Martha Davis (December 14, 1917 – April 6, 1960) was an American singer and pianist whose musical comedy act, "Martha Davis & Spouse," was popular in the late 1940s and 1950s.''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Third edition,'' eight volumes, edited by

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...

, MUZE, London (1998), Grove's Dictionaries, New York (1998)

Career

Davis was born in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

, and raised in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. By the mid-1930s, she had met and been influenced by

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

, and performed regularly as a singer and pianist in Chicago clubs. In 1939, while married to her first husband, she first met bass player Calvin Ponder (October 17, 1917 - December 26, 1970), who went on to play in

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

' band. The pair would marry in 1948. In 1948, Davis and Ponder moved to California, and Davis developed her recording career on Jewel Records in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

with a trio including Ponder, Ralph Williams (guitar) and

Lee Young Leonidas Raymond Young (March 7, 1914 – July 31, 2008) was an American jazz drummer and singer. His musical family included his father Willis Young and his older brother, saxophonist Lester Young. In 1944 he played with Norman Granz's firs ...

(drums). Their cover of

Dick Haymes Richard Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an Argentinian singer and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, television host ...

' pop hit "Little White Lies" reached # 11 on the Billboard R&B chart, followed by a duet with

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

, "Daddy-O" in 1948, which reached #7 on the R&B chart that year. Davis and Ponder also began performing together on stage, developing a musical and comedy routine as "Martha Davis & Spouse" which played on their physical characteristics (she was large, he was smaller). The act became hugely popular, touring and having a residency at the Blue Angel 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 ...

. They appeared together in movies including ''

Smart Politics ''Smart Politics'' is a 1948 American film directed by Will Jason and starring Freddie Stewart and June Preisser. It is part of The Teen Agers series made by Monogram Pictures.Munter, Pam (November 4, 2005"Freddie Stewart and the Teen Agers"''Cl ...

'' (with

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, S ...

), and in the mid-1950s, variety films ''Rhythm & Blues Revue'', ''Rock 'n' Roll Revue'' and ''Basin Street Revue''. Several of their performances were filmed by

Snader Telescriptions Snader Telescriptions, produced for television from 1950 to 1952, were film versions of popular and classical music performances. Singers, dancers, orchestras, and novelty acts appeared in the Snader musicals. They were produced by Louis D. Snader, ...

for video jukeboxes, and they also broadcast on network TV, particularly

Garry Moore Garry Moore (born Thomas Garrison Morfit; January 31, 1915 – November 28, 1993) was an American entertainer, comedic personality, game show host, and humorist best known for his work in television. He began a long career with the CBS network ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

show. In 1957, after a break of several years, they resumed recording for the ABC

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

label, with whom they cut two LPs. Davis died from cancer in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 1960, aged 42, and Ponder died ten years later, aged 53.

References

External links

''Rockabilly Europe''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Martha 1917 births 1960 deaths American rhythm and blues musicians Singers from Kansas Musicians from Wichita, Kansas 20th-century African-American women singers