Janis Martin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Janis Martin | ||
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 Janis Martin publicity photo.
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Janis Darlene Martin | |
| Also known as | Janis Martin | |
| Born | May 23, 1940 | |
| Origin | Sutherlin, Virginia | |
| Genre(s) | Country, Rock & Roll, Pop | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer | |
| Years active | 1956–Present | |
| Label(s) | RCA Records | |
| Associated acts |
Bonnie Lou, Wanda Jackson, Elvis Presely, Jerry Lee Lewis | |
Janis Martin (born Janis Darlene Martin May 23, 1940 in Sutherlin, Virginia) is an American Rockabilly and Country Music singer. Janis Martin was one of the few female Rock & Roll artists to be making records, proving to the male-dominated Rock & Roll industry that women too could see sell a large amount of records and score Rock & Roll hits. This opened doors for other Rock & Roll singers to come, like Brenda Lee.
She was nicknamed The Female Elvis, for her impressive dance moves she did on stage, similar to that of Elvis Presley.
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[edit] Early Life & Rise to Fame
Janis Martin was one of the few women working in the male-dominated Rock & Roll music field during the 1950s. Among the popular male Rock & Roll singers at the time were, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eddie Cochran, and Elvis Presley. Martin however, became one of Rock & Roll's pioneering singers, and also one of Country Music's earliest female innovators.
She was born in 1940 in Sutherlin, Virginia. Her mother was a stage mother, and her father and uncle were both musicans, who practiced in hopes of gaining a professional career in the music industry. It was not surprising that Janis soon began becoming interested in music also. Before she was six years old, Martin was already singing and playing the guitar, and credited her influences from the Country Music singers Eddy Arnold and Hank Williams. She was soon a fixture in talent shows and other contests, and won most of them. She soon started appearing on a local radio show "WDVA Barndance" in Virginia at the young age of 11. When she was in her mid-teens, she started appearing alongside other Country singers, like Ernest Tubb, Sonny James, and Jean Shepard. Her experience at such a young age brought Martin to performing Rock & Roll. Martin claimed she was getting tired or singing and performing Country Music.
According to some people, Martin's timing in the music business was perfect. She started singing R&B music, and started sending demos to various record companies. At only age 15, Martin was signed to her first record company, RCA Records. This was only two months after Elvis Presley signed on with them.
[edit] A Young Teen Rock & Roll Star
In 1956, Martin released her debut record under RCA, called "Drugstore Rock'n Roll". The song, ina all ist entirety became the biggest hit fo her career, and the record sold 750,000 copies. The song was not just a Pop/Rock & Roll hit, but also a Country hit. Most Rock & Roll artists at the time had their singles become hits on the Country charts as well as the Pop charts. Soon, Martin was performing on America's most well-known shows, like American Bandstand, The Today Show, and the Tonight Show. She also appeared on Country Music's Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, becoming one of the youngest performers to ever appear there. She was awared by Billboard Most Promising Female Vocalist that year.
Elvis Presley and RCA records were so impressed with Janis' delivery of a song on stage, she was given the nickname The Female Elvis, which stuck with her the rest of her career. Presley in fact sent his wishes and a dozen red roses to Janis when she appeared in Miami, Florida, when she appeared at the RCA Records convention down there to be introduced to other RCA officials around the country and the world. She was chosen by her record company to tour as a member of the Jim Reeves show and tour with the Country singer exclusively.
Martin continued recording straight-up Rock & Roll, as well as Country material, that ended up being successful on both charts, like the songs "My Boy Elvis"Let's Elope Baby", "Oooby Dooby", and "Love Me to Pieces", along with "Will You Willyum", which was a Top 40 Pop hit. Martin was risen to fame at a very young age, and becuase of this, Martin wasn't really ever able to sustain a suuccessful Rock & Roll career so many of her contemporaries were able to keep at the time. This was probably because of her young age, and gender. Her stage moves and elivery seemed very unseemly and strange (especially in the Country Music scene, where few women took a stand and sung Country Music at the time) to many people. Also, Martin was usually booked on Country shows, and most Country fans weren't overly thrilled by Martin's Rock & Roll stage moves, like most Rock & Roll performers at the time. She was often caught between whether to sing Country or Rock & Roll.
Soon though, RCA Records heard that Martin had been married since she was signed to RCA at age 15. That year, she was soon pregnant with a child. This situation led to RCA dropping Martin in 1958. She was also droped from the label due to falling record sales. Soon, Janis Martin was off the Rock & Roll and Country Music scene. Martin however tried to keep her music career alfoat until the end of the decade, after recording for King Records and Decca Records, and then she was signed to a Belgian label in 1960 called Palette.
[edit] Later Career & Life Today
Martin cut sides for Palette in 1960. By this time, Martin was on her second marriage (which wouldn't last for too long), and her new husband didn't take her career all to well. She soon dropped out of the music business, not even making public appearances anymore, except for local appearances near her home in Virginia, which she retired to after dropping out of the music business. In the 1970s, she started performing agin, with her newly-formed band called The Variations, and toured throughout Europe, where she gained a massive following. Martin's RCA recordings were soon forgotten by her record company. In the 1980s, the Bear Family label gathered Martin's complete record history, with the compilation album The Female Elvis, giving the public a chance to buy a collection of Martin's 50s hits.
[edit] Charted Singles
| Year | Single | U.S. Pop Singles | Album | |
| 1956 | "Will You Willyum" | #35 | Hits of 1956 |
There are more charted hits singles by Janis Martin, but I have no information on them. Feel free to add any singles with their chart position here.
