Some Memories

“Some memories just won’t die,” country music legend Marty Robbins sang in one of his final recordings before his death from heart failure on December 8th, 1982.

In this memoir, his twin sister Mamie tells journalist Andrew Means about the childhood she shared with Marty in and around Phoenix, Arizona, in the 1920s and ’30s.

Descended from Texas and Arizona cowboys and Utah Mormons on their mother's side and Polish stock from Michigan on their father's, Marty and Mamie spent their early years in poverty and domestic strife.

In anecdotes about the family’s frequent moves and squalid living conditions, Mamie recalls the feisty brother who always seemed able to laugh off setbacks. There are also glimpses of Marty’s developing interest in music, from playing harmonica with his father and uncle to his first gigs as a shy sideman in a local band.

Sadly, Mamie passed away before this account was completed, but the adventures she shared with her brother live on in these vivid and heartfelt descriptions.

In addition to Mamie's reminiscences, material for the book came from friends and family who knew Marty in his formative years.