Lena Martell (born Helen Thomson; 15 May 1940) is a Scottish singer, with a long career in theatre, television and musicals. She has recorded thirty albums which include the number one UK single with "One Day at a Time" in 1979.
Martell was born in Possilpark, Glasgow on 15 May 1940. She began singing at the age of 11 with her eldest brother's band. She became a singer for the Jimmie McGregor Band at the Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow. After his untimely death, she decided to pursue a career in music as a tribute. She released a number of standards in the 1970s on the Pye record label, drew crowds at cabarets and concert halls and became a major recording star with silver, gold and platinum awards. Much of her work took place aboard many cruise ships accompanied by her new 5 star pianist George Paxton of Saltcoats, Scotland. Her cover of the song "One Day at a Time", written by Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson, reached the top of the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in October 1979.[1] She placed six albums in the UK Albums Chart between 1974 and 1980, including four that reached the top 20.[2]
In the 1970 and 1980s her Saturday Night TV shows for BBC Television ran over a period of ten years, with evening audiences of over 12 million. Moving to the US she sang in New York and Las Vegas with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and others and toured the world performing in concert halls. She has starred in musicals in Broadway, first when deputising for Barbra Streisand, and headlining in London`s West End theatres. Her successes at London Palladium equalled the box office of Shirley MacLaine and Bette Midler.[3] [4]
Although out of the limelight for a period while nursing her sick mother, Martell returned to the music industry. She has released a few albums on the ScotDisc label. Her double album One Day at a Time: An Anthology of Song was released on Castle Records in 2003.[5]
Martell has had surgery to replace a valve in her heart, and in March 2008 underwent a triple heart bypass operation.[6]
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | |||||
| 1964 | Some New Someone Blue |
| — | ||
| 1972 | Presenting Lena Martell |
| — | ||
| The Touch of Lena Martell | — | ||||
| 1973 | This Is Lena Martell |
| — | ||
| 1974 | That Wonderful Sound of Lena Martell |
| 35 | ||
| Songs | — | ||||
| 1976 | Country Style |
| — | ||
| 1977 | Hello Misty Morning |
| — | ||
| From Lena Martell With Very Special Love | — | ||||
| 1978 | Somewhere in My Lifetime |
| — | ||
| 1979 | Lena's Music Album |
| 4 | ||
| 1982 | Songs of Life |
| — | ||
| Songs of Love |
| — | |||
| 1984 | Today |
| — | ||
| 1985 | The Love Album |
| — | ||
| 1991 | Sometimes When I'm Dreaming |
| — | ||
| 2005 | Songs from a Woman's Heart |
| — | ||
| 2006 | Stand by Me |
| — | ||
| 2007 | The Rose |
| — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | |||||
| 1972 | The World of Lena Martell |
| — | ||
| 1975 | The Magic of Lena Martell |
| — | ||
| 1976 | The Best of Lena Martell |
| 13 |
| |
| 1978 | The Lena Martell Collection |
| 12 |
| |
| 1979 | 12 FM Golden Greats |
| — | ||
| 1980 | By Request |
| 9 |
| |
| Let the Music Play |
| — | |||
| Spotlight on Lena Martell |
| — | |||
| Lena Martell |
| — | |||
| Beautiful Sunday |
| 23 |
| ||
| 1981 | Feelings |
| — | ||
| Something Simple |
| — | |||
| The Best of Lena Martell |
| — | |||
| 1994 | Feelings – The Best of Lena Martell |
| — | ||
| 1996 | The Best of Lena Martell – One Day at a Time |
| — | ||
| 2004 | My Homeland |
| — | ||
| 2008 | One Day at a Time: The Ultimate Collection |
| — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE [12] | UK [13] | ||||
| 1961 | "Love Can Be" | — | — | ||
| 1962 | "The Reason Why" | — | — | ||
| 1963 | "Let the Music Play" | — | — | ||
| "I Wish You Well" | — | — | |||
| 1964 | "I'm a Fool to Want You" | — | — | ||
| 1967 | "The Pop Group Song" | — | — | ||
| "Somewhere My Love" | — | — | |||
| 1968 | "In Time" | — | — | ||
| "Come September" | — | — | |||
| 1969 | "It's Another World" | — | — | ||
| 1970 | "Love Made a Fool of Me" | — | — | ||
| "For the Love of Him" | — | — | |||
| 1971 | "I'm Going Home" | — | — | ||
| "Somewhere My Love" (re-release) | — | — | |||
| 1972 | "It's Too Late Now" | — | — | ||
| 1973 | "While We're Still Young" | — | — | ||
| "Four and Twenty Hours" | — | — | |||
| "A Scottish Trilogy" | — | — | |||
| 1974 | "Billy" | — | — | ||
| "Hasta Manana" | — | — | |||
| 1975 | "After All Is Said and Done" | — | — | ||
| 1976 | "Call Collect" | — | — | ||
| "Christmas Every Other Year (Six Weeks Every Summer)" | — | — | |||
| 1977 | "Times Were" | — | — | ||
| "One Day at a Time" | — | — | |||
| 1978 | "Somewhere in My Lifetime" | — | — | ||
| 1979 | "One Day at a Time" (re-release) | 27 | 1 |
| |
| 1980 | "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" | — | — | ||
| "Why Me (Why Me, Lord?)" | — | — | |||
| 1981 | "Pray with Me" | — | — | ||
| 1984 | "You're My Hero (The Wind Beneath My Wings)" | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||