Martha Johnson (born December 18, 1950) is a Canadian rock singer, keyboardist, and songwriter. She is best known as the vocalist of the 1980s rock band

Martha and the Muffins Martha and the Muffins are a Canadian rock band, active from 1977 to the present. Although they only had one major international hit single " Echo Beach" under their original band name, they had a number of hits in their native Canada, and th ...

Early life

Johnson was born on December 18, 1950, 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 ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Career

Johnson worked in Toronto as a medical receptionist. She started her career playing the organ with cover band "Oh Those Pants". She then was part of Toronto band the Doncasters in the early 1970s. Johnson joined David Millar, Mark and Tim Gane, and Carl Finkle to form the band Martha and the Muffins in 1977. The band, later known as M + M, released an international hit single with "

Echo Beach "Echo Beach" is a song recorded by the Canadian group Martha and the Muffins in 1979. Written by band member Mark Gane, it was released as a single from their album '' Metro Music'' in 1980 and went on to reach number 5 in Canada, number 6 in Aus ...

", with Johnson as lead singer. In 1985, she and her husband and bandmate Mark Gane were presented with a

CASBY award The CASBY Awards were a Canadian awards ceremony for independent and alternative music, presented annually by Toronto, Ontario radio station CFNY, currently branded as 102.1 The Edge. CASBY is an acronym for Canadian Artists Selected By You. The ...

for their production work with the group. Johnson also released ''Songs from the Treehouse'', a solo children's album, in 1997 for which she won the

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

for Best Children's Album at the

Juno Awards of 1997 The Juno Awards of 1997, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 9 March 1997 in Hamilton, Ontario at a ceremony in the Copps Coliseum. Jann Arden was host for the major ceremonies which were broad ...

. In 2001, Johnson was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

, but continues to perform and to raise awareness in her shows. In 2013, Johnson recorded an album called ''Solo One'' with a portion of the proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. In 2016, Johnson participated in the Rock Steady boxing program, which promotes fitness for those living with Parkinson's disease. In 2022, Johnson provided a pop cultural recommendation in an article appearing in

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eatin ...

. She recommended watching

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

' After Life television series on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

."What notable Torontonians are watching, reading and listening to this month"
''Toronto Life'', March 15, 2022

Discography

Martha and the Muffins/M+M

Solo albums

*1995: ''Songs from the Treehouse'' (credited as Martha) (Muffin Music) *2013: ''Solo One'' (Muffin Music)

Guest appearances

*1982: Gerry Cott – '"Ballad of the Lone Ranger" (single) (Backing vocals by Martha Johnson) (Epic) *1985: Northern Lights – "Tears Are Not Enough" (single) (featuring vocals by Martha Johnson) (Columbia) *1985: ''We Are the World'' (LP) (includes "Tears Are Not Enough") (Columbia) *1996: Jack Grunsky – ''Jumpin' Jack'' (features "Home Made Cooking" and "Iko Iko", backing vocals by Martha Johnson) (BMG) *1996: ''Schoolyard Jam'' (features "My Little Sister" by Martha Johnson and "The Fox", "C'est L'Aviron", featuring Martha Johnson on vocals) (Prologue) *1999: ''Ants in Your Pants'' (CD) (includes "If I Were Not a Little Kid", credited to Martha) (ZepLenz) *2000: ''Love Starts with the Children'' (CD) (includes "Santa's Gift of Love" by Martha Johnson) (Wellcraft Music Group) *2002: ''Select Cuts from Echo Beach'' (features vocals by Martha Johnson) (Select Cuts) *2006: ''Heyday!'' (film) featuring "Let Go" by Martha Johnson *2010: ''La Bella Stella'' (features "Shooting Stars" by Martha Johnson) (Recess Music)

References

External links

Martha and the Muffins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Martha 1950 births Living people Canadian children's musicians Canadian contraltos Canadian women pop singers Canadian new wave musicians Canadian songwriters Women new wave singers Juno Award for Children's Album of the Year winners Martha and the Muffins members Musicians from Toronto People with Parkinson's disease Writers from Toronto 21st-century Canadian women singers