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NEW FEATURE
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JUKEBOX CLIP
 1956 |
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March 27, 1940 — September 3, 2007
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"The Female Elvis"
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Barry Dixon
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| LEFT: Born into a musical family in 1940, Janis was singing and playing guitar by the age of six . She won a string of talent contests as a youngster and by 1953 was a regular on the Old Dominion Barndance. She toured with Barndance for the next two years and recorded a demo song called "Will you, Willyum." LEFT CENTER: RCA Victor heard the demo and signed her immediately. RCA had just signed Elvis, so billed Janis as "The Female Elvis Presley." Her song, backed with self-penned "Drugstore Rock and Roll," was released in 1956 to become a big hit, opening many doors for 15-year-old Janis. For the next three years she toured extensivley throughout the US and Canada while gaining national exposure on such television shows as American Bandstand, The Tonight Show and Ozark Jubilee. In 1956 she recorded her signature song, "My Boy Elvis." CENTER: By 1958 the pressures of an early marriage and motherhood forced her withdrawal from the music business. RIGHT CENTER: In the 1970s, after two marriages, Janis was free again to pursue her music career. She's popular in Europe where her rockabilly is embraced and, with her group, the Variations, plays American dates with a repertoire ranging from Country to Big Band. RIGHT: Janis, in 2004, at the Rockers Reunion in Reading, England. | ||||
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Click here to listen to a profile of Janis Martin song clips
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"Most Promising Female Artist of 1956"
— BILLBOARD Magazine Award
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