David A. Martin was a founding member and original bass player for the rock group Sam the Sham

Sam the Sham

Sam the Sham is the stage name of the American rock and roll singer Domingo “Sam” Samudio . Sam the Sham was known for his camp robe and turban and hauling his equipment in a 1952 Packard hearse with maroon velvet curtains...

, and recorded all their early hits on MGM Records

MGM Records

MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...

. Martin also co-wrote the group's #1 hit "Wooly Bully

Wooly Bully

"Wooly Bully" is a popular song originally recorded by novelty rock 'n' roll band Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs in 1965. Based on a standard 12-bar blues progression, it was written by the band's leader, Domingo "Sam" Samudio. It was released as a single on the Memphis-based Pen label and...

" which sold over three million records

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

. After leaving the group in late 1965, he returned to Garland, Texas

Garland, Texas

-Climate:* The average warmest month is July.* The highest recorded temperature was in 2000.* On average, the coolest month is January.* The lowest recorded temperature was in 1989.* The maximum average precipitation occurs in May....

, a Dallas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

 suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

, where he operated a television and video repair shop, located on Lavon Drive (Highway 78), until his death.

A native of Dallas, Texas, Martin started his musical career in 1959 with a band called Tommy & the Tom Toms

Tommy & the Tom Toms

Tommy & The Tom Toms first started with two guitars and drums, Eddie Wayne Hill on lead guitar, Leonard Walters on rhythm guitar and Joel Colbert on drums. The three fledgling musicians from Arlington, Texas began jamming in an old barn in 1959 and evolved to playing around town for private parties...

, which became The Bill Smith Combo in 1960, and recorded several singles for Chess Records

Chess Records

Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....

. He also worked with Gene Summers

Gene Summers

Gene Summers is an American rock/rockabilly singer and entertainer. Some of his classic recordings include "School of Rock 'n Roll", "Straight Skirt", "Nervous", "Gotta Lotta That", "Twixteen", "Alabama Shake" and his biggest-selling single "Big Blue Diamonds"...

, Freddy Fender

Freddy Fender

Freddy Fender , born Baldemar Garza Huerta in San Benito, Texas, United States, was a Mexican-American Tejano, country and rock and roll musician, known for his work as a solo artist and in the groups Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornados...

 and Scotty McKay.

Martin died in August 1987 from a heart attack

Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

, at the age of 50.

External links

• Sam the Sham Memories, retrieved on August 5, 2008.
• Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs page at Billboard.com, retrieved on August 5, 2008.