Iconic Los Angeles lounge music icon Marty Roberts, the drummer and bassist of "Marty and Elayne," passed away at the age of 89.
His daughter, Hali, confirmed Roberts' death, admitting that he died Thursday, January 13, 2022. She stated in the group's official Facebook account, "We are heartbroken, the greatest man alive has gone on to Heaven. My mom and I are devastated by his loss and there is nobody that could ever take his place."
"He had a joke and a smile (smiling is free, he would say!) for everyone he met and was the kindest, most self sacrificing man in the world. We will miss him more than words can express." She concluded, "Marty will always be with us in spirit and in our memories! I miss you so much daddy!! Rest In Peace!"
The Iconic Lounge Music Duo
As of writing, no cause of death was revealed by the group nor Roberts' family. However, reports believe that it was due to an illness. Information regarding a celebration of life will soon be released, which will be held at The Dresden, where he and his wife Elayne performed for the last 35 years.
Roberts once had a heart attack back in January 2020 while performing, making his wife solo for the next six weeks. Their performances were halted at The Dresden due to the pandemic.
Roberts met Elayne in Los Angeles back in the 1970s. According to Deadline, they performed in various lounges around town, including a stint at Michael's in Los Feliz. The Dresden's owner saw the couple's performance, which led to them being booked for gigs at their place since 1981.
The venue quickly grew into "a thing for the area's hipsters," who enjoyed the drums and piano aura, often joined in for a song or two, as per source.
Their "mix of jazz standards and loungey takes" on pop music became such a cult classic that it managed to be used in 1996 Jon Favreau's Los Feliz-centric film, "Swingers." They were also often joined by famous celebrities like Flea, Julia Roberts, David Lynch, etc.
Later in their career as musicians, they participated as cameos in an episode of HBO's "Mr. Show" and were also included in the "Yer So Bad" video and paid Tom Petty's homage.
May his soul rest in peace.
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