Marty Robbins and His Version of “Am I That Easy to Forget?”
Martin David Robinson, more popularly and professionally known as Marty Robbins, is a country music icon whose music career came into prominence in the early 1950s. He was not just a great singer-songwriter but also a talented multi-instrumentalist. Robbins was known for his distinct sound inspired by the Western style of music. In addition, he was one of the most successful singers of his era, having a career that spanned for almost 40 years. With this fruitful career, most of Robbins’ songs became massive hits in the country music charts and some of which had crossed over the pop charts.
Furthermore, Marty Robbins also rendered versions of other artists’ songs. One of his best performances yet remains unpopular was that of Carl Belew’s hit in the late 1950s entitled “Am I That Easy to Forget?” In 1966, he first recorded the song and released it as one of his singles. Unfortunately, his cover did not take off like the other artists’ versions. Nonetheless, there’s no denying that his version was still one of the best.
Watch Marty Robbins perform “Am I That Easy to Forget” live in 1978:
Listen to Marty Robbins’ first recording of the song in 1966:
About the Song
A popular song released in 1959, “Am I That Easy to Forget?” was originally recorded by American country music singer-songwriter Carl Belew. He co-wrote it with fellow American songwriter W.V. Stevenson. While in Nashville, Tennessee, Belew first recorded the song on December 17, 1958, and released it as a single in March the following year. The song debuted at no. 9 on the Billboard Country Music chart.
“Am I That Easy to Forget?” is one of the several country music classics covered by other artists. In fact, the most notable artists who rendered a version this song include Skeeter Davis and Ernest Tubb in 1960, Marty Robbins and Gene Vincent in 1966, George Jones in 1967, Patti Page in 1968, Jim Reeves in 1973, and Prairie Oyster in 1991. Most of these covers were also chart-toppers. Davis’ version went on to be no. 11 while Reeves’ reached the 12th spot on the country music charts.
The song also crossed over to the pop charts. The best-known pop covers of the song were rendered by singer-actress Debbie Reynolds in 1960, Esther Phillips in 1963, and Engelbert Humperdinck in 1967. While Reynolds’ version placed at no. 24 on the pop charts, Phillips’ ranked 12th on the Billboard Bubbling Under-Hot Singles.
On the other hand, Humperdinck’s cover received the biggest reception among all other versions including the original. It is the highest charting version of the song on the U.S. pop charts. Moreover, Humperdinck’s version did not only dominate in the U.S. music charts but also penetrated three other countries. It peaked at no. 1 on the Irish Singles Charts. Meanwhile, it ranked third on the U.K. Singles Charts, and no. 10 on the Springbok Radio in South Africa.
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Am I That Easy to Forget, Carl Belew, Marty Robbins