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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | bob <segarini@rogers.com> |
| Subject | More Bad News... |
| Date | Thu, 5 Feb 2009 12:41:25 -0800 (PST) |
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He was quite a character back in the day.
I'll save the stories for another time...
bob
Buffalo Springfield drummer Dewey Martin died January 31st of unknown
causes. He was 68. Born Walter Milton Dwayne Midkiff, Martin cut his
teeth in Nashville, playing with Patsy Kline, Roy Orbison and the
Everly Brothers. He moved to L.A. in the mid-1960s and learned that a
fledgling band was looking for a new drummer. The group's guitarist,
Neil Young, was highly impressed by Martin during his audition in
1966. "He was a sensitive drummer," Young says in his biography
Shakey. "You get harder, he hits harder. You pull back, he hits back.
He can feel the music — you don't have to tell him." After his
successful audition, Martin asked the group what their name
was. "They went over and pulled out this sign, Buffalo Springfield, "
Martin later recalled. "I said, `Great man, a steamroller. You got a
heavy sound. Let's go for it.' "
During early Buffalo Springfield gigs Martin sang Wilson
Pickett's "In The Midnight Hour," and on their second album he
handled lead vocals on "Good Time Boy." He also sang background
vocals on their biggest hit "For What It's Worth" – in addition to
providing the LSD that he claimed inspired Stephen Stills to write
the song.
The notoriously volatile band folded in 1968 after just three albums,
but Martin attempted to solider with new members on as the New
Buffalo Springfield. After a nasty legal battle with his former
bandmates he changed the name to New Buffalo – but that group fizzled
by the end of 1969. Martin largely fell off the musical map afterward
and worked as an auto mechanic, but he resurfaced alongside former
Buffalo Springfield bassist Bruce Palmer in the mid-1980s as part of
Buffalo Springfield Revisited. Joined by new members, the original
rhythm section played Buffalo Springfield classics on the oldies
circuit before finally hanging it up in the early 1990s. He was
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
Andy Greene
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