Artist page

Jimmy Martin was an influential American bluegrass musician and singer, born on August 10, 1927, in Sneedville, Tennessee. He passed away on May 14, 2005, in Nashville, Tennessee. As the lead singer and rhythm guitar player of his band, the Sunny Mountain Boys, Martin made significant contributions to the bluegrass genre. He began his career working for Smokey Ward at WPFB in Middletown and sang lead in Smokey’s Corny Four Quartet. Martin was also the lead singer for The Blue Grass Boys during several important tours in Bill Monroe’s career in the early 1950s. He recorded with Bob Osborne on King Records and with the Osborne Brothers on RCA before forming his own band in 1955 and securing a contract with Decca Records. Martin achieved several Billboard chart records, with his highest being “Rock Hearts,” which reached #14. He was a member of the WWVA Jamboree and the KWKH Louisiana Hayride. In 1995, he was inducted into the IBMA Bluegrass Hall of Fame.

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