Vince Martin at the 50th anniversary reunion concert of Gerde’s Folk City, NYC, June 7, 2010
Photo by Frank Beacham
Vince Martin was born 86 years ago today.
A folk singer and songwriter, Martin first recorded with the Tarriers (Erik Darling, Alan Arkin and Bob Carey) in 1956 on the hit single, Cindy, Oh Cindy.
Martin became more widely known with his duo recordings with Fred Neil in the early 1960s. The album, Tear Down The Walls (1964), contained mainly Neil's songs, recorded with musicians including John Sebastian and Felix Pappalardi, and became very popular and influential on the burgeoning folk (and later folk rock) scene.
In 1969, he recorded the album, If the Jasmine Don't Get You ... the Bay Breeze Will, in Nashville with the musicians who had just finished recording Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline. A second solo album, Vince Martin, followed in 1973.
More recently, Martin has performed with Thurston Moore, and issued an album, Full Circle, in 2003.
Martin is featured in Vagabondo! (2010), a documentary about his life.
Martin died on July 6, 2018 at the age of 81 from pulmonary fibrosis.