Stuart was 13 when his precocious mandolin playing landed him a job in Lester Flatt's bluegrass band. After Flatt's death in 1979, he played with fiddler Vassar Clements and guitar great Doc Watson, before beginning a six-year stint as guitarist with Johnny Cash. Stuart graduated to his own solo album in 1982 with Busy Bee Cafe. That led to his first Top 20 hit in 1985, with "Arlene," followed in 1986, by the album Marty Stuart. In 1989, he broke into the Top 10 with the album Hillbilly Rock. Stuart toured with Travis Tritt and recorded two hit duets, "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'" and the award-winning "This One's Gonna Hurt You (For a Long, Long Time)." Stuart joined the Grand Ole Opry cast in 1992. He married Opry star Connie Smith in 1997. In 2003, he released Country Music, followed by Souls' Chapel and Badlands: Ballads of the Lakota. Live at the Ryman appeared early in 2006. Stuart returned to recording in 2010 with Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions. 2012's Nashville, Vol. 1: Tear the Woodpile Down, was a follow-up of sorts to Ghost Train. More recently, he dropped Way Out West in 2017. Marty Stuart continues to tour the country.