Marty Roberts, the Los Angeles upright bassist and drummer in lounge music, is a Los Angeles icon. “Marty & Elayne”Act, who entertained at the Dresden Lounge in Los Feliz over 35 years, has passed away. There was no immediate information on the cause or age of the death.
Hali, his daughter, confirmed his death by writing “We are heartbroken, the greatest man alive has gone on to Heaven. Marty passed peacefully on Thursday the 13th, 2022. 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.”
Born in New York City, Marty met Elayne in L.A. in the ’70s. Their gig at the Dresden started in 1981, and quickly grew into a thing for the area’s hipsters, who enjoyed the drums and piano vibe and often joined in for a song or two. Jon Favreau made a film about them, Los Feliz-centric in 1996. Their mixture of jazz standards and pop music sounded so good that he used them. Swingers, They were often joined by celebs like Flea, Julia Roberts, and David Lynch.
Tom Petty later honored them by including them in The American Songbook “Yer So Bad” video. They also appeared in an episode entitled Mr. Show.
Marty suffered from a heart attack on January 2020. The music at the Dresden was also silenced by the pandemic.