Janis Martin Barefoot Baby

Born in Sutherlin, Virginia, in March 27, 1940. Died in Durham, North Carolina, in
September 3, 2007. Too good to be true. That’s probably the first thought that came into
Steve Sholes’ mind after hearing a fifteen year-old girl perform a song titled “Will You
Willyum” and modeled after the style that was tearing up the nation. The name of that
precocious talent was Janis Martin and, of course, Sholes signed her to RCA, the same
label that had bought Elvis out of his previous Sun contract.
Coming from a musical family that loved the sounds of Hank Williams or Eddy Arnold,
Janis had started playing guitar at a very early age and soon she was entering talent
contests, performing on the radio and touring with Country stars such as Ernest Tubb,
The Carter Family or Cowboy Copas. When she discovered the music of black artists as
Ruth Brown or La Vern Baker, the circle was finally completed.
March 8, 1956 saw Martin’s debut session for RCA. Accompanied by some of the best
Nashville studio musicians, her first release included the self-penned “Drugstore
Rock’n’Roll”, becoming an instant hit and urging the label to get more material.
Rock’n’Roll was the name of the game and Elvis the top singer of the country, so
somebody at RCA thought that it would be a good idea to use his name to promote
Janis’ records and, after receiving the mandatory permission from Presley’s manager,
she was billed as the female Elvis from then on even though she only met the singer a
couple of times.
Subsequent sessions produced classic tracks as “My Boy Elvis”, “Little Bit”, “Cracker
Jack”, “Bang Bang” or “Barefoot Baby” and “Love and Kisses”, both included here and
recorded in New York, and although her new recordings failed in getting the impact of
the first release, a constant demand for TV, radio and personal appearances kept her
busy and active. Secretly married, Janis’ husband was serving overseas in the Army
and when she visited him during a tour of American bases in Europe, she got pregnant.
The marriage didn’t last long, but that was the end of her RCA contract. By 1960, now
on her second marriage, she was signed by Palette Records and two singles were
released without commercial result. After that, she quit touring and stayed home with
her family, playing occasional local gigs.
However, there was already a place for her among the greatest as she could learn in the
seventies when the Rock’n’Roll revival brought her to Europe and she resumed her
career by performing in front of younger Rock’n’Roll fans, giving her best for the next
three decades with continuous gigs in Europe and her own country. Janis final show
took place on March 24, 2007. Less than six months later, cancer claimed the life of this
true Rockabilly Queen.