Hirth Martinez was a singer-songwriter, poet, and guitarist who combined varied elements of folk, funk, and jazz into his music. Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Martinez was born into a musical family and picked up guitar, took piano and trumpet lessons and started songwriting at a very young age.

After performing and writing songs, he was discovered by the legendary folk singer-songwriter Bob Dylan enabling him to work with other notable musicians such as Garth Hudson and Robbie Robertson from The Band. In 1975, he released his first debut album Hirth From Earth signed onto Warner Bros. Music Group. Two years later he dropped his sophomore effort Big Bright Street. He toured frequently, traveling to Japan and around America, and continued to write and independently release songs/albums.

On October 6, 2015, Martinez passed away in his hometown Los Angeles, California.