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The Songwriter (Continued) |
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1957 - After a memorable stint in the National Service (hypnotizing his sergeant to relate to Jailhouse Rock) and hence being kicked out of the army. He was given permanent leave without pay after stories and photos appeared in newspapers of the sergeant peeling potatoes, saluting Martin and polishing boots. He now was attracting large audiences in another circus - billed as "The Singing Cowboy Hypnotist". Constant approaches were made to Australian recording companies with no interest in this unknown rock music. At this time Johnny O'Keefe and others were coming on the scene - Rock Martin kept to the regional country towns with his own hypnosis show incorporating music of the day - Rock n Roll. Finally in desperation, he paid out of his own pocket to make a record of four compositions - "I'm gonna cast a spell".
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1958 - The song would be played at his every performance. The hypnotized subjects would be given a post hypnotic suggestion that upon hearing the song next day, when played with an amplifier and speakers into the main street of major country centres - teenage hypnotized subjects would dance in the streets, Rock and Rolling with everyone who came into contact.
• Caused main street chaos.
• Became newspaper headlines in country towns.
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• For 2-3 years, Rock was visiting Sydney in between his own successful touring shows to try to interest Festival Records executives one of which kept him returning with vague yet encouraging promises of future fame, as he oggled and flirted with Rock’s new extremely attractive travelling companion Lee, who became Rock's second wife.
• Enter Oscar Davis - known in the USA as "The Box Office Baron", the most famous entrepreneur promoter, at the time in the USA.The man who discovered many pop idols and country legends including Jerry Lee Lewis, Hank Williams and claimed to be the real discoverer of Elvis Presley. He managed most of the big names in country and rock music. The Big Bopper, Patti Page, Buddy Holly and many others. Promoter of the biggest country music show in the world - "The Grand Ole Opry". Davis was organizing the Opry to bring to Australia to tour the major capital cities. This was huge, the king of country music - Roy Accuff was starring - the owner of the world's largest country music publishing company, theme parks and multi national businesses. He was reputed to be a billionaire.
• An incredible twist of fate and synchronicity occurred. Oscar Davis, who was visiting Festival Records in Sydney, by accident read a country newspaper clip on the executive's desk with headlines about the "Singing Hypnotist". After a classic conversation of the executive espousing his opinions that Rock Martin was untalented, a gypsy, and uncontactable.
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• Fate summoned Rock to an audition. How Rock met Oscar Davis is a major chapter in Martin's book of synchronicity events, "Beyond The Known". He then signed a lucrative contract to star on the bill of The Grand Ole Opry - the rest is history. It is envisaged to form the major part of a movie treatment - where the immature business wise innocent lad from the bush country, tangled with the jealousy of local and overseas famous artists. His debut on the Opry was nothing less than sensational. The crowd yelling for more - the star could not follow him, he had several encores, and he was fired by the star's Manager. Previously Oscar Davis quoted on an ABC TV news interview - Rock Martin is the most prolific songwriter he had met since his friend and client Hank Williams had passed away. He went on to say publicly Rock Martin is too talented for this country and I am going to take him to America and make another Elvis Presley. This quote would eventually haunt Rock for years.
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• Rock waited months in a Sydney Hotel for the promised visas and tickets to the USA to fulfil the contract - to his disappointment it was never consummated.
• The tall poppy syndrome caught up, broke, down and out, cap in hand he approached Australian record companies who enjoyed turning the knife deeper, by referring to Oscar Davis TV interviews "You're too big for this country", and he had to live with it. On a visit to Festival Records he was offered the opportunity to do a cover version of two songs on US charts. He accepted, jokingly hammed it up in the studio. He had already left Australia in disgust as he attempted to work his way through the Pacific Islands to USA in search of Davis. The songs "Oliver Cool" and "Dear John Letter",Festival recordings were reasonable hits, he never knew until returning to Australia years later. By now he vowed to completely forget about the music industry, he was back as a Hypnotist and working in foreign countries. Continue Story... |
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