Gregg Martinez (born Gregory John Martinez on August 2, 1956 in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...

) is an American

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

singer and purveyor of the

south Louisiana The Port of South Louisiana (french: Port de la Louisiane du Sud) extends 54 miles (87 km) along the Mississippi River between New Orleans, Louisiana and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, centering approximately at LaPlace, Louisiana, which serves as t ...

genre called Swamp Pop. He is also referred to as "Mac Daddy" and is a member of the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Martinez began singing in public at the age of eight in his home church in

Carencro, Louisiana Carencro (; historically french: St.-Pierre) is a city in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Lafayette, Louisiana, Lafayette. The population was 7,526 at the 2010 United S ...

. He began his professional music career after graduating from

Teurlings Catholic High School Teurlings Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, US . Background Teurlings Catholic High School was established in 1955 as Father Teurlings High School. Fat ...

in Lafayette, Louisiana in 1974 by performing in the local nightlife scene of South Louisiana.

Career

From 1981 through 1984 Martinez was frontman and bandleader of Gregg Martinez and Kingfish. In 1985 he began to tour nationally with a new backing group called the Heat. Within a few months he landed an exclusive contract with the

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

s in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

, NJ, where he would appear regularly through 1988 and relocated to in 1986. He signed a recording contract with multi-platinum songwriter/producer/musicians Victor Carstarphen and Keith Benson - veterans of the Philadelphia, PA recording scene which included

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musi ...

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hi ...

, and

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

. His recordings were not released. Martinez relocated briefly to Nashville in early 1989 but by the end of the year had moved to north TX near Wichita Falls. In 1990 Martinez began a new chapter in his musical journey in the

Contemporary Christian Music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

field. He released three Christian albums from 1991 to 1997. With the releases of ''For the Ages'' and ''All the Days'', 1999, 2001, he began to blend the Christian music with the Rhythm and Blues of his earlier days. He formed Gregg Martinez Outreach in 1998 which most notably consisted of a public school anti-drug program which reached many thousands of students around the country. By 2006 Martinez had relocated back to his native Louisiana and had also returned to the R&B/Blues/Swamp Pop genre with the release of ''Big Bad Daddy. ''At this time he also joined the legendary blue-eyed soul group the Boogie Kings. He wrote the title song for

The Boogie Kings The Boogie Kings (also known as The Fabulous Boogie Kings) are an American Cajun swamp pop and blue-eyed soul group. History The band formed in Eunice, Louisiana in 1955 consisting of teenaged members Doug Ardoin, Skip Morris, Bert Miller and Harr ...

' 2007 release ''Never Go Away.'' Martinez' CD, ''Soul of the Bayou,'' was released April 30, 2016 on Louisiana Red Hot Records. It reached #2 on the national soul chart and #4 on the national R&B chart according to RootsMusicReport.com. Soul of the Bayou was also voted #8 of the top 50 albums in Louisiana 2016 by Offbeat Magazine. Martinez has been nominated five times for Best Male Vocalist by Offbeats' Best of the Beat Awards. On February 9, 2019 he was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. On July 17, 2020, he released "MacDaddy Mojeaux" on Nola Blue Records. It has been critically acclaimed and receiving extensive airplay worldwide. He is the leader and tours regularly with Gregg Martinez and the Delta Kings. His vocal style has been inspired and influenced by the soul crooners of the 60's/70's including

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

, and Louisiana artists G G Shinn, T K Hulin, Big Luther Kent, and Johnny Adams.

Discography

* Wonders Never Cease - ''Independent ''1991 * Love Has A Voice- ''Independent'' 1993 * They That Wait-'' Independent ''1997 * For The Ages- Seaul Records 1999 * All The Days- Seaul Records 2001 * Christmas- Seaul Records 2002 * Bring Down The Thunder- Seaul Records 2004 * Big Bad Daddy- Seaul Records 2006 * The Fabulous Boogie Kings- Never Go Away- Spice Records 2007 * South of the Parish Line- Magnolia Records 2011 * Creole Soul- Louisiana Red Hot Records 2013 * The Fabulous Boogie Kings- Legacy 2015 * Soul of the Bayou- Louisiana Red Hot Records 2016 * MacDaddy Mojeaux- Nola Blue Records 2020

References

*Herman Fuselier, The Advertiser, Lafayette, LA, May 19, 2006 *Richard Carter, Times Record News, Wichita Falls, TX, March 10, 2006
Crossrhythms
* Dan Willging, OFFBEAT Magazine, November 1, 2011 * Nick Deriso, Blues Review Magazine, Nov/Dec 2011 * Dan Willging, OFFBEAT Magazine, December 2013 * Dan Willging, OFFBEAT Magazine, January 2014 * Dan Willging, OFFBEAT Magazine, July 2020

External links

GreggMartinez.com

BoogieKings.com
* https://www.louisianamusichalloffame.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Gregg 1956 births Living people American male singers Singers from Louisiana People from Lafayette, Louisiana People from Carencro, Louisiana