Rockabilly Pioneer Janis Martin (1940-2007)

Born in Sutherlin, Rockabilly pioneer Janis Martin combined country influences with rhythm-and-blues singing, crossing musical boundaries and helping launch Rock and Roll. Singing and playing guitar, she won numerous talent contests before she was ten. Martin performed on radio for Danville's WDVA Barn Dance and Richmond’s Old Dominion Barn Dance. She recorded for RCA Victor, 1956–1958, and cut the classic “Drugstore Rock and Roll” and Top-40 hit “Will You, Willyum.” Dubbed the “Female Elvis,” she performed on American Bandstand, the Tonight Show, the Grand Ole Opry, and then throughout Europe and the United States after the 1980s Rockabilly revival.

Department of Historic Resources, 2010