For the film starring Lee Evans, see The Martins (film)

The Martins (film)

The Martins is a comedy, produced in 2001, written and directed by Tony Grounds, starring Lee Evans and Kathy Burke.-Synopsis:Out of work scrounger Richard Martin lives with his dysfunctional family who are long suffering wife Kat, accident prone son and pregnant teenage daughter in a shabby house...

The Martins are a Christian music

Christian music

Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....

 vocal trio composed of three siblings: Joyce Martin Sanders, Jonathan Martin, and Judy Martin Hess.

Music career

While the vocalists grew up firmly and proudly planted in the southern gospel

Southern Gospel

Southern Gospel music—at one time also known as "quartet music"—is music whose lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...

 tradition, it is not surprising that, as they have matured, a broad range of influences have entered their musical mix. Billboard magazine

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

describes The Martins as "breaking down walls and blurring the lines that separate Southern Gospel from Inspirational, Adult Contemporary, and other popular Christian music formats." Rather than resting in a single niche among the numerous Christian music genres, The Martins have rummaged freely through a stack of style books, grabbing whatever interests them. Sometimes the different elements are unaltered and traditional, but more often they are tossed into the trio's musical blender so that a new mixture emerges. The result has been labeled simply as Martin Music. Their portfolio of songs includes every musical palate, ranging from innovative and refashioned hymn arrangements to contemporary songs of praise and worship.

The Martins’ "big break" came in 1992 when Michael English and Mark Lowry

Mark Lowry

Mark Alan Lowry is a Christian comedian, songwriter, and singer, best known for co-writing the song “Mary, Did You Know?”. Lowry performed with the Gaither Vocal Band from 1988–2001 and, in January 2009, he re-joined the group along with other "GVB" alumni Michael English and David Phelps...

 insisted that Gloria Gaither

Gloria Gaither

Gloria Gaither is a Christian songwriter, author, speaker, editor, and academic. She is the wife of Bill Gaither and also sang in the Bill Gaither Trio, one of the most influential groups in recent Christian music.-Early Years:...

 listen to the group audition in the women's restroom prior to a Gaither Homecoming

Gaither Homecoming

Gaither Homecoming is the name applied to a series of videos, music recordings and concerts, which are organized, promoted and usually presented by Christian music songwriter and impresario Bill Gaither...

 video recording in Indiana. Gloria told Bill that he had to let them sing in the video. They have gone on to appear in over two dozen Homecoming videos. The group has also recorded over a dozen albums.

In 2002, Jonathan left the group in order to spend more time with his family. Joyce and Judy then enlisted the help of Paul Lancaster, formerly with Mullins & Co., and The Nelons. Together they recorded Above It All. Between 2003 and 2010, they were somewhat inactive as a group in order to spend more time with their own families, although they did reunite for concerts periodically. During this time, the three each recorded a solo album.

They are currently back on the road—appearing on The Gaither Homecoming Series as well as limited trio appearances promoting their latest release, New Day.

Personal lives

Joyce Martin Sanders lives in Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

 with her husband Paul, and she has two children.

Jonathan Martin lives in West Des Moines, Iowa

West Des Moines, Iowa

West Des Moines is a city in Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 46,403; a special census taken in the spring of 2005 counted 51,744 residents and the United States Census Bureau estimated that 53,889 residents lived there in...

 with his wife, and their six children, including twin boys, one of which has cerebral palsy.

Judy Martin Hess lives in Columbus, Georgia

Columbus, Georgia

Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...

 with her husband Jake Hess III, and their four children.

The Martins Discography

• 1994: The Martins (Chordant)
• 1995: The Martins: Live In His Presence (Chordant)
• 1995: An A Cappella Hymns Collection
• 1996: Wherever You Are (Chordant)
• 1997: Light of the World (Spring Hill)
• 1998: Dream Big (Spring Hill)
• 2000: Windows (Spring Hill)
• 2001: Glorify Edify Testify (Spring Hill)
• 2003: Above It All (Spring Hill)
• 2005: Decade (Spring Hill)
• 2011: New Day (Spring Hill)

Pre-Contract Recordings

• Look For The Rainbows
• Special Requests
• On The Rise
• From Arkansas With Love
• Marks Of The Trade

Awards

Dove Awards:

• 1996
  • Southern Gospel Album of the Year: The Martins
  • Southern Gospel Song of the Year: "Out of His Great Love"

• 1997
  • Southern Gospel Album of the Year: Wherever You Are
  • Southern Gospel Song of the Year: "Only God Knows"

• 1998
  • Southern Gospel Album of the Year: Light Of The World

• 1999
  • Country Recorded Song of the Year: "Count Your Blessings"

• 2004
  • Inspirational Album of the Year: Above it All
  • Southern Gospel Song of the Year: "The Promise"

Grammy Nominations:

• 1998
  • Best Southern Gospel, Country Gospel, or Bluegrass Album of the Year: Light Of The World