To make it in Nashville—even as a background performer—you have to have something special. According to the legendary Merle Haggard, Grady Martin—born on this day (Jan. 17) in 1929—had it without question.
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Referring to the renowned session guitarist as “everybody’s hero,” Haggard said, “He understood some things about music that nobody else understood. When he’d put that down on your record, it was like a gift.”…