10 Facts About Roberta Martin

Roberta Martin came into contact with Thomas A Dorsey, known as the Father of Gospel Music, through her work as the pianist for the youth choir.

Roberta Martin's first composition, "Try Jesus, He Satisfies," was an immediate hit in 1943.

Roberta Martin complemented her group's performance with her piano accompaniment, which often dictated the rhythm and pace of the song or commented on it by responding to or accenting a singer's performance.

The other musical signature of the Roberta Martin Singers was the accompaniment of "Little" Lucy Smith on the Hammond organ.

Roberta Martin's droning introductory chord and unique "passes" using the bass pedals set the tone for a meditative experience and became a recognized trademark of a "Roberta Martin gospel song".

Roberta Martin briefly retired from music in the 1960s due in part to her battle with cancer, but came back to record her final album Praise God, and her vocal recording, "I Have Hope", which was written by her friend Jessie Jimerson.

Roberta Martin's group disbanded upon her death in 1969, but the surviving members continued to perform as a group in reunion concerts into the 21st century.

Roberta Martin died of cancer on January 18,1969, at the age of 61, at Mercy Hospital, Chicago.

The Roberta Martin Singers sang at Gian-Carlo Menotti's Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, in 1963.

Roberta Martin helped develop a distinctive gospel-piano style which had a special sound that integrated, for the first time, men and women into the gospel chorus during the mid-1940s.