Eddie Martinez is an American guitarist, born and raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and of Puerto Rican ancestry, who mainly performs as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

Career

Martinez's professional music career began in the 1960s and continues today. He has recorded and toured with dozens of musicians representing numerous styles (including rock, jazz, rap, and R&B), but he is probably best known for work he did in the mid-1980s. Martinez said in a 2015 interview, "In the span of less than a year, I did three records that really put me on the map in terms of a sonic direction. Those were: ''

Riptide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal fl ...

'', Steve Winwood’s ''

Back in the High Life ''Back in the High Life'' is the fourth solo album by English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Steve Winwood, released on 30 June 1986. The album proved to be Winwood's biggest success to that date, certified Gold in the UK and 3� ...

'', and then I played on David Lee Roth’s EP '' Crazy from the Heat'', with "

California Girls "California Girls" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album, '' Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)''. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the lyrics detail an appreciation for women across the world and a wish ...

" and " Just a Gigolo". Also around the same period, Martinez contributed guitars to several tracks on

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

's first solo album ''

She's the Boss ''She's the Boss'' is the debut solo album by English singer Mick Jagger, released in 1985. When Jagger's group The Rolling Stones signed with Columbia/CBS Records in 1983, one of the options available to them was for individual projects, an ...

'', the 1984

Run-DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

single "

Rock Box "Rock Box" is a song by the American hip hop group Run-DMC. The song was produced by Larry Smith and Russell Simmons and released by Profile Records in March 1984. Following the popularity of their previous two singles " Hard Times" (1983) a ...

" and the title track on Run-DMC's groundbreaking 1985 album ''

King of Rock ''King of Rock'' is the second studio album by American hip hop music, hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on January 21, 1985, by Profile Records. The album was produced by Russell Simmons and Larry Smith (producer), Larry Smith. ''King of Rock ...

''. In addition, Martinez is featured prominently in both the "

" and the "

" videos. "

" is commonly cited as the first rap video played on MTV, whose influence continues to reverberate today. It was one of the six songs chosen for an AMC series ''Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America'', and Martinez's "distorted guitar sound that runs through the entire "

" record was one

Questlove Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American musician, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thou ...

deemed the sound of the 1980s that connected Prince and Def Leppard to ... LL Cool J ... and Fat Boys’ “Jailhouse Rap.” In a 2015 list of "The Top 10 Uses of Guitar in Hip-Hop," Guitar World ranked Martinez's contribution to "

" at Number One, saying "Eddie Martinez's searing lead work puts this track from the group's 1984 debut over the top—and ahead of its time." Other notable sessions include Robert Palmer's 1988 album '' Heavy Nova'', which included the hit " Simply Irresistible",

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

('' Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell'') and several

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

projects, plus work with

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

and dozens of others. While Martinez has made his mark primarily as a recording session guitarist, he has also many years of live credits, including Blondie's Farewell Concert in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada, along with the entire 1982 Tracks Across America tour, and he accompanied

at the first

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

concert in 1985. He toured and recorded with Labelle in the 1970s and was part of Robert Palmer's touring band. In 1984 he released his first solo album, ''No Lies'', on

Cotillion Records Cotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records (from 1971 part of WEA) and was active from 1968 through 1985. The label was formed as an outlet for pop, R&B, and jazz. Its first single, Otis Clay's version of "She's About a Mover", rea ...

which was produced by

Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the ...

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...

Personal life

Martinez currently resides in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

Discography

Solo

* ''No Lies'' (1984) * ''Akosua'' (2018)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Eddie American rock guitarists American male guitarists American session musicians Living people Guitarists from New York City American musicians of Puerto Rican descent Year of birth missing (living people)