# Moon Martin

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**John David** "**Moon**" **Martin** (October 31, 1945 – May 11, 2020)[1] was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.

## Early years

Born in [Altus, Oklahoma](/source/Altus,_Oklahoma), United States, he was originally a [rockabilly](/source/Rockabilly) artist as a member of the Oklahoma-based band The Disciples, who moved to [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles) and adopted the name Southwind in 1967. At this time, their style shifted towards [country rock](/source/Country_rock).[2] Southwind released three studio albums before disbanding in 1971. [3] They enjoyed moderate success, with two of their singles charting nationally: "Ready to Ride" (No. 127 in 1969) and "Boogie Woogie Country Girl" (No. 105 in 1970).[4]

## Peak of success

Martin gained recognition in the 1970s as a [pop](/source/Pop_music) artist and [composer](/source/Composer). He wrote the [songs](/source/Song) "[Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)](/source/Bad_Case_of_Loving_You_(Doctor,_Doctor))", made famous by the British singer [Robert Palmer](/source/Robert_Palmer_(singer)), and "Cadillac Walk", made famous by the American singer [Willy DeVille](/source/Willy_DeVille).[5]

Martin scored five minor [hits](/source/Chart-topper) of his own with "Rolene" (No. 30 US, No. 77 Australia,[6] No. 30 Canada[7]), "No Chance" (No. 50 US), both in 1979, "Signal for Help" (No. 60 Australia) in 1981, "X-Ray Vision", (No. 99) and "Aces With You" (No. 95) both in Australia in 1982. His 1982 song, ["X-Ray Vision"](/source/X-Ray_Vision_(song)) was an [MTV](/source/MTV) hit [music video](/source/Music_video).[6] He allegedly was given the nickname "Moon" because many of his songs had the word "moon" in the lyrics.[5]

On October 31, 2022, *Midnight Moon*,[8] a posthumous album, was released, only available on several music streaming services.

## Death

Martin died on May 11, 2020, of natural causes in [Encino, California](/source/Encino,_California), at the age of 74.[1][9][10]

## Discography

### Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart positions US[11] CAN AUS[6] Shots from a Cold Nightmare Released: 1978 Label: Capitol Records — — — Escape from Domination Released: 1979 Label: Capitol Records 80 67[12] — Street Fever Released: 1980 Label: Capitol Records 138 — 63 Mystery Ticket Released: 1982 Label: Capitol Records 205[4] — — Mixed Emotions Released: 1985 Label: Capitol France — — — Dreams on File Released: 1992 Label: Fnac France — — — Cement Monkey Released: 1993 Label: CORE — — — Lunar Samples Released: 1995 Label: CORE — — — Louisiana Juke-Box Released: 1999 Label: Sonodisc France-Eagle UK — — — Midnight Moon (posthumous) Released: 2022 Label: Joanne Gough — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

### Live album

- *Bad News Live* (1993, Fnac France)

### Compilation albums

- *The Very Best Of* (1999, [EMI](/source/EMI) [Sweden](/source/Sweden), 1978-1982)
- *Shots from a Cold Nightmare + Escape from Domination* (1995, EMI Special Markets, Demon Records)
- *Street Fever + Mystery Ticket* (1995, EMI Special Markets, Edsel Records)

### Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album US [13] US AC [13] US Dance [13] AUS 1978 "Victim of Romance" — — — — Shots from a Cold Nightmare "Bad Case of Lovin' You" — — — — "Hot Nite in Dallas" — — — — 1979 "Rolene" 30 — — 77 Escape from Domination "No Chance" 50 36 — — "Dreamer" — — — — "I've Got a Reason" — — — — "Bootleg Woman" — — — — 1980 "Bad News" — — — — Street Fever "Signal for Help" — — — 60 "Pushed Around" — — — — "Love Gone Bad" 105[4] — — — "Five Days of Fever" — — — — 1982 "X-Ray Vision" — — 67 99 Mystery Ticket "Firing Line" — — — — "Aces with You" — — — 95 1985 "Love Sniper" — — — — Mixed Emotions 1992 "Rock N' Roll Radio" — — — — Dreams On File 1993 "Never Could Say Goodbye" — — — — Cement Monkey 1995 "Enemy" — — — — Lunar Samples "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

## References

1. ["John "Moon" Martin 1945 - 2020"](https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=john-martin-moon&pid=196239224). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. May 24, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.

1. ["Moon Martin Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More..."](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/moon-martin-mn0000591124). *[AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)*. Retrieved Oct 31, 2024.

1. ["Southwind"](https://www.discogs.com/artist/1336178-Southwind). *Discogs.com*. Retrieved October 31, 2024.

1. Whitburn, Joel (1998). *Bubbling Under - Singles and Albums - 1998 Edition*. Record Research Inc. ISBN 9780898201284.

1. Prato, Greg "[Moon Martin Biography](http://www.allmusic.com/artist/moon-martin-mn0000591124/biography)", *[AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)*. Retrieved November 23, 2013

1. Kent, David (1993). *Australian Chart Book 1970–1992*. illustrated ed. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 193. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

1. ["RPM Top 100 Singles - October 27, 1979"](http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.9459a.pdf)

1. ["Latest News Moon Martin's long-awaited album 'Midnight Moon' is coming out on his birthday, October 31st"](https://businessfortnight.com/moon-martins-long-awaited-album-midnight-moon-is-coming-out-on-his-birthday-october-31st/). *Businessfortnight.com*. 2022-10-25. Retrieved 2022-11-07.

1. ["Moon Martin Dies: Musician Wrote 'Bad Case of Loving You'"](https://bestclassicbands.com/moon-martin-obituary-bad-case-of-loving-you-5-14-20/). *Bestclassicbands.com*. Retrieved July 22, 2020.

1. ["Bad News, le chanteur Moon Martin est mort"](https://www.lefigaro.fr/musique/bad-news-le-chanteur-moon-martin-est-mort-20200514). *Lefigaro.fr*. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2021.

1. Whitburn, Joel (2018). *Top Pop Albums 1955-2016*. Prometheus Global Media. ISBN 978-0-89820-226-7.

1. ["RPM Top 100 Albums - November 3, 1979"](http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.6859b.pdf). *Collectionscanada.gc.ca*

1. ["Moon Martin - Awards"](http://www.allmusic.com/artist/moon-martin-mn0000591124/awards). AllMusic. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150804231042/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/moon-martin-mn0000591124/awards) August 4, 2015 at the Wayback Machine.

## External links

- [Moon Martin](https://web.archive.org/web/20050929204822/http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/martin_moon/artist.jhtml) at VH1
- [Moon Martin](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3678501/) at IMDb

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Moon Martin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Martin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Martin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.