Canadian-born Buffalo Springfield drummer Dewey Martin has died at the age of 68. Martin, who was born Walter Milton Dwayne Midkiff, was found dead Sunday (February 1) in Van Nuys, CA, according to a released statement. No cause of death has been determined, but it is believed he died of natural causes.
Martin first cut his teeth in Nashville, playing with the likes of Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers, before moving to L.A. in the mid-1960s, when he formed the influential Buffalo Springfield with Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Bruce Palmer.
In Young's biography Shakey, he described Martin as a "sensitive" drummer, saying: "You get harder, he hits harder. You pull back, he hits back. He can feel the music - you don't have to tell him."
Martin played on most tracks on Buffalo Springfield's three albums and even sang lead vocals on "Good Time Boy" from their classic 1967 LP Buffalo Springfield Again. The band eventually broke up in 1968, leading to Martin form such rock outfits as Blue Mountain Eagle and Medicine Ball, and to play with Bruce Palmer in the tribute group Buffalo Springfield Revisited during the mid-'80s.
Like the rest of Buffalo Springfield, Martin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
Martin first cut his teeth in Nashville, playing with the likes of Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers, before moving to L.A. in the mid-1960s, when he formed the influential Buffalo Springfield with Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Bruce Palmer.
In Young's biography Shakey, he described Martin as a "sensitive" drummer, saying: "You get harder, he hits harder. You pull back, he hits back. He can feel the music - you don't have to tell him."
Martin played on most tracks on Buffalo Springfield's three albums and even sang lead vocals on "Good Time Boy" from their classic 1967 LP Buffalo Springfield Again. The band eventually broke up in 1968, leading to Martin form such rock outfits as Blue Mountain Eagle and Medicine Ball, and to play with Bruce Palmer in the tribute group Buffalo Springfield Revisited during the mid-'80s.
Like the rest of Buffalo Springfield, Martin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.