Died On This Date (May 14, 2005) Jimmy Martin / The King Of Bluegrass
themusicsover Jimmy Martin
August 10, 1927 – May 14, 2005
Jimmy Martin was a guitarist and singer who has been called the “King Of Bluegrass.” While looking to get his break in 1949, Martin sneaked backstage at the Grand Ole Opry and positioned himself so that passersby could hear him picking. On such person was the Blue Grass Boys’ Rudy Lyle who was impressed enough to bring Martin to meet his boss, Bill Monroe. After hearing just two songs, Monroe was so impressed by Martin’s picking and strong tenor voice that he hired him on the spot. He stayed with Monroe for the better part of the next six years and then soon thereafter formed his own band, the Sunny Mountain Boys. Martin built a name for himself with his unique voice as well as with his fun and unpredictable lives shows. In 1971, he performed on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s landmark album Will The Circle Be Unbroken. Jimmy Martin was 77 when he died of bladder cancer on May 14, 2005.
What You Should Own
Sidney Bechet was one of jazz’s greatest soloists. He began playing as a young teen in New Orleans, and by the time he was 20, he was traveling the world and making his mark on both the saxophone and clarinet. He was a prolific composer as well. Bechet’s life was not without controversy as evident by the pistol duel he once instigated in Paris. Bechet evidently had a notoriously bad temper. He was jailed and later deported. Bechet died on his 62nd birthday, May 14, 1959.
William D. Littleford entered the publishing business in 1934 when he joined the staff of Billboard magazine, which his grandfather founded in 1894. Starting as an apprentice, Littleford became GM in 1943, and then President and CEO in 1958. He stayed in that position until the magazine was sold in the mid ’80s, afterwhich he was appointed Chairman Emeritus. He passed away in his home at the age of 94.