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Janis Martin Posted by Steve Drummond on September 5, 2007, 10:00 am 74.197.66.34 In reading the obituary of "The Female Elvis," Janis Martin who died this week, I notice she had toured with Jim. I believe she signed with RCA about the same time Jim did.  Post a Response

Re: Janis Martin Posted by JULIE (Webmistress) on September 5, 2007, 4:48 pm, in reply to "Janis Martin" Message modified by board administrator September 5, 2007, 11:42 pm Most of the obituaries we've read on Janis Martin, who passed away Monday, fail to mention Jim Reeves, though some of them HAVE mentioned she went on a USO tour with Hank Locklin and Del Wood. But it was Jim who headed up the April 1957 tour to Europe on which Janis was a guest performer. Jim also introduced her the first time she appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. I know that Larry has Janis in his forthcoming book on Jim and details of their tour. Jim and Janis also played other shows together. Larry tells me that Janis lost her adult son earlier this year and had taken it very hard. Shortly after this she learned she had cancer. We extend our condolences to Janis' family. You can read her obit in the New York Times by clicking below. -- Julie Link: Janis Martin obituary  Post a Response

Re: Janis Martin Posted by Larry Jordan on September 5, 2007, 5:50 pm, in reply to "Re: Janis Martin" 69.66.111.56 Janis Martin's fans span the globe. It may surprise people to know that so many of her fans are younger people who have discovered her. The good news amidst all the sadness is that earlier this year, Ms. Martin went back into the recording studio and did ten rock 'n' roll songs of her choice. Despite the fact that her only son had died only three months before, Janis sang her heart out. A CD will be released as soon as possible and I am sure that these last songs will be much treasured by her fans. VoiceMasters also has some unreleased Janis Martin material with Jim Reeves and I am sure that will become available in the future. Janis' friends and family all knew her to be a free spirit, someone with a bright sense of humor -- even after she fell so ill. As recently as Sept. 1st she was even joking with visitors to her hospital room. Her illness struck her down very quickly and I know her loved ones are devastated. At one point in 1957, RCA had chosen Janis Martin to tour exclusively with Jim Reeves. Visitation will be held at the Norris Funeral Home on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007 in Danville, VA. between 6 and 8 p.m., with the funeral scheduled for 11 a.m. on Friday. The funeral home is a 3995 Franklin Turnpike in Danville, VA. 24540.  Post a Response

Re: Janis Martin Posted by Gil Nelson on September 7, 2007, 11:29 am, in reply to "Re: Janis Martin" 72.24.68.250 If anyone is interested, Janis' granddaughter has established a MySpace site that served as her grandmother's official website. You'll find a lot of a lot of great information and images: http://www.myspace.com/femaleelvis Recently, at Half Price Books, I located an interesting PBS documentary on DVD titled; The Women of Rockabilly. The main focus of the documentary was Janis speaking very candidly about her career. If you can locate a copy, it's very informative and a lot of fun to watch. She was a very entertaining personality. Link: Glenn and Helen Miller: A Moonlight Serenade  Post a Response

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