James Henry Martin (August 10, 1927 – May 14, 2005) was an American bluegrass singer and musician, known as the "King of Bluegrass".
Early years
Martin was born in Sneedville, Tennessee, United States, and was raised in the hard farming life of rural East Tennessee. He grew up near Sneedville, singing in church and with friends from surrounding farms. His mother and stepfather who used to sing gospel were his first influences. When he was in his teens he played guitar in a local string band and later appeared on radio with Tex Climer and the Blue Band Coffee Boys.
Music career
In the winter of 1949, Mac Wiseman had just left Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys. Martin, who wanted to apply for the vacant post as guitarist, rode the bus into Nashville. He snuck in backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. While picking his guitar, he was overheard by the Blue Grass Boys' banjo player Rudy Lyle, who brought him forward and presented him to Monroe. Martin sang two songs with Monroe and was hired.
Beginning in 1949, Martin was lead vocalist for Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys.
Martin had a famously high-strung and exuberant personality, and inevitably clashed with Monroe's equally stubborn temperament. He left Monroe and worked briefly with the Osborne Brothers until he formed his own band, The Sunny Mountain Boys, in 1955. She toured Japan with Martin during 1975. In regards to her playing, Martin said jokingly, "She's not very good, but we let her sing with us 'cause we feel sorry for her."
He performed on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's 1971 album Will the Circle Be Unbroken,
Legacy
In 1995, Martin was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor. A documentary on his life, King of Bluegrass: The Life and Times of Jimmy Martin, was released in 2003. Martin is also featured in the documentary film High Lonesome: The Story of Bluegrass Music.
Martin's hobby was raccoon hunting with dogs; he featured his hunting dogs on the covers of several LP albums and wrote songs celebrating their prowess. His troubles with the Nashville music industry are memorialized in "The Death of Jimmy Martin", a song by Tom Russell on The Wounded Heart of America album.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Album
! width="45"| <small>US Country</small>
! Label
|-
| 1960
| Good 'n Country
| align="center"| —
| rowspan="11"| Decca
|-
| 1962
| Country Music Time
| align="center"| —
|-
| 1963
| This World Is Not My Home
| align="center"| —
|-
| 1964
| Widow Maker
| align="center"| —
|-
| 1965
| Sunny Side of the Mountain
| align="center"| —
|-
| 1966
| Good 'n Country Music
| align="center"| —
|-
| 1967
| Big and Country Instrumentals
| align="center"| —
|-
| 1968
| Tennessee
| align="center"| 42
|-
| 1969
| Free Born Man
| align="center"| —
|-
| 1970
| Singing All Day
| align="center"| —
|-
| 1972
| I'd Like to Be Sixteen Again
| align="center"| —
|-
| 1973
| Moonshine Hollow
| align="center"| —
| Coral
|-
| 1974
| Fly Me to Frisco
| align="center"| —
| MCA
|-
| 1978
| Greatest Bluegrass Hits
| align="center"| —
| rowspan="6"| Gusto
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1980
| Will the Circle Be Unbroken
| align="center"| —
|-
| Me'n Old Pete
| align="center"| —
|-
| To Mother at Christmas
| align="center"| —
|-
| First Time Together <small>(with Ralph Stanley)</small>
| align="center"| —
|-
| 1982
| One Woman Man
| align="center"| —
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Single
! width="45"| <small>US Country</small>
! Album
|-
| 1958
| "Rock Hearts"
| align="center"| 14
| single only
|-
| 1959
| "Night"
| align="center"| 26
| Good'n Country
|-
| 1964
| "Widow Maker"
| align="center"| 19
| Widow Maker
|-
| 1966
| "I Can't Quit Cigarettes"
| align="center"| 49
| Good'n Country Music
|-
| 1968
| "Tennessee"
| align="center"| 72
| Tennessee
|}
Guest singles
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Single
! Artist
! width="45"| <small>US Country</small>
! Album
|-
| 1973
| "Grand Ole Opry Song"
| Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
| align="center"| 97
| Will the Circle Be Unbroken
|}
See also
- Thomas Edd Mayfield
References
External links
- Discography at Discography of Bluegrass Sound Recordings
- And yet another Discography;
- Jimmy Martin Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (July 22, 2004)