Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives

Singer, guitarist, and songwriter Marty Stuart has always been a maverick in country music circles, playing traditionally minded music with a touch of rockabilly and a showman's sense of flash -- his group the Fabulous Superlatives are the ideal match for his sound and style. The Fabulous Superlatives have been backing Stuart since he released the album Country Music in 2003, and they've shown the sort of versatility to keep up with the bandleader as he turns from gospel (2005's Souls' Chapel) and traditional country (2012's Nashville, Vol. 1: Tear the Woodpile Down) to music of California (2017's Way Out West) and the balance of country and psychedelia as practiced by the Byrds (2023's Altitude). Born in Mississippi in 1958, Marty Stuart was a country music fan from early childhood, learning to play guitar and mandolin at a young age and joining the bluegrass group the Sullivans when he was just 12 years old. After playing a show in 1972 with bluegrass legend Lester Flatt, he was invited to join Flatt's touring band (after Flatt promised his parents that he'd look after the youngster and see that he kept up with his education). Stuart toured with Flatt until the latter retired from the road in 1978; he went on to do session work with Doc Watson and Vassar Clements and joined Johnny Cash's touring band in 1980. In 1982, he cut a solo album for Sugar Hill, Busy Bee Cafe, and in 1986, after dropping out of Cash's group, he signed with Columbia and issued the album Marty Stuart that year. His tenure with the label was short, but after signing with MCA, he released 1989's Hillbilly Rock, whose blend of country classicism and hip style made it a critical and commercial success. Hillbilly Rock went gold, as did Stuart's next two albums for MCA, 1991's Tempted and 1992's This One's Gonna Hurt You, and his new success led Columbia to release Let There Be Country in 1992, an LP he cut for them in the '80s that was shelved by the label's brass. 1999's The Pilgrim was one of Stuart's most personal albums, an autobiographical concept piece, and it was a commercial disappointment, leading Stuart and MCA to cut ties. After a four-year recording layoff, Stuart signed a new deal with Columbia, and for his first project, 2003's Country Music, he introduced his new backing band, the Fabulous Superlatives. The group featured guitarist Kenny Vaughan (who had previously backed Lucinda Williams, Jim Lauderdale, and Paul Burch), bassist Brian Glenn (who had worked with Billy Walker and led his own band, Hunker Down), and drummer Harry Stinson (whose résumé included work with Steve Earle and Kevin Welch). The band adopted a retro fashion style, wearing spangled vintage western suits, with an eye toward evoking the style of the great country stars of the '50s. Once again, Stuart's tenure with Columbia didn't last long, and his next album with the Fabulous Superlatives, 2005's Souls' Chapel, was an homage to Southern gospel music with a guest appearance from Mavis Staples; it was released by Universal South in tandem with Stuart's own Superlatone imprint. 2006 saw the release of Live at the Ryman, which was recorded during an early Superlatives date, playing a set of bluegrass standards with guest appearances from Stuart Duncan and Charlie Cushman. In 2008, Brian Glenn left the band, and Paul Martin became the Superlatives' new bassist, making his recording debut with the band on the limited-edition album Cool Country Favorites, sold only at Stuart's concerts. Superlatone teamed with Sugar Hill Records to release 2012's Nashville, Vol. 1: Tear the Woodpile Down, a set of rockabilly-infused traditional country inspired by the sounds of the '50s. In 2014: Saturday Night/Sunday Morning was released. It was a two-disc set with one devoted to honky tonk sounds and the other to classic gospel numbers. 2014 also saw the debut of a TV documentary on Stuart's relationship with gospel music, and The Gospel Music of Marty Stuart was a soundtrack featuring performances recorded for the film. In 2015, Paul Martin dropped out of the Fabulous Superlatives and Chris Scruggs took his place, playing both bass and pedal steel guitar. Scruggs appeared on 2017's Way Out West, a set produced by Mike Campbell of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers, that was devoted to songs informed by California's musical heritage. A companion EP, Way Out West: Desert Suite, was released in 2018 as a vinyl exclusive for Record Store Day. Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives explored the classic cosmic country and folk-rock styles of the mid-'60s, particularly as adopted by the Byrds, on 2023's Altitude. It was released by Superlatone in cooperation with Snakefarm Records, a roots music offshoot of the Finnish hard rock label Spinefarm Records.
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