Song:My Boy Elvis
Album:The Female Elvis: Complete Recordings 1956-60
When she was a teenager back in the 50s, Janis Martin was headed for stardom as The Female Elvis. She even had a contract with RCA Records. But personal issues torpedoed her career and she never became a star. Female rockabilly singers were very unusual back then and I assume RCA felt they needed a gimmick to sell Janis. It's a good thing her music still sounds good. She was born Mar. 23, 1940 in Sutherlin, VA. Her dad was an amateur musician and her mom groomed her for stardom by having her perform as a child. By age 11 she was a regular on radio station WDVA in Virginia and was performing with country artists like Ernest Tubb and The Carter Family. Not surprisingly, the teen age Janis got tired of country music and started singing rock 'n' roll. One of her demos landed in the hands of RCA Records A & R head Steve Shoales and he signed her two months after signing Elvis Presley in 1955. She wrote her debut single Drugstore Rock 'N' Roll and Janis started making TV appearances and she was named Most Promising Female Vocalist by Billboard. But RCA decided to sell Janis as The Female Elvis and that probably wasn't the smartest long term career move for her as there was a backlash against her. She recorded My Boy Elvis upon RCA's insistence and it became her signature song later. But at the time, a woman performing rock music in an aggressive style wasn't accepted by the public or concert promoters. But Janis Martin could have figured out how to be a big star anyway except she was secretly married to a seviceman in 1956. He was stationed overseas and when she went on a European tour, she got pregnant. RCA dropped her like a bad habit. In 1960, she recorded for a European label. But her second husband forced her to retire and she started working the oldies circuit in the 70s. until her death on Sept. 3, 2007 at age 67. The talented singer Rosie Flores had announced plans to produce a new Janis Martin CD but Janis died before Rosie could do it. Too bad that didn't happen. Bear Family has compiled all of her recordings on this comp. So Janis Martin was clearly a talented performer who never fulfilled her potential. Here's Janis Martin performing My Boy Elvis at the 2006 Rockabilly Rave in England.
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