Al Cartee Music, later sold to Buddy Killen, Central Songs and Hit Kit, publishing arm of Sound Wave Records, which was run and managed by Joe Gibson and sons, at Nationwide Sound Distr. in Nashville. And the Company that.published the most of my songs in later years, is Woodrich Recordings, a Company initiated back in the beginning of the Muscle Shoals Sound era by legendary Producer, Writer and Singer, Woody Richardson.

As you see from Marty's Bio, he was a familiar musician, songwriter in his years in Country Music. Writing and singing Traditional Country Music. I (Zack Martin) got to know him in 1993 when I became pastor of the church he and his wife Mrs Robbie were members of. I was pastor of that church for four yrs, and I had the privilege of leading that church into licensing Marty into the ministry in 1994. Marty was 64 yrs old at the time. After becoming a licensed ministry, Marty concentrated on writing Gospel Music after that, and written many Gospel songs from that time forward. I, personally, have sang and recording ten of his Country Gospel Songs. He laid the track for them for me. I lost my dad in 1975, so Marty was a father figure to me. I am so proud to have known and been a part of his life.

He has Congestive Heart Failure, an is at home under the care hospice, and he is not doing well. I too am in bad health, and with as our great physician, he could live longer than me. Nobody is promised tomorrow! Yours prayers for he and his wife, Mrs Robbie are coveted. Mrs Robbie has stood by him through it all with 60 yrs of marriage.

MARTY, AS ONE OF MY DEAREST FRIEND IN CHRIST, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I LOVED YOU VERY MUCH AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME. He never talks about his condition, and always asks how others are, and prays for people that cross paths with him.

The link below is a video tribute that I did for him today (it's after midnight, so it was yesterday now). Click on it and listen to clips of some of the songs he has written and recorded. Marty is a comedian at heart, and some of the clips are

1. The first is a comical song called "Marty's Horn Song (The Horn he blows is his mouth, lol)..

2. "US America"

And a few other, from his albums "The Best Of Marty Whiddon, and also his Christmas album.

A Friend in Christ Jesus,

Rev Zack Martin Sr.

http://indiegospel.org/video/a-tribute-to-marty-whiddon