Dewey Martin (born Walter Milton Dwayne Midkiff, September 30, 1940 – January 31, 2009) was a Canadian rock drummer, best known for his work with

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song " For What It's Worth", r ...

, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

Career

Dewey Martin was born in

Chesterville, Ontario Chesterville is a village in the township of North Dundas, within the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. It is located north of Morrisburg, west of Cornwall and south-east of Ottawa. The village is situated along the South Na ...

, Canada in 1940. He was raised there and in the surrounding

Smiths Falls, Ontario Smiths Falls is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, southwest of Ottawa. As of the 2021 census it has a population of 9,254. It is in the Census division for Lanark County, but is separated from the county. The Rideau Canal waterway passes thr ...

and

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

areas. In Ottawa, he attended Glebe Collegiate Institute, where he was elected "

head boy Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Aus ...

". Martin started playing drums when he was about 13 years old. His first band was a high school outfit, The Jive Rockets, which also featured guitarist Vern Craig, later a member of the Staccatos. He soon progressed and played with various dance and

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and b ...

groups in the

Ottawa Valley The Ottawa Valley is the valley of the Ottawa River, along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais, Quebec, Canada. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield. Because of the surrou ...

area, including Bernie Early & the Early Birds. Through rock and roll singer Andy Wilson, a veteran of the Ottawa-area scene, he was allowed a short guest appearance singing "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" backed by Wilson's group, Larry Lee and the Leesures, during the Leesures' appearance as part of a package rock & roll show in Ottawa in the early 1960s. A Nashville producer was sufficiently impressed and agreed to record him in Nashville.

Moves to United States and Nashville

Interrupted by a brief stint in the U.S. Army, Martin's next couple of years were based out of

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

, where he worked as a freelance (some say itinerant) drummer for many Country music legendary artists including

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. His eclectic style of music was often difficult to classify, encompassing the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, soul, and gospel g ...

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Di ...

and

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

, among others. In 1963, he travelled to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

with Faron Young's band and then to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, California, where he was later quoted as having said he loved the climateSee earlier podcast of radio broadcast special about his life featuring reflections from alleged late-in-life Hollywood friends. and decided to stay. However, various tours also took him out of town "on the road."

Sir Raleigh & The Coupons

Through Mel Taylor of

The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

, Martin began working in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...

with a group called Lucky Lee & The Blue Diamonds. In November 1964, he used some local musicians to record his first single, a cover of "White Cliffs of Dover" backed by the band original, "Somethin' or Other" for A&M Records, which was released under the guise Sir Raleigh & The Coupons. During 1965 Sir Raleigh & The Coupons released two more singles on A&M – "While I Wait" c/w "Somethin' or Other" and "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day" c/w "Whitcomb Street" and a single for Tower – "Tell Her Tonight" c/w "If You Need Me." During this period Martin returned to Los Angeles and picked up local group the Sons of Adam to support him as a permanent outfit back in the Northwest. The new line up opened for

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

and

Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits are an English beat, rock and pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester, originally called Herman and His Hermits and featuring lead singer Peter Noone. Produced by Mickie Most, the Hermits charted with number ones in the UK ...

during this period. Martin also recorded a final single for Tower – "I Don't Want to Cry" c/w "Always," which was released in February 1966. In 1980, Picc-A-Dilly/First American label pulled together most of The Sir Raleigh & The Coupons material for the Dewey Martin album, "One Buffalo Heard."

The Standells, MFQ and The Dillards

Back in Los Angeles in late 1965 Martin spent a few months with

The Standells The Standells are an American garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as a "punk band of the 1960s", and said to have inspired such groups as the Sex Pistols and Ramones. They are best kno ...

when drummer/singer

Dick Dodd Joseph Richard Dodd Jr. (October 27, 1945 – November 29, 2013) was an American actor and musician who was a cast member of ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' starting in its first season, and later a member of several musical groups including The Stande ...

left. When Dodd returned in February 1966, Martin briefly joined The Modern Folk Quartet before touring and recording a demo with

The Dillards The Dillards are an American bluegrass and country rock band from Salem, Missouri. The band is best known for introducing bluegrass music into the popular mainstream with their appearance as " The Darlings" on '' The Andy Griffith Show''. B ...

. During late March/early April, Martin was working with The Dillards at the Ice House in Pasadena when Doug Dillard told him that his services were no longer needed and gave him a telephone number for a new group that needed a drummer. The band was

Buffalo Springfield

Martin became the last member to join the legendary group at its founding. Along with

Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has co ...

and

Richie Furay Paul Richard Furay (born May 9, 1944) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member (with Buffalo Springfield). He is best known for forming the bands Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Bru ...

, he was one of only three musicians to stay with the group from its inception in April 1966 to its disbandment on May 5, 1968. During his time with the group Martin also did session work for

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

. In concert he sang covers of

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bil ...

's " In The Midnight Hour" and Richie Furay's " Nobody's Fool" and "Good Time Boy." The latter appeared on the band's second album, ''Buffalo Springfield Again.'' He also sang

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

's " Mr. Soul" as the introduction to Young's "Broken Arrow" on the same album. Martin also sang backing vocals on the band's biggest hit, Stephen Stills's classic political rock anthem "

For What It's Worth "For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound)" (often referred to as simply "For What It's Worth") is a song written by Stephen Stills. Performed by Buffalo Springfield, it was recorded on December 5, 1966, released as a single on Atco Reco ...

New Buffalo Springfield

When the original band broke up Martin formed a new version in September 1968. Dubbed "New Buffalo Springfield", the lineup comprised guitarists Dave Price ( Davy Jones' stand-in in The Monkees) and Gary Rowles (son of jazz pianist

Jimmy Rowles James George Hunter (August 19, 1918 – May 28, 1996), known professionally as Jimmy Rowles (sometimes spelled Jimmie Rowles), was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, and composer. As a bandleader and accompanist, he explored multiple styles in ...

); bass player Bob Apperson; drummer Don Poncher; and horn player Jim Price, who later became a top session musician for

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

and

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

among others. The new band toured extensively and appeared at the highly publicised "Holiday Rock Festival" in San Francisco on December 25–26 but soon ran afoul of

and

who took legal action to prevent Martin from using the band's name. In February 1969, Martin and Dave Price formed a second version of New Buffalo Springfield with guitarist Bob "BJ" Jones and bass player Randy Fuller, brother of Bobby Fuller. The band did some tentative recordings with producer

Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recording ...

overseeing but they were scrapped. They performed live at the Easter Rock Festival in Fort Lauderdale, FL on April 1 of 1969. The second line up was expanded with another guitarist Joey Newman in June 1969, but two months later Martin was fired and the remaining members carried on as Blue Mountain Eagle.

Medicine Ball

In September 1969 Martin signed a solo deal with Uni Records and recorded a cover of the country favourite, "Jambalaya" with session ace and

TCB Band The TCB Band is a group of professional musicians who formed the core rhythm section of Elvis Presley’s band from August 1969 until his death in 1977. (Depending on the context, the nickname may also extend to Elvis’ background vocalists du ...

member

James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...

on guitar. It was released as a single with Martin's own composition "Ala-Bam" on the b-side. He then briefly worked on some new material with guitarist John Noreen from the folk-rock group,

Rose Garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Most often it is a section of a larger garden. Designs vary tremendously and roses m ...

but by December the pair had split. Martin next put together a new group called Medicine Ball, which featured mainstays, guitarist Billy Darnell and pianist Pete Bradstreet, who later recorded with the band Electric Range. The band also featured at various times, guitarists Bob Stamps and Randy Fuller, and bass players Terry Gregg, Harvey Kagan and Steve Lefever. An album, "Dewey Martin's Medicine Ball", was released in August 1970 and featured steel guitarist

Buddy Emmons Buddy Gene Emmons (January 27, 1937 – July 21, 2015) was an American musician who is widely regarded as the world's foremost pedal steel guitarist of his day. He was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1981. Affectionately known by ...

and former Buffalo Springfield bass player

Bruce Palmer Bruce Palmer (September 9, 1946 – October 1, 2004) was a Canadian musician best known as the bassist in the seminal Canadian-American folk rock band Buffalo Springfield, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Early y ...

. In late 1970 Martin and Darnell formed a new version of Medicine Ball with pianist Charles Lamont and bass player Tom Leavey and made some tentative recordings which were subsequently scrapped. Martin then recorded five tracks with the

for

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

. Two of the songs – a cover of

Alan O'Day Alan Earle O'Day (October 3, 1940 – May 17, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter, best known for writing and singing " Undercover Angel," a million-selling Gold-certified American No. 1 hit in 1977. He also wrote songs for many other notab ...

's "Caress Me Pretty Music" and a cover of

and

Chris Stainton Christopher Robert "Chris" Stainton (born 22 March 1944) is an English session musician, keyboard player, bassist and songwriter, who first gained recognition with Joe Cocker in the late 1960s. In addition to his collaboration with Cocker, Stai ...

's "There Must Be A Reason" were put out as a single in early 1971. In June of that year Martin traveled to Bakersfield, California, where he judged a Battle of the Bands sponsored by a local radio station. There he spotted the Bill Shaw Madness, whose members included, in addition to Shaw (guitar and vocals), Mark Yeary (piano, organ and vocals), Lew Wilcox (bass and vocals), Daddy Ray Arvizu (saxes), and Eric Griffin (drums). That night Martin tapped Madness as his backup band, intending to tour in support of the material he had recorded for RCA. Following several months of rehearsal and two Bakersfield performances, creative differences led to Martin's return to Los Angeles. After producing an album for Truk in late 1971, Martin retired from the music industry to become a car mechanic. By the mid 1970s he was back in hometown Ottawa, living with his mother and taking an interest in the career of a local group, Maxwell Train. Together with Toronto-based Bruce Palmer, he sought to introduce the group to US industry contacts, but nothing substantial came of the project - though Martin remained in the US.

Eighties revival and beyond

During the mid-1980s Martin briefly worked with Pink Slip and the Meisner-Roberts Band. In the late 80's while touring with Roberts and Meisner, he decided to stay a few extra nights in San Antonio following a gig for the San Antonio

Jaycees The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training, service organization and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI). ...

to see his buddy, musician Augie Myers. Martin told concert producer/musician Raven Alan St. John he had been robbed by hotel maids at the Sierra Royale Suites and couldn't pay for the extra nights. The hotel comped him for two more nights and fired one maid. He also played with Buffalo Springfield Revisited, the band formed by original bass player,

. During the early 1990s Martin revived the mantle under the name "Buffalo Springfield Again" with

and Joe Dickinson (father of singer

Laura Dickinson Laura Elsie Dickinson (born September 23, 1979) is an American musician and actress from California who is a vocalist for featured songs on the Disney Channel's programs ''Phineas and Ferb'', ''Sofia the First'', and ''Jake and the Never Land Pi ...

) for further live work but retired around 1998. Since then he spent time developing his own drum rim. In 1997 Martin invented and filed a patent application for a drum with a three-part rim that could be used to make three different rimshot sounds. He received patent 5,834,667 on this drum on Nov 10, 1998; the patent was issued to him under his legal name, Walter M.D. Midkiff. In 1997 Dewey was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with Buffalo Springfield. In 2008 Martin joined the cast of Matt Alan's live Internet radio program, ''OUTLAW RADIO''. His unique personality, fascinating stories, and quirky wit soon endeared him to the show's worldwide audience. A special three-hour tribute to "The Great Dewey Martin" was broadcast Saturday, February 9, produced by Matt Alan, and featuring tributes by those who knew and loved him, including record producer John Hill, author

Burl Barer Burl Barer (born 1947 in Walla Walla, Washington) is an American author, literary historian and radio host. He is best known for his writings about the character Simon Templar. Career Fiction ''The Saint'' ''The Saint: A Complete History in ...

, Prescott Niles of

The Knack The Knack was an American rock band based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with its first single, " My Sharona", an international number-one hit in 1979. History Founding (1977–1978) Singer Doug Fieger was a native of Oak Park, Michigan, a ...

Micky Dolenz George Michael Dolenz Jr. (born March 8, 1945) is an American actor, musician, TV producer and businessman. He is best known as the drummer and one of three primary vocalists for the pop- rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and multiple reunion ...

, media legend

Shadoe Stevens Shadoe Stevens (; ) is an American radio host, voiceover actor, and television personality. He was the host of ''American Top 40'' from 1988 to 1995. He currently hosts the internationally syndicated radio show ''Top of the World,'' and co-hosts ...

, and many more. The program is available in the archives at Outlawradiousa.com.

Death

Martin died on January 31, 2009. His body was found the next day by a roommate in his Van Nuys apartment. Longtime friend Lisa Lenes said Martin had health problems in previous years, and she believed he died of natural causes. He was 68.

References

External links

Dewey Martin
on Xtrememusician.com
NickWarburton.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Dewey 1940 births 2009 deaths Canadian rock drummers Canadian male drummers Buffalo Springfield members People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Musicians from Ontario 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century Canadian drummers 20th-century American male musicians The Standells members