The Story Behind the Song ‘El Paso’ by Marty Robbins

Marty Robbins made a name for himself as a singer/songwriter when he released "El Paso", a song about a young Anglo gunslinger and “a Mexican girl” named Felina. A love story about forbidden love, jealousy and the brawl in Rosa's Cantina that lead to a murder.

The song came about when Marty would pass through El Paso while traveling back and forth from Phoenix. He often thought that "El Paso" sounded romantic and he promised himself that he'd one day write a song about it.

In 1957 on his way to Phoenix for Christmas, Marty was passing through El Paso when the idea came to him. The words, “Out in the west Texas town of El Paso, I fell in love with a Mexican girl”, then over the next several hours as he drove the rest of the lyrics came to him.

By the time Robbins reached Phoenix he had completed the song and was ready for the melody of which he already had in mind. The song was released in 1960, dominated both rock and country charts and won a Grammy in 1961.

"E l Paso" is considered to be the best known Marty Robbins song of all time. The above video features a live TV version of Robbins performing the song "El Paso".

Sources: News Paper Tree, Wikipedia and Diane Diekman’s book, "Twentieth Century Drifter: The Life of Marty Robbins"