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Bill Martin, an extended member of the Monkees family, has passed away. Martin was a musician, songwriter, screenwriter, comedic actor, and voice actor. Brought into The Monkees' orbit by his friend Michael Nesmith, Martin's initial contribution to the group came in the form of "All of Your Toys," a song recorded in early 1967 during the very first sessions to feature The Monkees supporting themselves instrumentally in the recording studio. Unfortunately for Martin, Screen Gems was unable to acquire the rights to "All of Your Toys" from its original holder, Tickson Music, for which Martin worked. "All of Your Toys" remained unreleased until it was finally aired on the Missing Links compilation in 1987. After Martin eventually signed with Screen Gems, The Monkees recorded another of his compositions, "The Door Into Summer," which found a home on 1967's Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. album and stands today as one of the LP's finest cuts. Martin later collaborated on songs with an assortment of artists, including Harry Nilsson ("Rainmaker," covered by Michael on his third solo effort, Nevada Fighter), Dan Fogelberg, and The Turtles. He also performed with a variety of bands throughout his career, including playing keyboards for Linda Ronstadt.
In the early '80s, Bill appeared in Nesmith's Elephant Parts and then co-wrote the screenplay to the 1987 movie Harry and The Hendersons (with Steven Spielberg as executive producer). In 1997, he made a cameo appearance in The Monkees' ABC television special (as the refrigerator tour guide). Martin lent his voice to various animated series throughout the years, too, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, and multiple Star Wars video games. When The Monkees played in Seattle, Washington on their 2013 summer tour, Michael dedicated that evening's performance of "The Door Into Summer" to Bill. In 1989, Martin was interviewed by Paris Stachtiaris and John Di Maio on the Headquarters radio program: Monkees archivist Andrew Sandoval took a moment to remember Bill Martin on Facebook: "Davy Jones used to like to go around quoting his favorite Martinism: 'Hummus where the heart is.'
All four Monkees loved him..."
19 Comments
rob
1/29/2016 08:37:16
I never heard "all of your Toy's" until the 2011 tour.. a true highlight in which Micky nailed it too. thanks Bill ..play on forever..
Penny Andros
1/29/2016 11:49:33
I spent a lot of years with Bill Martin. He was my friend, my roommate, my lover, my brother. There was no one like Bill - he was so talented and often under-recognized and under-appreciated. He made me laugh so many times, and I will never forget that - laughter is so important in this life. Bill loved all the Monkees - they were such an important part of his life. I will forever remember you Bill, and I am sad today. RIP Bill.
Romy Jones
6/14/2018 10:39:18
So sorry to hear about his death. Something about his brilliant way with words and music which always (and still) resonates personally to spooky degrees. Particularly 'The Door into Summer', 'Earth Anthem' and 'City Life'. I was wondering if you have a photograph you might share? There doesn't seem to be a single one on the internet anywhere.
Monkees Live Almanac
6/14/2018 19:36:58
Hi Romy,
Kevin
1/30/2016 13:02:02
Don't forget he wrote "Moonfire" under William E. Martin. A fan favorite off the "Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart" LP.
Kendra Martin Goodin
1/30/2016 15:20:08
Billy..
John
2/1/2016 12:48:08
Another sad moment for the Monkees family after Eddie Hoh passed late last year. 2016 has unfortunately been a sad year for veteran 60's rockers and it is only a month old. RIP to Bill Martin. 'Toys' and 'Summer' are really choice songs in the Monkees catalogue.
Heather
2/6/2016 21:11:23
I met Bill when I was a teenager and he was always wildly funny. He was also kind and generous, taking time to really talk to me and share life lessons on many occasions. I think of him often and I have more than one of his comedy jingles stuck in my brain for eternity, waiting to be triggered by a single word. I am so sad to hear he has passed. He was a rare talent and a kind man.
Shredhead
2/14/2016 18:56:56
I must say that even though I never met Bill Martin, he really was a very important part of my childhood. I mean, he was in Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I must say that I really loved him as the Shredder in TMNT. He was a top-notch replacement for James Avery and he managed to make Shredder sound more bloodthirsty and aggressive. I also loved his work as Samhaine in the Real Ghostbusters cartoon, Claw in the Chuck Norris cartoon and Broadside in Transformers.
Dante W
1/9/2017 01:18:47
Bill's voice acting is incredible and is remembered fondly to this day.
Starshine
4/16/2017 14:45:34
Just catching up w the rock man to find he is sailing across the universe !! I hope he is admiring peter max stars n his shaft of light and cool cool tunes to dig while a good g dead lightning bolt lights up the nite w a groovy light show ...sounds like someone you d love to find in a quaint and crazy place and hang out to here all the wonerous stories, yes, I will b lookin forward to meeting the rock man one day when I have to leave my beautiful rocks behind and roll through the universe.... may b I will hear the time coming when I'm rounding the bend and I hear an E flat wavering n2 my ear....I will lie beside the water fall into a dream where the beautiful rocks glisten w water and monkeys that roll through the trees singing in to me... here we come ... I mean what's cooler than a rock? But a rolling stone....when I catch up with the rock man I will b sure to hang my hat and call it home .......cause there's no place like home ...... that s where I found him .......somewhere over the rainbow ..... in E flat land ..............,,,,.........🎼🌈🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶.......
Penny Andros
4/21/2017 23:17:08
Wonderful and uplifting comments Starshine.... the rock man would be so pleased.
kendra martin
5/1/2017 10:33:07
so glad you have this tribute to Billy...
Monkees Live Almanac
5/1/2017 17:27:50
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Kendra. Thanks a lot for your nice message.
Niko Wallenberg
10/16/2017 22:22:07
Younger generations - like myself - might remember Bill from one of his voice over works: probably the most memorable for me was his role in the computer game Baldur's Gate II, where he played a dwarf with a rather interesting personality. I was very young when I first played this particular game, but the moment I met Bill's character in the game, I knew there was something really unique about this character; in no small part due to Bill's superb voice acting.
Allen Crenshaw
10/24/2018 16:56:22
In the 80s my wife and I owned one of the early video stores (pre-Blockbuster). We needed advertising bad. I’d seen a Monkee’s music video with this interesting fellow on it named Bill Martin. Don’t remember the details, but we tracked down Bill in Hollywood, somhow got his home phone number, called him and proposed my ad project and asked if he’d do it. He said yes, then added he would cut it, if I’d give him a gist of what I wanted. We agreed on an incredibly reasonable rate and over the next six months he created a dozen or so outrageous spots.
Monkees Live Almanac
10/30/2018 19:16:15
What a great story, Allen. Thanks for sharing!
Penny Andros
10/30/2018 20:06:16
Great story Allen. Bill was so fantastic with ads since his humor was so infectious. Plus, he knew everything - especially current events. I was going through some old papers the other day and I was so SHOCKED! I found 2 scripts that Bill co-wrote: CAPTAINS OUTRAGEOUS (that he co-wrote with Doug Rowell) and CANNABIS JONES (with Ezra Rappaport). If anyone is interested in reading them (they are both so fantastic and FUNNY!), please let me know. Also, if anyone knows how to reach either Doug Rowell or Ezra Rappaport, they may not have a copy and I would like to give them one. Also, his wife may like to have them, if anyone knows how to contact her. Thanks all for keeping Bill's memory alive - he was truly an incredible human being.
Romy Jones
5/31/2021 11:28:56
Whether Google searching for Bill Martin or William E. Martin, it's strange that just one really bad quality 1960s photo of the brilliant songwriter comes up (from the Discogs website). Surely there are some others somewhere? Leave a Reply. |
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