While perhaps best known for his 1959 signature song “El Paso,” Marty Robbins in fact sent 17 singles to the top of the country charts. On this day in 1968, he notched No. 13 with “I Walk Alone.”

Marty Robbins wasn’t the first country artist to cover “I Walk Alone,” nor was he the last. Country music singer Eddy Arnold penned the song and released it as the B-side of his 1945 78 rpm single “Did You See My Daddy Over There.” He later included it again on his 1960 compilation album Eddy Arnold Sings Them Again. Ernest Tubb also recorded the song in 1945, but the track remained unreleased until 1996.

After Robbins released “I Walk Alone” as the opening track on his 1968 album of the same name, his version of the plaintive breakup ballad spent two weeks atop the U.S. country singles chart, part of a 15-week run overall.

The outlaw country pioneer’s success prompted a flurry of covers in 1969, with Loretta Lynn, Kitty Wells, David Houston, and Willie Nelson putting their own spin on it. However, none of their versions ever attained quite the level of fame Robbins saw. It wasn’t his only No. 1 hit off the album either, with “Begging to You” also reaching the top.

Marty Robbins Recorded 500 Songs During His Four-Decade Career

Born and raised in Glendale, Arizona, Marty Robbins dropped out of high school and worked a variety of jobs—including amateur boxer and truck driver—before enlisting in the U.S. Navy at 17. Stationed in the Solomon Islands during World War II, he passed the time by learning steel guitar and writing songs.

Following his discharge after five years, Robbins began playing local venues in Phoenix. He parlayed those gigs into first a radio show, then a TV show, and finally a record deal. His breakthrough came in 1959 with the influential Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, which introduced signature hits like “El Paso” and “Big Iron.”

Battling cardiovascular disease early in life, Marty Robbins was just 57 when his third heart attack killed him on Dec. 8, 1982. But even with his life tragically cut short, the Country Music Hall of Famer recorded 500 songs and 50 albums, winning two Grammy Awards. In 1968, the Academy of Country Music named him its Artist of the Decade. And before his death in 2003, Johnny Cash declared, “There’s no greater country singer than Marty Robbins.”