Marty Dread's Biography

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Martin Charles Hennessey (Marty Dread) was named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he was born in the Bronx, New York in 1969. When Marty was eight years old, his father passed away and his mother moved the family to Maui, Hawai'i. The change from concrete jungle to botanical jungle was great, but Marty was quick to adapt to the laid-back ways of his new island home.

In 1992, Marty Dread released his first smash hit, "Wicked Wahine". His debut effort sold-out as a cassette single and skyrocketed to the top of the Hawaiian charts.

In 1994, Marty launched his own record label, Five Corners Music, with the release of "Versatile Roots" - an album that includes a duet with Kris Kristofferson. The famed songwriter/actor was so impressed after sharing a concert bill with Marty Dread that Kristofferson offered to lend a hand in the studio, resulting in the song, "Reggae Blues".
Marty Dread's popularity got another boost in 1996 with the release of "Reggae for Love" which sold four times as many copies as Marty's earlier recordings.

Also in '96, three of Marty Dread's songs were featured in the international motion picture release, "Maui Heat" - still seen on television screens around the world.

In 1997, Marty Dread released his first live album, "Marty Dread Live!" (recorded on the Big Island of Hawaii) and made two successful tours of California, including stops at the legendary House of Blues in Hollywood.

One of the songs on Marty Dread's 1999 release, "Reggae Suite", was recorded at the House of Blues when Marty Dread opened for the legendary reggae group, the Wailers.

In the year 2000, Marty Dread released his fifth album, "Keiki Reggae" (aka Reggae for Children) with music tracks that include school children from throughout Maui County and a special appearance by reggae great, Pato Banton.

"Keiki Reggae" was nominated for "Best Reggae Album of the Year" at the 24th annual Na Hoku Hanohano awards in Honolulu by members of the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts. The song " mouse in the house" is featured on the cd " Regaae Playgroung" on Putamayo records and peaked at .. 1 on XM Radios childrens channel in may of 2006.

In the summer of 2001, Marty Dread performed at the 18th annual "Reggae on the River" event in northern California, the largest reggae festival in the world, and traveled to Tahiti to perform in front of thousands of people in Papeete.

In December 2001, Marty Dread released his sixth album, "On The Beach". In May 2002, "On The Beach" was nominated for "Best Reggae Album of the Year" at the 25th annual Na Hoku Hanohano awards in Honolulu.

In 2003, Marty Dread released a collection of hits from the first ten years of his recording career, plus six previously unreleased songs, and continued to tour far and wide.

In the years since 2003 Marty Dread has recorded untold volumes of songs including a duets album called "In Good Company" (release date sept. 2006) collaborating with stars such as Willie Nelson, Sly and Robbie, Junior Reid, Fiji,Mad Professor,Anthony B., Common Sense, Nara Boone, Fyah Wyah, Olu, Neville Francis, Tony Moses, and many more.

Marty Dread's first crossover album "Next Level" is his strongest effort to date. It fuses Hip Hop and Dance Hall and is geared toward clubs and dancefloors.It is on the dj shakinmelodis record label and has gained spins all over the world.

Also recorded, a clash album with Alika, an upcoming reggae singer from the island of Kauai, titled Marty Dread Meets Alika At Koloa Dub Lab.

The Definative " Best of" Marty Dread called "Another day in Paradise" is also be available on cd and on I-Tunes.

Another recording yet to be released is Marty Dread's second live album, recorded in Alaska, California, and Hawaii.

Marty also collaborated with " Harmonic tribe" on thier debut cd called the awakening which can be heard and purchased at www.cdbaby.com
Harmonic Tribe toured with Willie Nelson on his 2006 summer tour and gained many fans blending rock, blues, reggae and soul.Check them out at www.myspace.com/harmonictribe

Visit www.willienelson.com to download "What ever happened to peace on earth ?" sung by Willie Nelson, Marty Dread, Micheal Mcdonald, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, and Pat Simmonds of The Doobie Brothers.Proceeds will benifit the Veterens of this insane war in Iraq.

Also look for "Peaceful Solution" by Willie Nelson and Marty Dread and Produced by Mad Professor. Other critical Willie and Marty Duets include,"Take No Part" with Sly and Robbie which will be featured in the full-length reggae documentary " Dreadlock Rock. www.dreadlockrock.com and " Laws of Nature" which is a song Willie wrote about his life and kids.

Listen for Marty's song " No ice in Paradise" featuring Mad Professor on " Dog the bounty hunter"s Tv show on A&E this season.

Why I play music

It’s been many years now, but I will always remember the day that my life changed and I knew that I wanted to play music. It was the summer of ’89; I had just graduated from Maui High and had been chosen from several hundred students who had submitted a painting (I was a painter back then) to travel to Moscow to paint the "Maui to Moscow" mural. The mural was a gift of peace and aloha from the children of America to the children of the U.S.S.R.



Keep in mind, in 1987, the Cold War was not yet over, Russia was still a super-power, and we were supposed to be "enemies". But to children, politics don’t matter; the children of the U.S.S.R. were potential new "friends".



After two weeks of painting the mural in a village called Pereslavl, we went back to Moscow to do some diplomacy and make some friends.
An arrangement was made for the seven American children to visit a Soviet school to talk about peace and friendship.



We arrived at the school and entered a large gymnasium that had about 2,000 Soviet students sitting in the bleachers, faces fixed like stone, dead silent. You could hear a pin drop in there.



An announcement was made saying, " These children are American, and they want to be your friends."



The room was extremely quiet and very tense. We took turns speaking and got no response from the students.



At that moment, I picked up a guitar and belted out "Twist and Shout" by The Beatles and the whole place erupted. It was like a million balloons were let loose. They came running out of the stands singing, clapping, and laughing. They were transformed by the power of music. We all became friends, exchanged addresses, and made plans to visit again. This day was the day that I realized that music could overcome all. The language barrier was broken down, all the fear and doubt went right out the window. All of a sudden we were just a bunch of kids who liked music.



Music has the power to heal and most of all to bring people together. That’s the reason I am still a professional musician all these years later.