Marvin Pontiac was hit by a bus in June of 1977. The life of one of the most expressive music geniuses ended. He was born as a son of African father from Mali and white Jewish mother from New Rochelle in state of New York. His father's last name was Toure, but he decided to change it to Pontiac when the whole family was moving to Detroit, as he believed that is a more convenient American surname.
Marvin's father left the family when Marvin was only two years old. When his mother was institutionalized in 1936, Marvin's father returned and took him to Mali where he lived until the age of 15. The music he heard there had a deep impact on his work.
When he was 15, he moved to Chicago where he became known as a great blues player on mouth harmonium. When he was 17, Little Walter accused him of copying his style of playing, which resulted in a fight in front of a club in Maxwell street. After the predicament, Marvin decided to move to Lubbock, Texas, where he became a repairman. Little was known about him in the next three years; there were rumours that he was participating in bank robbery. In 1952, he had a minor hit for Acorn Records, with controversial song I'm a Doggy. In the strange stream of events, he had a hit single in Nigeria at the same time where Pancake was ruling the ears of the nation. He and his record label knew nothing about it.
His mistrust and detest towards music industry lead to breakup with the owner of Acorn Records, Norman Heck. Although other labels were begging to take him, he was rejecting the offers. In fact, he asked label owners to first come to his house and clean his toilet.
There is an urban legend that Pontiac's music was the only music Jackson Pollock was listening while he was painting. In 1970, Marvin believed that he was taken by aliens. He also felt his mother believed the same way, which lead to her mental breakdown. He stopped creating music and dedicated his time to developing personal relationships with extraterrestrial creatures that were examining his body. He was arrested in Slidell for naked driving, and then moved to Detroit where his madness had escalated. Musician John Lurie claims that Pontiac's soul had possessed him (after Pontiac died in a bus accident).
Seventeen years after the debut The Legendary Marvin Pontiac, the story about enigmatic musician continues with the recordings he made in Emerald State mental institution. I don't know when was the last time I felt this strange listening to someone's music. Total recommendation!
