Mary Martin Died

@onhwy61: I’ve read about the Mary Martin/Hawks story in a number of places over the years, most recently in a new book I’m currently reading (see below).

Before Dylan even knew about The Hawlks, Robertson and Levon Helm had been hired by John Hammond Jr. for the recording of his So Many Roads album. I think in the movie Once Were Brothers Robertson recounts Dylan wanting him and Helm for the band he was assembling for the 65-66 world tour, and Robertson telling him sorry, he was in his own band, and it was all of them or he and Levon weren’t interested.

The book referred to above is Pledging My Time: Conversations With Bob Dylan Band Members by Ray Padgett (fantastic!). From the chapter with bassist Harvey Brooks (who along with Robertson and Helm had performed with Dylan in the Forest Hills, NY and Hollywood Bowl shows in ’65):

"Mary Martin (Albert Grossman’s assistant) had taken Bob to see the rest of the guys in The Band in Toronto (note: From precious reading it is my understanding that Mary had already seen The Hawks live). He loved it. They decided that it made more sense for them to have a whole band that they thought would fit really good with Bob. So they said to me when I called in ’We’ve made some changes and you’re out. Rick Danko is going to come in from The Hawks (note: along with Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson).’"

Remember, Grossman also managed John Hammond Jr., and I’ll bet that’s how Mary learned of The Hawks, going to see them live (somewhere on the East Coast is my understanding) and subsequently telling Grossman and Dylan about them. She knew Dylan was planning on taking a band with him on the 65-66 tour.

Wow, this thread almost went in the ditch for no good reason. LOL

The way I heard it Rick Danko sent a tape of his band to Mary Martin.  She thought they would be good for Bob Dylan and passed the tape along to him.  Dylan didn't go for them, but Martin persisted.  She ultimately set up a face to face with Dylan, Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm.  Dylan liked them and offered the two a place in his band, but Helm insisted that he had to take the whole group.  Dylan relented and the rest is pop music history.

Talent can only get you so far.  Artist need somebody to champion them.  Someone to tell people that you got to hear so and so.  Think Jimi Hendrix and Chas Chandler or even Elvis and Colonel Parker.  Mary Martin was one of the best at her job.

Mary Martin worked for Albert Grossman, who managed Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, Peter Paul And Mary, Janis Joplin, and Ian & Silvia. In 1965 Mary heard a band named The Hawks performing somewhere in the Northeast (I believe is was out on Long Island), and was very impressed. She knew Dylan was looking for a band to back him on the road (the musicians heard on his recent albums, which were partially acoustic, partially with electric instruments and drums---were not road musicians), so told Grossman and Dylan about them. The two checked out The Hawks, and hired them for Bob’s upcoming wold tour.

Partway through the tour Hawks drummer Levon Helm had had enough of being booed by Dylan’s audience, and left the tour. A replacement drummer was found, and the tour continued on into 1966 (I have two friends who saw the show at The San Jose Civic Auditorium). After the tour Dylan kept The Hawks on retainer, and they moved into the infamous Hotel Chelsea in NYC, waiting to head on the next leg of the tour. Before that happened, Dylan had his motorcycle accident, and after leaving the hospital headed up to Woodstock (where he had bought a house) to heal.

Dylan suggested The Hawks come up to Woodstock to look around, which they did. They found a pink house in nearby West Saugerties for rent, and moved in. The hired drummer returned to Los Angeles, to resume his career as a studio musician. The four remaining Hawks set up their musical equipment in the basement of the house, and throughout all of 1967 Dylan visited the house daily, making music with The Hawks in the basement of their house, seven days a week, four or five hours a day

Hawks organist Garth Hudson had set up a tape recorder and microphones in the basement, and recorded Dylan teaching The Hawks all manner of songs. Dylan also used that opportunity to record demos of his new songs, which were sent to his publisher to pitch to artists and bands looking for material. The recordings were never intended to be heard by the general public, but were soon available in the first Rock ’n’ Roll bootleg, The Basement Tapes. The sound quality of the recordings is abysmal, but the music very interesting.

Albert Grossman thought very highly of The Hawks (from the book The Story Of The Band, From Big Pink To The Last Waltz by Harvey and Kenneth Kubernik: "Albert was in love with The Band. He thought they were the Holy Grail"---Elliot Mazer, record producer/engineer), and went to work on getting them their own record deal. Capitol Records offered them a million bucks, so Hawks bassist Rick Danko gave Levon Helm a call, telling him of the offer. Levon was in West Saugerties the next day.

In early-1968 The Hawks recorded enough songs for a album, and were looking for a new band name. They had signed the Capitol Records contract as The Crackers, and considered The Honkies. When the album was released in July of 1968 it bore the name The Band. No one can quite agree on where that name came from, but it’s quite appropriate.

So it can be argued that Mary Martin discovered The Band, and influenced the course of Rock ’n’ Roll.

And the other Mary Martin did indeed bring J.R. Ewing into the world 

No one is denigrating this particular individual.  We are having fun with the fact that she shared a name with a well loved artist and using that to make a point about where we, as music fans , prioritize Artists vs. Record Company executives.

  This Mary Martin does seem to have promoted important artists and therefore benefited music lovers.  She must have also been an interesting person to have succeeded as a woman in a male dominated industry 

The Mary Martin who died decades ago was an actress and the mother of  actor  Larry Hagman. 

Thanks @som for the heads up.
 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13612337/mary-martin-country-music-manager-dead-keith-urban.html

@curiousjim different Mary Martin

Ummm, didn’t she die in 1990??

I wasn’t telling about Mary Martin when mentioned Leonard Cohen being victim of scam, I was talkin’ about big bosses that are all pretty much similar to Don King.

Anyone wants to guess what would I do if Don King dies?

Mary Martin convinced fellow Canadian Leonard Cohen to not go to Nashville and instead stay in NYC.  She then introduced his songs to Judy Collins who then recorded several and Cohen then went on to sign with John Hammond at Columbia records.  Much later in his career Mr. Cohen was defrauded by his long term business manager, someone not named Mary Martin.

Why some people want to denigrate an influential, loved and respected individual on their death is beyond my comprehension.  It says something about them, not about Mary Martin.

RIP 🙏

Agree with mahler123. who give a fudge about big bosses and prodoocerz unless they are real artists?

I recall the story of Leonard Cohen getting really stripped off his wealth by such so-called big bosses and he went on concert literally standing on his knees, because legs would not hold him strong anymore!

Well music executives may be important in promoting (and more notoriously exploiting) recording artists but as music fans we don't remember them, whereas the performer Mary Martin will live on via her recordings forever.

Is it that hard to imagine there's was more than one person with the name Mary Martin?  I'm referencing the one who convinced Bob Dylan to take on Ronnie Hawkin's backup band as his own.

Wow, what a childhood memory of the one and only Peter Pan. Think she passed about 1990? 

Mary Martin and Sound of Music are one of My Favorite Things!

That’s 2 things...😀

Mary Martin and Sound of Music are one of My Favorite Things!

The epitome of a "mover and shaker."