“Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me”: Randy Travis and Marty Robbins

Randy Travis has released a video for “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me,” a track from his upcoming album Influence Vol 2: The Man I Am (2014). This album of Travis covering songs that influenced him was recorded prior to Travis’s 2013 stroke that reportedly left him unable to speak. But it is still great to see some new music coming from the country singer.

Travis’s new song is a cover of “Don’t Worry,” which was written by Marty Robbins, who had a number one hit with his own recording of the song in 1961. Here is Randy Travis’s version, which uses the slightly longer title, “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me.”

The original Marty Robbins version, “Don’t Worry,” which was released as a single and first appeared on the album More Greatest Hits (1961), features a little piece of music history. Reportedly, the distortion you hear in the song below starting around the 1:25 mark was an accident. During the recording, a tube blew in the amplifier of session musician Grady Martin, who played guitar on the track. Martin did not like the sound, but producer Don Law kept it in, resulting in one of the first recorded guitar distortion sounds used on a record. Check it out.

Grady Martin is also known for sounds he did intend. He played the famous guitar riff on Roy Orbison’s “Oh Pretty Woman,” and he played the nylon-string guitar on Marty Robbins’s hit “El Paso.”

Randy Travis’s Influence Vol 2: The Man I Am — a sequel to Influence Vol. 1: The Man I Am (2013) — will be in stores on August 19, 2014. Other songs on the album include “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” “For the Good Times,” and “Are the Good Times Really Over.” We look forward to hearing more of these songs. And in light of reports that Travis’s loss of voice may not be permanent, we are also hopeful for his health to continue to get better and for him to make some new recordings.

Which version of “Don’t Worry” do you like best? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Author: chimesfreedom

Editor-in-chief, New York. View all posts by chimesfreedom