<P> `` El Paso '' is a country and western ballad written and originally recorded by Marty Robbins , and first released on Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs in September 1959 . It was released as a single the following month , and became a major hit on both the country and pop music charts , reaching number one in both at the start of 1960 . It won the Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording in 1961 , and remains Robbins ' best - known song . It is widely considered a genre classic for its gripping narrative which ends in the death of its protagonist , its shift from past to present tense , haunting harmonies by vocalists Bobby Sykes and Jim Glaser ( of the Glaser Brothers ) and the eloquent and varied Spanish guitar accompaniment by Grady Martin that lends the recording a distinctive Tex - Mex feel . The name of the character Feleena was based upon a schoolmate of Robbins in the fifth grade -- Fidelina Martinez . </P>
<P> `` El Paso '' is a country and western ballad written and originally recorded by Marty Robbins , and first released on Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs in September 1959 . It was released as a single the following month , and became a major hit on both the country and pop music charts , reaching number one in both at the start of 1960 . It won the Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording in 1961 , and remains Robbins ' best - known song . It is widely considered a genre classic for its gripping narrative which ends in the death of its protagonist , its shift from past to present tense , haunting harmonies by vocalists Bobby Sykes and Jim Glaser ( of the Glaser Brothers ) and the eloquent and varied Spanish guitar accompaniment by Grady Martin that lends the recording a distinctive Tex - Mex feel . The name of the character Feleena was based upon a schoolmate of Robbins in the fifth grade -- Fidelina Martinez . </P>
who sang west texas town of el paso
who sang west texas town of el paso
Marty Robbins
Marty Robbins