Dewey Martin, the drummer for Buffalo Springfield, has died. Martin was found dead by his roommate in his Van Nuys apartment this week. Dewey Martin was 68 years old. An official cause of death has not been determined, though friends tell the press Martin had been suffering from health problems and they believe his passing may have been from natural causes.
Martin was found dead Sunday by a roommate in his Van Nuys apartment, longtime friend Lisa Lenes said. She said Martin had health problems in recent years and she believed he died of natural causes.
Martin, along with Young, Stills, singer-songwriter-guitarist Richie Furay and bassist Bruce Palmer, formed Buffalo Springfield in Los Angeles in 1966 and quickly became one of the hottest live acts on the West Coast, helped in part by the grinning, blond Martin.
Their self-titled debut album included the hit "For What It's Worth," a solemn observation of 1960s turmoil. They would later produce such classics as "Bluebird" and "Rock & Roll Woman" and Martin's husky vocals were featured at the start of another Springfield favorite, Young's "Broken Arrow."
The band broke up in 1968 amid tension between Young and Stills, but several members went on to even greater success and Buffalo Springfield's stature grew over the years, with Young often expressing regret they didn't stay together longer.
Young has had a highly successful solo career and also joined with Stills in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Furay formed Poco, another early country rock band. Jim Messina, who replaced Palmer on bass, teamed with Kenny Loggins and had several hits as Loggins and Messina.
Martin continued performing under various incarnations of the band. He and Palmer toured as Buffalo Springfield Revisited in the mid-1980s, and for a time in the 1990s he played shows as Buffalo Springfield Again. (Palmer died in 2004.)
Martin also formed other groups, including Medicine Ball, which released one album.
Born Walter Milton Dwayne Midkiff in Chesterfield, Canada, he began playing drums as a teenager and settled in Nashville in his early 20s, playing for Patsy Cline, Charlie Rich and other country artists. He then moved West and joined the influential bluegrass band, the Dillards, before Young helped bring him into Buffalo Springfield
Dewey Martin: The Buffalo Springfield Days
Dewey Martin helped found Buffalo Springfield in the mid-60s, along with Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, and Bruce Palmer. The band played together for only two years before the members decided to go their separate ways. The three studio albums they recorded, however — 1966’s “Buffalo Springfield,” 1967’s “Buffalo Springfield Again,” and 1968’s “Last Time Around” — quickly earned their places in musical history, spawning such songs as “Rock ‘N’ Roll Woman,” “Mr. Soul,” and “Broken Arrow.”
Dewey Martin: Life After Buffalo Springfield
Dewey Martin, Buffalo SpringfieldMartin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Buffalo Springfield in 1977. While Young and Stills moved on to lucrative post-Buffalo endeavors, Martin’s career remained focused on the Buffalo Springfield brand: He reformed a group called New Buffalo Springfield. Once Stills and Young sued over the rights to the name, Martin changed to Buffalo Springfield Revisited and later Buffalo Springfield Again. He played in several other groups, including one called Medicine Ball, and was said to have been working on his own custom drum head in recent years.
Dewey Martin will be buried in his home country of Canada. Memorial services are currently being planned.
