John David "Moon" Martin (October 31, 1950 – May 11, 2020)[1] was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.
Moon Martin | |
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| Birth name | John David Martin |
| Born | October 31, 1950 Altus, Oklahoma, United States |
| Died | May 11, 2020 (aged 69) Encino, Los Angeles, California, United States |
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| Instrument(s) |
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| Years active | 1960s–2020 |
| Formerly of |
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| Website | Official website (Archived) |
Early years
Born in Altus, Oklahoma, United States, he was originally a rockabilly artist as a member of the Oklahoma-based band The Disciples, who moved to Los Angeles and adopted the name Southwind in 1967. At this time, their style shifted towards country rock.[2] Southwind released three studio albums before disbanding in 1971. [3] They enjoyed moderate success, with two of their singles charting nationally: "Ready To Ride" (No. 127 in 1969) and "Boogie Woogie Country Girl" (No. 105 in 1970).[4]
Peak of success
Martin gained recognition in the 1970s as a pop artist and composer. He wrote the songs "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)", made famous by the English singer Robert Palmer, and "Cadillac Walk", made famous by the American singer Willy DeVille.[5]
Martin scored five minor hits of his own with "Rolene" (No. 30 US, No. 77 Australia[6]), "No Chance" (No. 50 US), both in 1979,[7] "Signal For Help" (No. 60 Australia) in 1981, "X-ray Vision", (No. 99) and "Aces With You" (No. 95) both in Australia in 1982. His 1982 song, "X-Ray Vision" was an MTV hit music video.[6]
Personal life and death
He allegedly was given the nickname "Moon" because many of his songs had the word moon in the lyrics.[5]
Martin died on May 11, 2020, of natural causes in Encino, California, at the age of 74.[1][8][9]
On October 31, 2022, Midnight Moon,[10] a posthumous album, was released, only available on several music streaming services.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US[11] | CAN | AUS[6] | ||||
| Shots from a Cold Nightmare |
| — | — | — | ||
| Escape from Domination |
| 80 | 67[12] | — | ||
| Street Fever |
| 138 | — | 63 | ||
| Mystery Ticket |
| 205[4] | — | — | ||
| Mixed Emotions |
| — | — | — | ||
| Dreams on File |
| — | — | — | ||
| Cement Monkey |
| — | — | — | ||
| Lunar Samples |
| — | — | — | ||
| Louisiana Juke-Box |
| — | — | — | ||
| Midnight Moon (posthumous) |
| — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||
Live albums
- Bad News Live (1993, Fnac France)
Compilation albums
References
External links
- Moon Martin at VH1
- Moon Martin discography at Discogs