MARTHA DAVIS AND THE MOTELS

(The version of 'The Motels", as listed here,originated in 1978.The band existed before that,as early as 1975 or earlier. Here, we are focusing on the version(s) of the band from 1978 to present.) IN 1978, MARTHA DAVIS, SINGER, AND LEAD GUITARIST JEFF JOURARD,RE-FORMED THE MOTELS,AND WERE SIGNED TO CAPITOL RECORDS ON MOTHER'S DAY,1979. FOUR MONTHS LATER, THEIR SELF TITLED DEBUT ALBUM HIT SHELVES. THE FIRST SINGLE FROM THE ALBUM,"CLOSETS AND BULLETS" FAILED,BUT THEIR SECOND SINGLE, "TOTAL CONTROL" REACHED THE TOP 20 IN FRANCE,AND THE TOP 10 IN AUSTRALIA. IN 1980, JEFF JOURARD LEFT, AND WAS REPLACED BY DAVIS' BOYFRIEND, GUITARIST TIM MCGOVERN. THEIR SECOND LP,"CAREFUL" WAS RELEASED IN JUNE, 1980, AND HIT # 45 ON BILLBOARD'S ALBUM CHART. FROM THE ALBUM CAME TWO SINGLES, "DAYS ARE OK", AND "WHOSE PROBLEM",WHICH BOTH CHARTED IN EUROPE..
THE 3RD ALBUM, FIRST TITLED "APOCALYPSO" WAS DUE TO BE RELEASED IN NOVEMBER OF '81. HOWEVER, WHEN CAPITOL RECORDS EXEC'S HEARD THE ALBUM, THEY REJECTED IT AS BEING "TOO WEIRD" AND "NOT COMMERCIAL ENOUGH", SO THE BAND WENT BACK INTO THE STUDIO. RELEASED IN APRIL OF 1982, THE ALBUM'S TITLE WAS CHANGED TO "ALL FOUR ONE". THIS ALBUM WOULD BRING THE MOTELS INTO THE CELEBRITY REALM AS THEY HAD WORKED SO HARD FOR. THE FIRST SINGLE, "ONLY THE LONELY" WAS A HUGE HIT WORLDWIDE, ESPECIALLY IN THE U.S.,GOING TO # 9 ON BILLBOARD HOT 100 AND #6 ON THE TOP TRACKS CHART. 2ND SINGLE, "MISSION OF MERCY" HIT #23 ON THE TOP TRACKS CHART, AND THE 3RD SINGLE,"TAKE THE L" HIT THE TOP 20. THE THEN-NEW MTV SAW 2 VIDEOS FROM THE ALBUM, "TAKE THE L" AND "ONLY THE LONELY".MARTHA DAVIS WON AN AMERICAN MUSIC AWARD IN 1982 FOR BEST PERFORMANCE IN A MUSIC VIDEO. 1983 SAW THE RELEASE OF THE NEW LP,"LITTLE ROBBERS', AND THE HIT SINGLE,"SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER",WHICH HIT THE TOP TEN,HELPING THE ALBUM ACHIEVE GOLD STATUS IN THE U.S., CANADA, AND MANY OTHER COUNTRIES. JANUARY OF 1983 SAY THE BAND PERFORMING ON 'SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE'. THE "LITTLE ROBBERS" TOUR STARTED IN JANUARY OF 1984,BUT SUDDENLY HALTED IN FEBRUARY OF THAT SAME YEAR, DUE TO THE FIRING OF THEIR MANAGEMENT BY THE BAND. 1985 BROUGHT THE NEW STUDIO ALBUM,"SHOCK". THE SINGLE "SHAME" HIT #21 ON BILLBOARD'S HOT 100 CHART, AND # 10 ON THE TOP ROCK TRACKS CHART. HOWEVER, WHEN THE NEXT ALBUM WAS TO BE STARTED, MARTHA DAVIS TOOK EACH BAND MEMBER INDIVIDUALLY TO THE BAR, TO SIT THEM DOWN AND TELL THEM SHE WAS GOING SOLO. DAVIS HAS RELEASED SEVERAL SOLO ALBUMS,INCLUDING A KIDS ALBUM, CALLED "RED FROG PRESENTS:16 SONGS FOR PARENTS AND CHILDREN".IN 1998, THE REVIVED THEMSELVES AS "MARTHA DAVIS AND THE MOTELS". AS OF 2004, THE BAND HAS DONE MORE THAN 70 SHOWS IN THE U.S. AND DOWN UNDER. IN 2005, AN INDEPENDENTLY RELEASED CD,"SO THE STORY GOES' SOLD OUT. AS OF 2009, DAVIS PUT HER SOLO WORK ON HOLD, AS THE MOTELS STILL TOUR, AND HAVE NEW RECORDINGS PLANNED FOR THE FUTURE.