Madison in Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Jimmy Martin

Born August 10, 1927 - Died May 14, 2005

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, May 29, 2023

1. Jimmy Martin Marker

Inscription. A self-described poor boy from Sneedville, Tennessee in references to his early years. Jimmy (James H.) Martin was dubbed "The King of Bluegrass Music" during the 1970's. A major force in defining and establishing the music's so-called "High Lonesome Sound", he began as lead singer/guitarist with the Blue Grass Boys in October, 1949.

In 1955 he formed his Sunny Mountain Boys and became a headline artist on both the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport (1957-1959) and the WWVA Wheeling Jamboree (1959-1962).

Among other labels, Jimmy Martin recorded 138 titles for a major record company, many of which, including "Ocean of Diamonds", "Sophronie", "Widow Maker" and "Sunny Side of the Mountain", did well in the country music charts of the 1950s-1970s. Virtually all of the songs he popularized came to be regarded as standards.

A colorful and consummate entertainer and musician, Jimmy Martin produced profound and enduring influences on the idiom during its critical formative years and throughout the remainder of bluegrass music's first half century.

1995 Inductee into the Bluegrass Hall of Honor

1967 Into Walkway of Stars

In

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the Country Music Hall of Fame

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Entertainment.

Location. 36° 14.48′ N, 86° 43.368′ W. Marker is in Nashville, Tennessee, in Davidson County. It is in Madison. It can be reached from Gallatin Pike South ¼ mile north of Briley Parkway (Tennessee Route 155). Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5110 Gallatin Pike S, Madison TN 37115, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Spring Hill Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker); Louise Certain Scruggs (within

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, May 29, 2023

2. Jimmy Martin Marker

shouting distance of this marker); Earl Eugene Scruggs (within shouting distance of this marker); A National Cemetery System (within shouting distance of this marker); Address by President Lincoln at the Dedication of The Gettysburg National Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker); Odom’s Tennessee Pride Country Sausage (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); U.S. Colored Troops Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away); History of Spring Hill Cemetery (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Nashville.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 3, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 31, 2023, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 461 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 31, 2023, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.