Lecil Travis Martin (September 1, 1931 – April 12, 1999), whose stage name was Boxcar Willie, was an American country music singer-songwriter and Air Force personnel sergeant, who sang in the "old-time hobo" music style.
The world’s favourite hobo, Boxcar Willie was a fine entertainer whose train whistle impressions helped him become a UK favourite before he had established any real reputation in his homeland. A dishevelled figure in his train driver’s overalls, worn out shoes and a battered badge-studded trilby and usually sporting two day’s growth of beard; designer stubble well before it became fashionable, Boxcar Willie always cut a formidable picture. He had this wonderfully infectious booming laugh, a genuine love for traditional-slanted country music and one of the friendliest personalities of any entertainer.
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| Marty Martin & The Rangers |
One night in 1977, he filled in for an ailing George Jones at Nashville’s Possum Hollow Club. Spotted by Scottish booking agent Drew Taylor, he was signed to play his first British tour the following year, playing in small clubs. Dealing mainly in material of a traditional nature, Boxcar Willie became one of the most popular country artist in the UK throughout the 1980s following a rousing debut at 1979’s Wembley Country Music Festival. Audiences immediately fell for his charming authenticity and he became an overnight success after pounding the roads for more than 30 years. His name and the use of train whistles in his songs led to wide recognition and more than a little ridicule, but Boxie, as he became known to friends and fans alike, took it all in his stride.
He made his first Grand Ole Opry appearance in 1979, winning a standing ovation and became a member in 1981. He joined the cast of the TV show Hee Haw in 1982 and portrayed a hobo in Sweet Dreams, the Patsy Cline biopic. He recorded a self-titled album for, MCA Nashville. Thereafter he recorded a series of albums for
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Mainstreet. He only enjoyed scant chart success, charting ten singles in the early 1980s, the most successful being Bad News which made No. 36 in 1982. His signature Train Medley featuring seven train songs, charted in 1980 and again in 1983, but only reached a peak of No. 61.
Though he was never a big star name in his homeland, his larger-than-life personality delighted the inquisitive country fan. He died on April 12, 1999 in Branson, Missouri. He was 67 and had been battling leukaemia for several years.
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The larger-than-life Boxcar Willie really was a happy-go-lucky personality, very down-to-earth and always sporting a wide, infectious smile, he counted your friendship above all else and always took the time to talk to the media, his fans, in fact anybody who would listen. His passing left a void in the country music world. (Edited mainly from an article by Alan Cackett)
The larger-than-life Boxcar Willie really was a happy-go-lucky personality, very down-to-earth and always sporting a wide, infectious smile, he counted your friendship above all else and always took the time to talk to the media, his fans, in fact anybody who would listen. His passing left a void in the country music world. (Edited mainly from an article by Alan Cackett)