The Story of Janis Martin ~ The Female Elvis!

Janis Martin was indeed, "The Female Elvis", a fellow RCA recording artist with Presley whose management obtained the expressed permission of Colonel Tom Parker to use the title publicly! When you really consider what that meant in 1956, it is astounding. But in truth, Janis Martin was much, much more than simply the female knock-off of that year's top performer. She was no less than a founding member of the rockabilly style. And before I tell you more about that, you need to know that when she got the call from RCA in 1956, she was only 15 years old!

You'll know her rich jazzy trumpet of a voice from three songs in particular: "Will You, Willyum" was her biggest hit, with her own "Drugstore Rock and Roll" on the flip side. And her performance of "My Boy Elvis" for Dave Garroway on the Today Show won her a spot in the Grand Ole Opry.

A PRISONER OF THE STAGE - Janis showed early skill as a performer. Her childhood was spent on stage, singing and playing the guitar from age four. The guitar was too big for her, so she started up holding it like a double bass, straight up and down on the floor. Now that's cute! By age six she was playing chords and singing along. At eight, she began winning talent contests. She was her mother's little gold mine, groomed for stardom, hard at work when other children were playing outside.

But she became an outstanding guitarist and studied the songs of blues artists, which she performed on radio "barn dance" shows in her native Virginia. In her first Nashville recording session for RCA, she met Chet Atkins, who told her she was "right on track" with the newly emerging rockabilly style. RCA put her with other top session musicians for recording sessions in New York and Nashville. Her work earned her the "Most Promising Female Vocalist" of 1956.

UH OH! - Meanwhile, payback time was brewing. Remember how Janis' mother made her work all through her childhood? Unknown to anyone, Janis, at age 15, had secretly married her boyfriend just before her first session at RCA! Fortunately, he shipped out to Germany with the US Army. I say "fortunately" because we might never have heard this wonderful artist had they set up housekeeping right away!

During that first session in Nashville, Chet Atkins ironically picked a song for her called "Let's Elope." Imagine the suppressed glee Janis must have felt at that! A year later, Janis was on tour in Europe, still secretly married. While she was there, she visited her boyfriend (husband!) at his station in Germany. Shortly afterward, Janis realized she was pregnant. Her secret had to come out.

Eight months pregnant at her last recording session, her manager, Steve Sholes, was reportedly bawling his eyes out! He had believed she could have been a huge star, truly the equivalent of her namesake. All Janis wanted to do was settle down and have her baby and a real life.

YEARS LATER, AN EPIPHANY - In the early 1970s, her kids were teenagers and she was a single mom. She decided to hire a new band and try performing once again. Her own words: "I realized it wasn't momma pushing me any longer. I hadn't realized how much I missed it and loved it."

By 1979, offers for tour dates were flooding in from all over the world. At 42 years old, The incredulous Janis had no choice but to follow the call, receiving the adoration of retro-dressed fans of rockabilly all over England, Europe, and Australia.

Despite her international acclaim, Janice Martin was most content with her "real" life. She retired in Danville, Virginia, about 16 miles from the place where the talented Ms. Martin was born and raised to rock'n'roll!

SEPTEMBER 6, 2007 - Janis Martin passed away at the age of 67, after a long battle with cancer. How wonderful it was that she was rediscovered and had more than thirty years to do it "her way"! Just the same, we miss her...

NOTE: The little girl in the picture is granddaughter Lindsey who created a wonderful Myspace site for her grandma. CLICK HERE to listen to the great music of Janis Martin, the Female Elvis!

The Pride of Delaware County!

Where rock’n’roll is concerned, I can only mean one person; the man from Boothwyn, Bill Haley. His biggest hit started out on B-side of the 45 single, “Thirteen Women”! However, DJ’s and teenyboppers had their way, flipping the 45 to play “Rock Around the Clock”, which reached a respectable #23 on the pop charts in May of 1954.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? - Movie producer Richard Brooks cast Glenn Ford to star in “Blackboard Jungle.” While meeting at the actor’s home, Ford’s 11-year old son Peter was playing the song on his Philco. Brooks put “Rock Around the Clock” in the opening credits of the film, running it straight into the first scene. With the release of the movie, the song became the very first rock’n’roll to top the pop charts, holding the #1 spot for almost two months.

UNSUNG GUITAR HERO – The great guitar lead in the song was not recorded by a Comet. Haley hired veteran Philly session man Dan Cedrone for the job. He received $21 for the session.

The session itself was four hours long, held in New York at a studio called the Pythian Temple. Almost three-and-a-half hours were spent on the A-side tune, "Thirteen Women"! Two quick takes at the end of the session produced the historic B-side.

Bill Haley had worked with Dan Cedrone several times before on earlier recordings. Haley went to Cedrone's house for dinner the night before. They discussed the next day's session and reportedly decided then to use a solo from an earlier song which they felt would be a perfect fit. They were right!

Sadly, Dan Cedrone never lived to see the tremendous success of this tune. He died in an accident less than a month after the recording session. His 1946 Gibson ES-300 guitar resides in the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame.

EXTRA FACT: There would not be another #1 Rock'n'Roll song at the top of the charts until April, 1956. Guess who? It was Elvis Presley with "Heartbreak Hotel."

What is Rockabilly?

by Stu Frederick of The Rivers Rockabilly Trio

"They called it Rockabilly long before they called it Rock'n'Roll!"
- Carl Perkins

What is Rockabilly?
Rockabilly is a wholly American musical style:

It has been called "Country Blues." I like to say it like this: Rockabilly is any kind of country plus any kind of blues. Add in a little jazz. Include the very essential element of gospel. That's four American music styles rolled into one!

What is Rockabilly?
Rockabilly is part of America's history:

Rockabilly was the first Rock'n'Roll music to top the charts. America and the world would never be the same. The music business suddenly had a huge new market to cater to. Teenagers! The movie industry followed suit. In fact, the very first #1 rock'n'roll song got to the top of the charts because it was used in a movie (Bill Haley's recording of "Rock Around the Clock").

More than this, rockabilly signaled social change on the horizon, especially in the segregated south. White kids were digging the music of black artists; blues players like Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton, and John Lee Hooker. Then artists like Big Joe Turner, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Ray Charles, and others, started putting a bigger beat in their music. Little Richard, in particular, brought the fiery energy of gospel to his rhythm and blues.

Young folks like Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Eddie Cochran were heavily influenced by the sound and performed many of the songs from the African-American repertoire. It was a musical revolution!

What is Rockabilly?
Rockabilly is a worldwide phenomenon:

Beginning in 1955 with Bill Haley and the Comets, American artists toured the world and left behind a lasting impression. Rockabilly is STILL hugely popular in many European nations and in Australia. And yet, back here in the United States, it seems as if Rockabilly was forgotten soon after Elvis' records were used to fuel the bonfires of a misguided American public.

Today, the rockabilly awareness in the US is somewhat centered around the pop success of The Stray Cats, who were very successful in the early 1980s. I credit Brian Setzer and his trio for increasing awareness of the great original tunes, which they obviously revere as much as I do.

But for those who were young during the early days of Rockabilly, the music they remember and cherish is almost never heard, except as a novelty; the oldest of Rock'n'Roll "Oldies."

NOTE: It is part of the Rivers' mission to play this music live for those folks who remember the '50s. Another part of our mission is to play it for kids, so that the music will live on...

What is Rockabilly?
Rockabilly is fun!

Rockabilly is extremely danceable; preferred by many experts right along with big band swing. Social dances popularized during World War II were still on the dance floor in the fifties. Rockabilly provided that big beat that kept the dancers dancing!

What is Rockabilly?
Rockabilly is a classic sound:

The instrumentation is built around a big bass fiddle and at least one guitar (either or both acoustic or electric). Piano is also popular. Great vocals are essential. Drums were, at first, optional, since a good "country bass" player could play a percussive sound (aka 'slap bass') along with the bass line. Until fairly recently, drums were still considered an abomination in many country venues. But when folks wanted to dance, there was no substitute for having that big beat behind the band.

To hear great examples of classic country slap bass, listen to early recordings of Elvis Presley with his sidemen, guitarist Scotty Moore and the great Bill Black on bass. It's hard to believe some of the rhythms he accomplished while providing the bass line at the same time!

Later, the bass fiddle was replaced by the bass guitar, which is much easier to play, BUT, definitely lacks the character of the "doghouse" sound. With the electric bass, the more contemporary rock band lineup was born.

However, The Rivers prefer the great original sound and performance fun of a Rockabilly trio with guitar, drums, and that big bull fiddle. Listen to one of our soundclips and you'll hear our man Bradley clickin' away just like they used to do, way back in the Rockabilly Days!

Here's a note of thanks to Vince Gordon, one of the world's best modern rockabilly artists and historians, for making sure I got my facts straight!