Eric Martin

Eric Lee Martin (born October 10, 1960) is an American rock singer and musician who was active throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, both as solo artist and as a member of various bands.

He performed in a punk band in the mid-1970s called The Innocents with Walz-Smith and Connie Champagne.

Martin was invited to audition for various iconic bands in the 1970s and 1980s, namely, Van Halen, Toto, and Rainbow.

Martin grew up listening to both soul and rock icons in the 1970s, such as Otis Redding, Paul Rodgers, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Edgar Winter, Free, and Humble Pie.

When he was about 13 to 15 years old, while living in Italy, he was introduced musically to different artists under Motown Records and Stax/Volt Records.

He often collaborates and performs with fellow songwriter and friend Andre Pessis.

Martin had decided to live independently by the age of 18.

His first job was selling ice-cream.

Later, John Nymann, guitarist for the band Mile Hi, gave him a call and asked if he would want to form a new band together.

The two had known each other since their former bands (Mile Hi and Kid Courage) had played together at the Mabuhay Gardens on Broadway in San Francisco.

In agreement, Nymann and Martin got people together from both their previous bands, and formed a new group named 415 – which was the telephone area code for the San Francisco Bay Area, since every person in the band was from there.

Also, in 1974 and 1975, he played college clubs with Jim Preston in The J.C. Michaels Band.

He started to make it big when he joined Stark Raving Mad (which also included future Winger guitarist/keyboardist Paul Taylor) in Santa Rosa, California.

Stark Raving Mad, which also included Donavan Stark and Brian Stark, cut a demo with Bearsville Records that was produced by Chris Nicks, brother of Stevie Nicks.

During the summer break in 1974, Martin joined a musical comedy workshop held at Mira Loma High School in Sacramento.

He auditioned for the part of Judas; although he ultimately did not get the role, he did become the understudy.

Martin credits the honing of his voice to his teacher, Judy Davis.

She taught him diction, stamina, and breath-control.

The Martin family finally settled in the San Francisco Bay Area in about 1976.

Martin attended Galileo High School and met up with some of the band members who would join him in his first successful venture: Kid Courage.

Kid Courage opened for AC/DC for two shows in the Bay Area, which were AC/DC's first shows in America.

A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Martin first started his career in the music industry in 1978.

Eric is the son of Frederick Lee "Pepper" Martin and Iris Martin.

He has three younger siblings named Dan, Joan and Laurie, and is half-Irish, half-Italian.

Eric Martin was a drummer for a short while.

Realizing it fit his personality better, he opted for front man/lead vocalist in the next bands he joined.

He played in a handful of teen rock groups with Randy Richardson, Fil Pearl and Ric Walz-Smith, such as S.F. Bloodshy and Backhome while attending Foothill High School in Sacramento, California.

415 was formed in late 1979.

It marked the start of Martin's career as lead vocalist.

He stated, "415 played hundreds of shows at area nightclubs, beer parties, even high school and college dances, before eventually headlining San Francisco's premiere night club – the Old Waldorf. Selling out in advance, word quickly spread about our dynamic live shows and soon we were opening for established acts like Billy Squier, Hall & Oates, Rick Springfield, Molly Hatchet, the Marshall Tucker Band, and Foreigner, to name a few. Eventually, without yet being signed to a recording contract, we played in front of 60,000 fans at Oakland Stadium at Bill Graham's Days on the Green Concert."

The band became a popular local draw, all the while still being an unsigned act.

415 was later signed on to Elektra/Asylum Records under the management of Walter "Herbie" Herbert, Ron Chiarottino, and Sandy Einstein.

These three persons managed and worked for the band Journey.

The management decided to change the name of the band to the Eric Martin Band (EMB), as singer-named bands were popular during that time.

EMB debuted their first album in 1983, entitled Sucker for a Pretty Face.

The LP received a gold disc (certification?), and consequently led to the band's appearance on American Bandstand and in various arena tours as the opening act for ZZ Top, Night Ranger, and Journey.

In one interview, Eric mentions that they "worked thousands of shows, from clubs, to frat house parties, Bill Graham concerts, opening for anybody and everybody."

He received a call directly from Eddie Van Halen in 1985 who told him he "liked his voice" and wanted to meet the following week.

Martin flew to Los Angeles to audition, and on arriving at the Airport he met Sammy Hagar who told Martin that he had already got the job, so Martin decided not to go to the audition with Van Halen.

He rose to prominence as the frontman for the hard rock band Mr. Big, which scored a big hit in the early 1990s with "To Be with You", a song that Martin wrote during his teen years.