Before Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn Colvin and Sheryl Crow there was Marti Jones. She broke out of the early 80's new wave scene to create some of the most original, trend-setting and influential albums of that era. Along with artists like Bonnie Raitt, Suzanne Vega and Chrissie Hynde (a fellow Akronite and new-waver), her three records for A & M put the guitar back in a woman's hands, renewing the tradition of Janis Ian, Carole King and Joni Mitchell. A tradition which had been largely lost to the disco, hard rock, diva-with-a-mic generation of female performers. Marti's records blurred the lines between pop and folk, jazz and rock.

Real alternative music. Some of you may ask, "If she was so influential, why don't I know about her." Truly restless and eclectic, she made records that required your attention and often had jarring juxtapositions, but were always musical and catchy. Consequently, she was too commercial for the radical, too radical for the radio. Most critics agreed she was just a little ahead of the curve. Indeed, she was not an easy fit anywhere and A&M never found a way to break a single or ignite the imagination of the MTV generation. Listening back to these records, you wonder how that was possible. The truth is, by the time she released "Used Guitars", her last A&M album, she had reached true cult status, selling out shows on both coasts, garnering features in all the major magazines, performing on popular network TV shows. But when "Used Guitars" stalled, she'd had it. She wanted a fresh start.

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