Martin in the 1943 film Stage Door Canteen
Backgrou… Read Full Bio ↴Freddy Martin
Martin in the 1943 film Stage Door Canteen
Background information
Born December 9, 1906
Origin Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Died September 30, 1983 (aged 76)
Genres Jazz
Occupations Musician, bandleader
Instruments Saxophone
Frederick Alfred (Freddy) Martin (December 9, 1906 – September 30, 1983) was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist.
Early life
Martin was born in Cleveland, Ohio.[1] Raised largely in an orphanage and with various relatives, Martin started out playing drums, then switched to C-melody saxophone and later tenor saxophone, the latter the one he would be identified with. Early on, he had intended to become a journalist. He had hoped that he would earn enough money from his musical work to enter Ohio State, but instead, he wound up becoming an accomplished musician. Martin led his own band while he was in high school, then played in various local bands. After working on a ship's band, Martin joined the Mason-Dixon band, then joined Arnold Johnson and Jack Albin. It was with Albin's "Hotel Pennsylvania Music" that he made his first recordings, for Columbia's Harmony, Velvet Tone, and Clarion 50 cent labels in 1930.
Early career
Martin in 1943
After a couple of years, his skill began attracting other musicians. One such musician was Guy Lombardo, who would remain friends with Martin throughout his life. After graduation from high school, Martin accepted a job at the H.N. White musical instrument company. When Lombardo was playing in Cleveland, Martin tried giving Lombardo some saxophones, which proved unsuccessful. Fortunately, Lombardo did get to hear Freddy’s band. One night, when Guy could not do a certain date, he suggested that Freddy’s band could fill in for him. The band did very well and that’s how Martin’s career really got started. But the band broke up and he did not form a permanent band until 1931 at the Bossert Hotel in Brooklyn.
At the Bossert Marine Room, Freddy pioneered the "Tenor Band" style that swept the sweet-music industry. With his own tenor sax as melodic lead, Martin fronted an all-tenor sax section with just two brasses and a violin trio plus rhythm. The rich, lilting style quickly spawned imitators in hotels and ballrooms nationwide. "Tenor bands", usually with just the three tenors and one trumpet, could occasionally be found playing for older dancers well into the 1980s.
The Martin band recorded first for Columbia Records in 1932. As the company was broke and signing no new contracts, the band switched to Brunswick Records after one session and remained with that label till 1938. Afterwards Martin appeared on RCA's Bluebird and Victor Records. The band also recorded pseudonymously in the early '30s, backing singers such as Will Osborne.
Martin took his band into many prestigious hotels, including the Roosevelt Grill in New York City and the Ambassador in Los Angeles. A fixture on radio, his sponsored shows included NBC's Maybelline Penthouse Serenade of 1937. But Martin’s real success came in 1941 with an arrangement from the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s B-flat piano concerto. Martin recorded the piece instrumentally, but soon lyrics were put in and it was re-cut as "Tonight We Love" with Clyde Rogers' vocal - becoming his biggest hit.
The success of "Tonight We Love" prompted Martin to adopt other classical themes as well, which featured the band's pianists Jack Fina, Murray Arnold and Barclay Allen. At this time Freddy enlarged the orchestra to a strength of six violins, four brasses and a like number of saxes.
Musical style
Freddy Martin was nicknamed "Mr. Silvertone" by saxophonist Johnny Hodges. Chu Berry named Freddy Martin his favorite saxophonist. He has also been idolized by many other saxophonists, including Eddie Miller. Although his playing has been admired by so many jazz musicians, Freddy Martin never tried to be a jazz musician. Martin always led a sweet styled band. Unlike most sweet bands that just played dull music, Martin’s band turned out to be one of the most musical and most melodic of all the typical hotel-room sweet bands. According to George T. Simon, Freddy's band was,
"one of the most pleasant, most relaxed dance bands that ever flowed across the band scene."
Martin was probably one of the most respected tenor saxophonists of the dance band era.
He used the banner "Music In The Martin Manner." Ironically, Russ Morgan used a similar banner when he finally landed a radio series with his own band in 1936. (Morgan’s title was "Music In The Morgan Manner"!). Russ had been playing in Freddy’s band and the two were good friends for years. Russ even used some of Freddy's arrangements when he started his band. Did Martin let the "Music In The ------ Manner" and the arrangement thing go? Yes. "Freddy Martin is such a nice man," said Larry Barnett. "He’s almost too nice for his own good."
Later career
Martin also had a good ear for singers. At one time or another, Martin employed Merv Griffin, Buddy Clark, pianists Sid Appleman and Terry Shand, saxophonist Elmer Feldkamp, Stuart Wade (his most impressive male singer), violinist Eddie Stone, and many others. Helen Ward was a singer for Martin just before she joined Benny Goodman's new band.
Martin’s popularity as a bandleader led him to Hollywood in the 1940s where he and his band appeared in a handful of films, including Seven Days' Leave (1942), Stage Door Canteen (1943) and Melody Time (1948), among others.
In the 1950s and 1960s Martin continued to perform on the radio and also appeared on TV. Untroubled by changing musical tastes, he continued to work at major venues and was musical director for Elvis Presley’s first appearance in Las Vegas. Still in demand for hotel work, Martin entered the 1970s with an engagement at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. In the early 1970s, he was part of two tours of one-nighters that were known as The Big Band Cavalcade. Among the other performers on the show were Margaret Whiting, Bob Crosby, Frankie Carle, Buddy Morrow, Art Mooney and George Shearing. When the tours ended, Martin returned to the West Coast. In 1977, Martin was asked to lead Guy Lombardo’s band when Lombardo was hospitalized with a heart condition.
Martin continued leading his band until the early 1980s, although by then, he was semi-retired. Freddy Martin died on September 30, 1983 in a Newport Beach hospital after a lingering illness. He was 76 years old.
The 1947 song "Pico and Sepulveda" was recorded by Martin under the alias of "Felix Figueroa and his Orchestra" and was frequently featured on Dr. Demento's syndicated radio show.[2] It was also featured in the surrealist film Forbidden Zone.
April in Paris
Freddy Martin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chestnuts in blossom,
Holiday tables,
Under the trees.
April in Paris,
This is a feeling,
No one can ever reprise.
Never met it face to face,
I never knew my heart could sing,
Never missed a warm embrace,
"Til April in Paris,
Whom can I turn to?
What have you done to my heart?
The song April in Paris sung by Freddy Martin is an ode to the city of Paris during the spring season. The lyrics describe how beautiful the city looks during this time with blooming chestnut trees and tables set outdoors, under the trees. The first two lines of the song, "April in Paris, Chestnuts in blossom", set the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is amazed by the charm of Spring and how it fills his heart with joy. He has never experienced such an incredible feeling before, like the one he feels in Paris during April.
Furthermore, the lyrics also express the singer's surprise of not knowing this feeling before. He has never appreciated the warmth and beauty of Spring, nor has he ever had someone to embrace him. Until April in Paris, he has never experienced true love or felt his heart sing. At the end of the song, he questions himself about whom he can turn to and what has been done to his heart. These lines suggest that Paris and its charm have captured his heart and changed his life forever.
Line by Line Meaning
April in Paris,
The month of April in the city of Paris,
Chestnuts in blossom,
The lovely sight of blooming chestnut flowers during Spring,
Holiday tables,
Tables set up for holiday celebrations,
Under the trees.
The tables being placed under trees for a delightful ambiance,
April in Paris,
The beauty of April in Paris,
This is a feeling,
The emotions that arise when experiencing the beauty of Paris in Spring,
No one can ever reprise.
The unique feeling that cannot be replicated by anyone,
I never knew the charm of Spring,
The artist's lack of appreciation for the beauty of Spring prior to visiting Paris in April,
Never met it face to face,
The artist never actually experienced Spring firsthand before visiting Paris,
I never knew my heart could sing,
The artist experiencing a newfound happiness in Paris in Spring that they didn't know existed within them,
Never missed a warm embrace,
The singer never felt like they lacked anything until experiencing the beauty of Paris in Spring,
Til April in Paris,
The turning point of the artist's experiences due to Spring in Paris,
Whom can I turn to?
The singer feeling lost and unsure of what to do with their newfound emotions after visiting Paris in Spring,
What have you done to my heart?
Questioning the powerful effect that Paris in Spring had on the singer's emotions.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Universal Music Publishing Group, Tratore, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: E. Y. Harburg, Vernon Duke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
William Fox
I remember this old song. I saw the movie with the same name back in the early 1950's.
Antonio Jiménez
Muchas gracias!
J J
Thanks for this.
What happened to MusicProf78?
The78Prof
The channel was taken down by YouTube and all videos deleted this past April due to filings by one particular copyright holder. Most all of the original videos have since been re-posted over three separate channels: this one, 'the45prof' (primarily post-1954 music), and 'Rick Colom Collection.'
Don Montague
Can you tell us which copyright holder that is?
♦️_Gabriel_⏳
Sounds Haunty.
Don Montague
Am I being followed...