Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Martin (November 29, 1939 – May 2, 2000) was an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and pop music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She grew up in Oslo, Minnesota and began her singing career in Baltimore, working her way up from local venues onto the national

nightclub circuit A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...

. Martin was born to Virginia Chaney (1919-1971) and an unknown father. Her mother refused to tell her the name of her birth father, something that haunted Bobbi her entire life. When Martin was 5, her mother married Allen C. Paulson (1920-1983) in Temple, Texas, whom she met while they were both in the military, and the family lived in his hometown of Oslo, Minnesota, on the North Dakota border. Bobbi had a half-brother, Terry Paulson, born in 1946. Martin was in the habit of representing herself as being four years younger. Hence, she was 60 when she died. Martin recorded for

Coral Records Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head o ...

for several years before releasing her debut album, ''Don't Forget I Still Love You''. The title track was a hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 2 on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

(adult contemporary) chart and No. 19 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Billboard Singles A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large out-of-home advertising, outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboard ...

Allmusic.com A follow-up single "I Can't Stop Thinking of You", first introduced on the nationally televised

Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'', not to be confused with the ''Dean Martin Variety Show'' (1959–1960), is a TV Variety show, variety-Television comedy, comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dea ...

won her the Cashbox Disc Jockey Poll as Most Promising Female Vocalist of 1965. While popular at nightclubs in Miami Beach, New York, Las Vegas and Puerto Rico, and on TV appearances with the Jackie Gleason,

Ronnie Dove Ronnie may refer to: *Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name * "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe *"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album ''Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadium ...

, Tonight, and Dean Martin Shows, it would be 5 years before she scored another hit with " For the Love of Him", from the album of the same name. This song went to No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and No. 13 on the Hot 100. The singer charted many smaller regional, Bubbling Under Hot 100 and Easy Listening chart records up to 1972. Martin died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on May 2, 2000

Joel Whitburn Joel Carver Whitburn (November 29, 1939 – June 14, 2022) was an American author and music historian, responsible for setting up the Record Research, Inc. series of books on record chart placings. Early life Joel Carver Whitburn was born in Wau ...

, ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits''. 7th edn, 2000 at the Brighton Wood Knoll medical facility in Baltimore. Martin had one daughter, Shane Clements.

Discography

* ''Don't Forget I Still Love You'' (

, 1964) U.S. No. 127

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Allmusic.com * ''I Love You So'' (Coral Records, 1965) * ''Harper Valley P.T.A.'' (

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

UAS 6668, 1968) * '' For the Love of Him'' (United Artists UAS 6700, 1969) No. 45 Country * ''With Love'' (United Artists UAS 6755, 1970) U.S. No. 176 * ''Have You Ever Been Lonely'' (

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...

VL 73906, Compilation, 1970) * ''Tomorrow'' (

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...

, 1971) * ''Thinking of You'' (

Sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spring ...

, SUS-5319, 1971)

Singles

References

External links

* http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070114/NEWS/70114102/-1/NEWS271989 A Times Herald Record article by Mike Levine cursorily outlines her bio {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Bobbi 1943 births 2000 deaths American women country singers American country singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from New York (state) People from Marshall County, Minnesota 20th-century American singers Deaths from cancer in Maryland 20th-century American women singers Country musicians from New York (state) Singer-songwriters from Minnesota