Freddy Martin

Frederic Alfred " Freddy" Martin ( born December 9, 1906 in Cleveland Ohio; † September 30, 1983 in Newport Beach, California ) was an American tenor saxophonist and bandleader of the dance band era.

Martin grew up as an orphan and initiated already in high school his own dance band. In addition, he was a representative for musical instruments and so met Guy Lombardo during his visit to Cleveland in the late 1920s. Lombardo heard his band and recommended it further. The band broke up and he worked for a while as a saxophonist in other bands before he could start his own dance band in 1931 again. He had his breakthrough in the mid 1930s during her time as the house band at the Bossert Hotel in Brooklyn and received a recording contract with Brunswick Records. His band was not least because of his skills as a tenor saxophonist one of the decades most successful dance bands in the United States, even long after the end of the big band era.

In jazz, he had no ambition, but was admired by many jazz musicians, as described by Chu Berry and Johnny Hodges ( of him Mr. Silvertone called ). He worked with his tenor band formation as a model for many other dance bands and used them for their style slogan Music in the Martin Manner. They were in the 1940s and 1950s in many radio programs and in 1951 Martin had his own television show. In the 1940s she appeared in several Hollywood films such as The Mayor of 44th Street (1942 ), Seven Days ' Leave ( 1942), Stage Door Canteen (1943) and Melody Time ( 1948). They released many records at RCA Victor. In the 1950s, he was musical director of Elvis Presley's first appearance in Las Vegas. In 1969 they were the house band at the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles. In the early 1970s he was engaged at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, and toured with the Big Band Cavalcade (including with Margaret Whiting, Bob Crosby, Frankie Carle, Buddy Morrow, Art Mooney, George Shearing ). In 1977, he jumped into the line of his band in the diseased Guy Lombardo. Martin remained active as a conductor until the 1980s.

In his band were many later successful as a bandleader, musician, including Claude Thornhill, Barclay Allen, Jack Fina, Murray Arnold, Alvino Rey and Russ Morgan ( as pianist and trombonist ), pianists Sid Appleman and Terry Shand, saxophonist Elmer Feldkamp, the singer Stuart Wade and violinist Eddie Stone. In the band sang, among other things, Merv Griffin in the 1950s, and Helen Ward sang with her in the 1930s, before she went to Benny Goodman (otherwise he took only male singer). Theme song of his band was later Tonight we love. It was based on the First Piano Concerto by Tchaikovsky and was his biggest hit ( published in 1941 ). Then he adapted more classical music for his band.

The Latin -inspired novelty song Pico and Sepulveda was (1947 was added as Felix Figueroa and his Orchestra ) presents the band in the cult musical film Forbidden Zone (1980 ) by Richard Elfman and often in the radio show by Dr. Demento.