Biography
In the 1960s Nashville soul scene, Rodge Martin stood out as a talent widely viewed as headed for major success until an abrupt and devastating event intervened. Born in Georgia around 1940, he exhibited a natural gift for singing from childhood onward and, while still in his early twenties, joined the Jimmy Church Revue. Performances with that group brought him to the notice of Hoss Allen, the Nashville-based soul entrepreneur who signed on as his manager. A deal with Bragg Records came next, and the resulting debut single, "Lovin' Machine" b/w "When She Touches Me," scored regional success throughout the South while attaining cult status in England, where Northern soul collectors embraced it and the Easybeats later recorded a cover.
Martin’s follow-up appeared on Dot Records yet made no chart impression, and his third single, "Wasted Nights" on Newark Records, registered only regional airplay. Hoss Allen was in the midst of readying a new release for Martin on one of his own labels when the singer suffered a fatal heart attack in Nashville in 1967. The association with Hoss Allen had already placed Martin on the 1966 television program The !!!! Beat, and the 2005 Bear Family Records DVD edition of that series has left those appearances as the central element of his documented legacy.
Martin’s follow-up appeared on Dot Records yet made no chart impression, and his third single, "Wasted Nights" on Newark Records, registered only regional airplay. Hoss Allen was in the midst of readying a new release for Martin on one of his own labels when the singer suffered a fatal heart attack in Nashville in 1967. The association with Hoss Allen had already placed Martin on the 1966 television program The !!!! Beat, and the 2005 Bear Family Records DVD edition of that series has left those appearances as the central element of his documented legacy.