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.
Symphony
Freddy Martin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Symphony of love
Music from above
How does it start?
You walk in
And the song begins
Singing violins start in my heart
Then you speak
Then you sigh
It sighs, and it softly dies
Symphony
Sing to me
Then we kiss
And it's clear to me
When you're near to me
You are my symphony
My symphony
The lyrics to Freddy Martin's song "Symphony" describe the power of love and how it can be compared to a symphony. The song starts with the question "Symphony, Symphony of love, Music from above, How does it start?" and goes on to answer the question by saying "You walk in, and the song begins, Singing violins start in my heart." This illustrates how love can suddenly come into one's life and completely change everything.
The lyrics continue to describe the different stages of love. "Then you speak, the melody seems to rise, Then you sigh, It sighs, and it softly dies." This portrays how love can be powerful and intense, but also fragile and delicate. The song then goes on to say "Symphony, Sing to me, Then we kiss, And it's clear to me, When you're near to me, You are my symphony." The final lines of the song express how the person's love interest is their symphony, and they make everything in their life beautiful and musical.
Overall, the lyrics to "Symphony" are a beautiful description of the power and beauty of love. The way the lyrics describe the different stages of love and how it can transform a person's life is insightful and heartfelt.
Line by Line Meaning
Symphony
The strong feelings of love and happiness that the singer feels when around the person they love.
Symphony of love
The intense emotions of love that the singer is experiencing.
Music from above
The profound and deep emotions that are heavenly and out of this world.
How does it start?
The singer wonders how their love story began.
You walk in
The moment the person the singer loves enters their life.
And the song begins
The start of the beautiful love story.
Singing violins start in my heart
The strong feeling of love starting to grow within the singer's heart.
Then you speak
The moment the loved one speaks and adds to the beauty of the song that is their love story.
The melody seems to rise
The emotions of love and happiness reaching their peak.
Then you sigh
The sounds of their loved one's sighs adding to the beauty of their love story.
It sighs, and it softly dies
The love story coming to an end, but the memories and emotions will always be remembered.
Symphony
The overall beauty and emotions of the love story.
Sing to me
The singer yearns for their loved one to add to their love story.
Then we kiss
The moment the couple shows their love through a kiss.
And it's clear to me
The overwhelming emotions of love becoming very clear to the singer in that moment.
When you're near to me
The intense love that the singer feels when in the presence of their loved one.
You are my symphony
The loved one being the beautiful music that makes up the singer's love story.
My symphony
The overall beauty and emotions of the singer's love story.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GALT MACDERMOTT, JOHN GUARE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Spencer Smith
Excellent…perhaps the definitive version of the song…Freddy Martin had such a fine band for such a long time…a giant in the “sweet music” business for decades, Martin’s music remains Americana at its best.
Rube Waddell
Australia's 43rd number one hit along with a version by Bing Crosby.