Keith Martin obit

‘Because Of You’ hitmaker Keith Martin found dead

 

He was not on the list.

American singer-songwriter and record producer Keith Eric Martin, best known for his 2004 hit “Because of You,” was found dead in his unit at a condominium in Barangay Bagumbayan, Quezon City Friday.

He was 55.

According to police, they found Martin’s body after receiving a report about it from the building’s property manager.

Supposedly, residents were complaining about a foul smell eventually traced to Martin’s unit.

Police speculated that Martin has been dead for a week.

No further details have been revealed.

Several celebrities who have worked with Martin, including Kyla, Thyro Alfaro and Kris Lawrence, have expressed disbelief relating his demise.

Kyla tweeted, “In shock and in disbelief.. You will be missed, Keith Martin.. Thank you for the inspiration. You will leave a legacy of great music that is timeless and will always be remembered…”

Thyro wrote, “R.I.P. Keith Eric Martin! 😔I’ll never forget what you said to me after our gig. “You ain’t like those other dudes. You up there yokin! We need more of those”

Kris said, “Damn…this news is shocking. Gone too soon Keith Eric Martin. You will be missed brotha. Your music will live in our hearts forever.”

Keith’s last public appearance was at the March 12 wedding of Daryl Ong and wife Dea Formilleza in Antipolo City.

Daryl posted, “Rest in power…”

Martin is the second son of three children. Growing up, he listened to the Jackson 5, Prince and the production of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and Stevie Wonder. He was also influenced by jazz and gospel music. Martin started playing piano, bass guitar, drums and singing when he was 10. He started writing music when he was nineteen.[citation needed]

Martin was a force among local artists in the late 1980s, growing up with close friends Johnny Gill and Stacy Lattisaw and bassist Oteil Burbridge and Kenny Lattimore. He was a member of the group, Masquerade, which included twins, Art and Scott Powell, Sharif Walters and D'Extra Wiley, who later became a member of the 1990s new jack R&B group II D Extreme.[citation needed]

Con Funk Shun founder and drummer Louis A. McCall, Sr. signed Martin to his Gaithersburg, MD artist management company he owned with his wife Linda Lou McCall, a music business consultant and songwriter. Linda Lou McCall was hired by MC Hammer in 1990 to help set up his corporate operations and administration in Oakland, California. When she became Vice President of Hammer's artist management company, Linda and her husband arranged for Martin to come to California and got him on as part of MC Hammer's Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em and Too Legit to Quit world tours.

 

When the McCalls relocated to Los Angeles in 1990, Martin followed, enabling him to work with Boyz II Men producers (Shovani and Buster), Grammy Award winning songwriters and producers Marti Sharron and Danny Sembello, Oji Pierce, Ian Prince and The Time's Jesse Johnson.

Michael McCary of Boyz II Men, brought Martin to Ruffhouse/Columbia Sony. Martin was signed to Columbia Ruffhouse Records by his then manager, Adrian Taylor, who had previously managed Martin when he was the lead singer of Masquerade. The group included members Scott and Art Powell and Sharif Walters. Washington, D.C. promoter James T. (Time 2 Jamm) brought the group to Night Flight studios, owned by singer/recording artist Stacy Lattisaw and her husband Kevin Jackson. The group was popular in Washington DC. Martin's friend, R&B recording star Johnny Gill, also supported the fledgling band. Later, Charlie Singleton, member of the hit pop/R&B band Cameo, produced demos for the group, which allowed Martin to record songs in Atlanta, Georgia. David Franklin, Richard Pryor's manager at the time, worked with Adrian Taylor on arranging recording sessions. The demos were presented to Epic Records, however, Kenny Lattimore's group, Mannequin was signed instead of the band Masquerade.

Ruffhouse president Chris Schwartz, Inerge Barrett and attorney Kevon Glickmon were all present at the 1994 signing of Martin in Philadelphia, PA. The budget for the first album was $350,000. The budget was approved by Columbia Records President, Donny Ienner. Songwriter Marti Sharron and Danny Sembello, brother of Michael Sembello, wrote the track "Never Find Someone Like You". The song was also placed on the Bad Boys movie soundtrack and went on to sell over 1 million copies.

Martin released his first album, It's Long Overdue in 1995, which peaked at No. 82 on the US Billboard R&B Albums chart.[3] His first single, "Never Find Someone Like You" (which was also independently recorded by Backstreet Boys before) peaked at No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 43 on the R&B Singles chart,[4] and was included in the platinum-selling Bad Boys soundtrack. The album's second single, "Moment in Time" reached No. 103 on the R&B Singles chart.

For the next decade, Martin stayed busy in the music industry producing, writing and releasing several solo albums, gaining him a large fan base throughout the world. His ballad, "Because of You", is still a major favorite in the US and Asia.

Move to the Philippines

In 2004, Martin came to the attention of EMI Philippines, who hired him as in-house producer in Manila, producing and writing for artists in the Philippines and Indonesia. He collaborated with Filipino singer Kyla on her albums Not Your Ordinary Girl and Beautiful Days, with Gloc 9 on his album Ako Si…, with Agnes Monica on her album Whaddup A.. '?!, and with Gary V., among others