Country Music News for the Country Music Enthusiast

The Woman Known As The Female Elvis Has Died

(Danville, VA) -- The Woman Known As The Female Elvis Has Died. 

Janis martin died yesterday at Duke University Medical Center after a five-week decline in health. She was 67.

Martin rose to fame in the fifties as the first female rockabilly artist. She recorded for elvis' label, rca victor. Her first record and Biggest hit, "Will You Willyum," was released in 1956, when martin was just 15. The song made billboard's top ten for one week and sold about 750-thousand copies. The release was followed by appearances on the Tonight Show, American Bandstand and Ozark Jubilee With Red Foley. 

Martin toured with Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Faron Young, Hank Snow And Porter Waggoner. She became a huge star in europe, where her entire catalog is still available on compact disc. Martin was voted billboard's most promising female artist in 1956, formed her own band and played clubs and fairs in the u-s and canada. Martin married her childhood sweetheart and gave birth to a son in 1958, temporarily retiring from show business. 

She recorded briefly for palette records in New York in 1959 but
Remained largely inactive in the recording industry until the seventies, when the rockabilly revival led to extensive tours in Germany and the Netherlands. 

Martin also managed the Danville golf club and remained active on the concert circuit until shortly before her death.