Robert Martin (singer)
| Robert Martin | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Robert Martin |
| Also known as | Bobby Martin |
| Born | June 1948 (age 69) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | voice, saxophone, french horn, keyboards, wind instrument |
| Associated acts | Frank Zappa, Etta James, Orleans, Banned From Utopia |
| Notable instruments | |
| voice, french horn | |
Robert Martin (born June 1948), also known as Bobby Martin, is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is mainly known for collaborating in the 1980s with the musician Frank Zappa, although he is also a prestigious session musician, composer of music for cinema, theater, television and advertising, musical director and music teacher. He also directs music production company Think Method Production with Stephen Boyd. He recognizes as musical influences Ray Charles, Stravinsky, Coltrane, Rachmaninoff, Mose Allison, Cannonball Adderley, David "Fathead" Newman, Steely Dan, Frank Zappa and Etta James.
Martin was born in Philadelphia in June 1948, the son of opera singers. His grandmother worked at RCA in Trenton, New Jersey, thereby accessing a number of records. Growing up in the 1950s in this city, and with a deeply musical atmosphere at home, he was exposed to a great variety of music. "The first piece of music I remember hearing, identifying and asking for was The Firebird by Stravinsky. I used to ask my mom to play that piece – I loved it." Apart from the exposure to classical music he gained through his parents and through performances of the Philadelphia Orchestra, he also listened to other kinds of music. His father was a member of a Big Band, he saw Dick Clark's American Bandstand show, and he listened to the excellent jazz that was played in the city's clubs. The presence of avant-garde rock and Philadelphia soul in his discography exemplify the breadth of his musical life.
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