Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Martin (November 29, 1938 – May 2, 2000) was an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and pop music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She grew up in

Oslo, Minnesota Oslo ( ) is a city in Marshall County, Minnesota, Marshall County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 239 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Minnesota State Highway 1, Minnesota Highway 1 and Minnesota State Highway 220, ...

and began her singing career in Baltimore, working her way up from local venues onto the national nightclub circuit. Martin was born to Virginia Chaney (1919-1971) and an unknown father. Her mother refused to tell her the name of her birth father, something that haunted Bobbi her entire life. When Martin was 5, her mother married Allen C. Paulson (1920-1983) in Temple, Texas, whom she met while they were both in the military, and the family lived in his hometown of Oslo, Minnesota, on the North Dakota border. Bobbi had a half-brother, Terry Paulson, born in 1946. Martin was in the habit of representing herself as being four years younger. Hence, she was 60 when she died. Martin recorded for

Coral Records Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head ...

for several years before releasing her debut album, ''Don't Forget I Still Love You''. The title track was a hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 2 on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

(adult contemporary) chart and No. 19 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Billboard Singles Allmusic.com A follow-up single "I Can't Stop Thinking of You", first introduced on the nationally televised Dean Martin Show won her the Cashbox Disc Jockey Poll as Most Promising Female Vocalist of 1965. While popular at nightclubs in Miami Beach, New York, Las Vegas and Puerto Rico, and on TV appearances with the Jackie Gleason,

Ronnie Dove Ronald Eugene Dove (born September 7, 1935) is an American pop music, pop and country music singer who had a string of hit pop records in the mid to late 1960s and several country chart records in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Ronnie Dove, th ...

, Tonight, and Dean Martin Shows, it would be 5 years before she scored another hit with "

For the Love of Him "For the Love of Him" is the title track from a 1969 album by Bobbi Martin who wrote the song with her producer Henry Jerome (who used the pseudonym Al Mortimer). Chart performance The single was her most successful release on both the Pop and Eas ...

", from the album of the same name. This song went to No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and No. 13 on the Hot 100. The singer charted many smaller regional, Bubbling Under Hot 100 and Easy Listening chart records up to 1972. Martin died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

on May 2, 2000

Joel Whitburn Joel Carver Whitburn (November 29, 1939 – June 14, 2022) was an American author and music historian, responsible for setting up the Record Research, Inc. series of books on record chart placings. Early life Joel Carver Whitburn was born in W ...

, ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits''. 7th edn, 2000 at the Brighton Wood Knoll medical facility in Baltimore. Martin had one daughter, Shane Clements.

Discography

* ''Don't Forget I Still Love You'' (

, 1964) U.S. No. 127

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Allmusic.com * ''I Love You So'' (Coral Records, 1965) * ''Harper Valley P.T.A.'' (

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

UAS 6668, 1968) * ''

'' (United Artists UAS 6700, 1969) No. 45 Country * ''With Love'' (United Artists UAS 6755, 1970) U.S. No. 176 * ''Have You Ever Been Lonely'' (

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record label, originally founded by the Aeolian Company, a piano and organ manufacturer before being bought out by Brunswick in 1924. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pian ...

VL 73906, Compilation, 1970) * ''Tomorrow'' (

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...

, 1971) * ''Thinking of You'' (

Sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...

, SUS-5319, 1971)

Singles

References

External links

* http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070114/NEWS/70114102/-1/NEWS271989 A Times Herald Record article by Mike Levine cursorily outlines her bio {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Bobbi 1939 births 2000 deaths American women country singers American country singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from New York (state) People from Marshall County, Minnesota 20th-century American singer-songwriters Deaths from cancer in Maryland 20th-century American women singers Country musicians from New York (state) Singer-songwriters from Minnesota