Nelson, Marty

Long before Toby Maguire donned the costume of Spider-Man, Marty Nelson embodied; or rather voiced; the Masked Marvel on the concept album, Spider-Man: Rock Reflections of a Superhero. It didn’t exactly turn the rock world on its ear, but it was just another adventure for Marty, an arranger, clarinetist, conductor, orchestrator and vocalist who was one of the founding members of The Manhattan Transfer, back in the late ’60s when they were laying down a much different vibe than they do today.

The original incarnation of the band recorded one LP and promptly disbanded. Marty went on to sing backing vocals on a pair of Jim Croce albums; 1972’s You Don’t Mess Around With Him and 1973’s I Got A Name;and established himself as a presence in the 1970s studio scene, arranging vocals for Bette Midler on 1976’s Songs for a New Depression (he had performed similar duties her 1972 rendition of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”) Maynard Ferguson on 1977’s Conquistador, Dion on 1978’s Return of the Wanderer, and Frank Sinatra on his 1979 boxed set, Trilogy.

He collaborated with The Glenn Miller Orchestra on 1983’s In the Digital Mood. In 1985, he appeared; well, sort of; as a member of the chorus in the claymation special, The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus.

Marty started the ’90s recording with Peter Allen on Making Every Moment Count, and appeared on a string of Celi Bee albums: 1993’s Blow My Mind and Fly Me on the Wings of Love, 1995’s For the Love of My Man, and her Greatest Hits package, released in 2007. He also appeared on the 1995 recording of Brigadoon, the 1996 recording of South Pacific, and the operatic Leonard Bernstein Conducts West Side Story, starring Jose Carreras and Kiri Te Kanawa. (Marty played Diesel.)

In 2003, he lent his baritone to the soundtrack of Roar.

Beware of 1998’s A Touch of Class: It is a re-packaging of The Manhattan Transfer’s 1969 release, Jukin’. Some copies of this album feature the wrong artists on the cover!

Frank Sinatra recordings
That’s What God Looks Like To Me (Stan Irvin/Lan O’Kun)
Reprise RPS 49233 (XNY2101S) (US 45)

Theme from “New York, New York” (Fred Ebb/John Kander)
Reprise RPS49233 (XNY 2103 S) (US 45)

Sources:

Nelson, Marty

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