Keith Eric Martin (September 22, 1966 – March 25, 2022) was an American
R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. He was best known for writing and singing romantic
love song
A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order ...
s.
Career
Early years
Martin was the second son of three children. Growing up, he listened to
the Jackson 5
The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...
,
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
and the production of
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...
, and
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
. He was also influenced by
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
and
gospel music
Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...
. Martin started playing piano, bass guitar, drums and singing when he was 10. He started writing music when he was nineteen.
Martin was a force among local artists in the late 1980s, growing up with close friends
Johnny Gill
Johnny Gill Jr. (born May 22, 1966) is an American singer and actor. He is the sixth and final member of the R&B/pop group New Edition and was also a member of the supergroup called LSG, with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat. Gill has released e ...
and
Stacy Lattisaw
Stacy Lattisaw Jackson (née Lattisaw; born November 25, 1966) is an American R&B singer from Washington, D.C., United States.
Career
The 1979 song " Ring My Bell" was originally written for then twelve-year-old Lattisaw, as a teenybopper son ...
and bassist Oteil Burbridge and
Kenny Lattimore
Kenny Lattimore (born April 10, 1970) is an American R&B singer.
Early life
Lattimore first developed his interest for music in the high school band program at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland. He often acknowledges Dr ...
. He was a member of the group, Masquerade, which included twins, Art and Scott Powell, Sharif Walters and
D'Extra Wiley
II D Extreme was an American new jack swing R&B group from the early 1990s that included D'Extra Wiley, Randy Gill (Johnny Gill
Johnny Gill Jr. (born May 22, 1966) is an American singer and actor. He is the sixth and final member of the R ...
, who later became a member of the 1990s new jack R&B group
II D Extreme
II D Extreme was an American new jack swing R&B group from the early 1990s that included D'Extra Wiley, Randy Gill (Johnny Gill's brother) and Jermaine Mickey. They are known for the songs "Cry No More", "Up on the Roof" and their cover of the ...
.
Con Funk Shun
Con Funk Shun (formerly known as Project Soul) is an American R&B and funk band whose popularity began in the mid-1970s and ran through the 1980s. They were influenced by funk legend James Brown and Sly and the Family Stone. Signed to Mercury ...
founder and drummer
Louis A. McCall, Sr. signed Martin to his
Gaithersburg
Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the ninth-largest location in the state. Ga ...
,
MD artist management company he owned with his wife Linda Lou McCall, a music business consultant and songwriter. Linda Lou McCall was hired by
MC Hammer
Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur. He is known for hit songs such as " U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" ...
in 1990 to help set up his corporate operations and administration in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
. When she became Vice President of Hammer's artist management company, Linda and her husband arranged for Martin to come to California and got him on as part of MC Hammer's ''
Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em
''Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em'' is the third studio album by American rapper MC Hammer, released on February 12, 1990 by Capitol Records and EMI Records. The album was produced, recorded and mixed by Felton Pilate and James Earley.
The album ...
'' and ''
Too Legit to Quit
''Too Legit to Quit'' is the fourth studio album by Hammer (after removing M.C. from his name), released on October 29, 1991. Produced by Hammer and Felton Pilate, the album was released via Capitol Records and EMI Records.
''Too Legit to ...
'' world tours.
When the McCalls relocated to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
in 1990, Martin followed, enabling him to work with
Boyz II Men producers (Shovani and Buster),
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
winning songwriters and producers Marti Sharron and
Danny Sembello
Daniel Sembello (January 15, 1963 – August 15, 2015) was an American songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist.
He produced recordings by artists including George Benson and Pebbles, and he had his compositions recorded by Chaka K ...
, Oji Pierce, Ian Prince and
The Time's
Jesse Johnson.
First album
Michael McCary
Michael Sean McCary (born December 16, 1971) is an American singer, known for being a former bass singer of the R&B group Boyz II Men (in which he was sometimes known as Mike Bass).
In 2003, McCary left Boyz II Men due to back spasms that were ...
of Boyz II Men, brought Martin to Ruffhouse/Columbia Sony. Martin was signed to Columbia Ruffhouse Records by his then manager, Adrian Taylor, who had previously managed Martin when he was the lead singer of Masquerade. The group included members Scott and Art Powell and Sharif Walters. Washington, D.C. promoter James T. (Time 2 Jamm) brought the group to Night Flight studios, owned by singer/recording artist Stacy Lattisaw and her husband Kevin Jackson. The group was popular in Washington DC. Martin's friend, R&B recording star Johnny Gill, also supported the fledgling band. Later, Charlie Singleton, member of the hit pop/R&B band Cameo, produced demos for the group, which allowed Martin to record songs in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
. David Franklin, Richard Pryor's manager at the time, worked with Adrian Taylor on arranging recording sessions. The demos were presented to Epic Records, however, Kenny Lattimore's group, Mannequin was signed instead of the band Masquerade.
Ruffhouse president Chris Schwartz, Inerge Barrett and attorney Kevon Glickmon were all present at the 1994 signing of Martin in Philadelphia, PA. The budget for the first album was $350,000. The budget was approved by Columbia Records President,
Donny Ienner. Songwriter Marti Sharron and
Danny Sembello
Daniel Sembello (January 15, 1963 – August 15, 2015) was an American songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist.
He produced recordings by artists including George Benson and Pebbles, and he had his compositions recorded by Chaka K ...
, brother of
Michael Sembello
Michael Andrew Sembello (born April 17, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Sembello was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his 1983 song "M ...
, wrote the track "Never Find Someone Like You". The song was also placed on the ''Bad Boys'' movie soundtrack and went on to sell over 1 million copies.
Martin released his first album, ''
It's Long Overdue'' in 1995, which peaked at No. 82 on the US ''
Billboard''
R&B Albums chart. His first single, "Never Find Someone Like You" (which was also independently recorded by
Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida.
The gr ...
before) peaked at No. 53 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and at No. 43 on the
R&B Singles chart
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
, and was included in the platinum-selling ''
Bad Boys''
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
. The album's second single, "Moment in Time" reached No. 103 on the R&B Singles chart.
For the next decade, Martin stayed busy in the
music industry
The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...
producing, writing and releasing several solo albums, gaining him a large fan base throughout the world. His
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
, "Because of You", is still a major favorite in the US and Asia.
Move to the Philippines
In 2004, Martin came to the attention of
EMI Philippines
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
, who hired him as in-house producer in
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, producing and writing for artists in the Philippines and
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. He collaborated with
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
singer
Kyla Kyla may refer to:
*Kyla (given name), including a list of people with the name
** Kyla (Filipino singer) (born 1981), Filipino R&B singer
**Kyla (British singer)
Kyla Reid ( Smith; born 22 September 1983) is a British house music singer in the ...
on her albums ''
Not Your Ordinary Girl
Not Your Ordinary Girl is the fourth studio album by Kyla. released by Poly East Records under EMI Philippines in 2004.
The album spawned five singles "''Because Of You''", "''Human Nature''", "''If the Feeling Is Gone''", "''Not Your Ordinary ...
'' and ''
Beautiful Days'', with
Gloc 9
Aristotle Condenuevo Pollisco (born October 18, 1977), known professionally as Gloc-9, is a Filipino rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as one of the best Filipino rappers of all-time, his fast-flowing vocal style has made him one of th ...
on his album ''
Ako Si…'', with
Agnes Monica
Agnes Monica Muljoto (born 1 July 1986), known professionally as Agnez Mo (stylized as all caps), is an Indonesian singer and actress. She was professionally known as Agnes Monica before amending her stage name. As a bilingual singer who reco ...
on her album ''
Whaddup A.. '?!'', and with
Gary V., among others.
2009–2019
In 2009, Martin returned from the Philippines and worked with POSH, an all-girl group signed to Viva Records. Martin produced "Missing You", one of the singles off their album ''My Heart''.
In 2010, Martin released a new album ''This Road'' including the song "You Are My Life", which was released as a single in 2012 and became a popular wedding theme.
In 2011, Martin wrote and produced two songs for Australian recording artist Ron Kingston. The first song was a duet called "My Friend" which features Kingston and Indonesian singer Mia. The Disney inspired and animated music video was completed by Empire Films in Australia and released to the public in September 2011. Martin recorded duets with Indonesian artists Marybeth and Dira Sugandi Zulham and Singaporean artist Shun Ng.
In 2013, Martin released another album, ''The Vision'', available as digital download only.
In 2018, Martin released a new single, "Return to Me", available in all the digital platforms and as an official videoclip on YouTube.
Death
On March 25, 2022, Martin was found dead in his private residence in
Quezon City
Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was fou ...
, Philippines, after neighbors had alerted the condominium's manager. The exact date of his death has yet to be confirmed, although reports had stated that Martin had been dead for a week before he was found. His last public appearance was at the wedding of
Daryl Ong
Daryl Neilsonn Ong (born March 24, 1987) is a Filipino singer and songwriter. He rose to fame after joining the singing competition ''The Voice of the Philippines''.
When Ong sang his blind audition piece "Paano" (original by Gary Valenciano ...
and Dea Formilleza on March 12. He was 55. His death was determined to be caused by
acute myocardial infarction
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may t ...
.
Discography
Albums
*1995: ''
It's Long Overdue'' (US album)
*2003: ''
All the Hits'' (US album)
*2004: ''
Love of My Life'' (Filipino album)
*2004: ''
Validated'' (US album)
*2005: ''
I'm Not Alone'' (Filipino album)
*2007: ''
Let Me Take Control'' (Filipino album)
*2010: ''This Road'' (Filipino album)
*2013: ''The Vision'' (Filipino album)
Singles
*1995: "Never Find Someone Like You"
*1995: "Moment in Time"
*2004: "Because of You"
*2004: "Love of My Life"
*2004: "Coming Home"
*2004: "Whateva U Need"
*2005: "I Don't Wanna Think About It"
*2007: "Lady"
*2009: "California 1"
*2012: "You Are My Life"
*2018: "Return to Me"
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Keith
1966 births
2022 deaths
Singers from Washington, D.C.
20th-century African-American male singers
American contemporary R&B singers
Songwriters from Washington, D.C.
African-American songwriters
African-American record producers
American expatriates in the Philippines
21st-century African-American people
Sony Music artists
Ruffhouse Records artists
The Orchard Records artists
PolyEast Records artists