Bob Martin (January 18, 1942 - September 21, 2022) from Lowell, Massachusetts, was an American
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fo ...
singer-songwriter.
Biography
While attending
Suffolk University in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
during the 1960s, he was influenced by the
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
folk scene and played at the Nameless Coffeehouse, Club 47 (now
Club Passim
Club Passim is an American folk music club in the Harvard Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was opened by Joyce Kalina (now Chopra) and Paula Kelley in 1958, when it was known as Club 47 (based on its then address, 47 Mount Auburn Str ...
), and other folk clubs. In 1972, he went to
Nashville and recorded his first album, ''Midwest Farm Disaster''. In 1974, he became disillusioned with music and moved to a farm in
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
with his family. In 1982, he recorded his second album, ''Last Chance Rider''. He gave up music once again, this time for ten years, until the release of his third album in 1992. This album, ''The River Turns the Wheel'', contained backing vocals by
Bill Morrissey
Bill Morrissey (November 25, 1951 – July 23, 2011) was a Grammy-nominated American folk singer-songwriter based in New Hampshire.
Early life
Morrissey was born in Hartford, Connecticut. Growing up in Connecticut and Massachusetts, he start ...
and
Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr., July 20, 1933) is an American writer who has written twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays and three short stories, spanning the Western and post-apocalyptic genres. He is known for his gr ...
. Martin continued performing nationally afterward, opening for
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.
Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...
in 1999.
Discography
* ''Midwest Farm Disaster'' (
RCA Victor, 1972)
* ''Last Chance Rider'' (June Appal Recordings, 1982)
* ''The River Turns the Wheel'' (1997)
* ''Next to Nothin (2000)
* ''Live at The Bull Run'' (2010)
* ''Seabrook'' (2023)
References
External links
Official web site2011 interview with Bob Martin on Prog Sphere
American male singer-songwriters
RCA Records artists
American folk musicians
Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts
1942 births
Living people
{{US-singer-songwriter-stub