Marty Rivers
Being born in Żejtun, from a musical family, on 7 February, 1971. singer-songwriter Marty Rivers was drawn into music from a very early age by listening attentively to his grandfather playing the guitar and immersing himself in his father’s record collection. At the age of 13, young Marty took part in a singing contest in his native island of Malta and won with the Conway Twitty classic It's only make-believe despite being the only non-adult participant. It was around this time that Marty formed his first band and started performing in various bars and venues all over. It was the beginning of a long road that has nonetheless brought him success and helped him develop into the artist he is today.
Although his passion for country music has been within him since childhood, he has ventured into other musical genres which developed in him a sense of versatility that is so evident in his music today, both as a songwriter and also as a performer. The first collection of original songs was released on Marty Rivers, the artist's debut release, with two of its tracks charting high on various European Country Music charts.
In 2008, Marty released the album Out Of The Blue, produced in Nashville by Gary Carter who worked with world known artists such as Randy Travis and Faith Hill. This was another set of songs all written by Marty himself along with Joe Spiteri, songs that reflect the various musical influences that left such a blueprint on Marty’s music.
Various tracks from the album were released as radio singles, all of them charting high on various charts including the song Made in Mexico which went to number 1 on J. Ramgatie Country music International Top 40, the spiritual Blinded an American Gospel top 10 hit and Call Colorado, voted as a top song during the 2008 Music Row Songwriters Festival in Nashville.
In November 2010, the gospel song The Lord is coming soon, originally recorded on Marty’s first album, reached the #1 spot on the God’s Country International Music charts and #3 on the American Gospel Music charts. That same year, Marty teamed up again with Joe and started working on some new material for a new album which was then recorded in Nashville with a group of top class musicians, and like his previous album was produced by Gary Carter. Midnight Sky the latest offering from Marty is a set of 12 songs that once again show the versatility in Marty’s music.
The first radio single from this new album, Run angel Run did very well, getting to #8 on the Hotdisc European Country Top 40. With a new collection of songs bring him success. At the 2011 Go Malta Music Awards Marty was awarded the 'International Achievement Award'.
Marty's third album 'Midnight Sky', recorded in Nashville, and produced once again by Gary Carter received rave reviews from critics. It is a set of twelve songs that once again show the versatility in Marty’s music. A number of these songs charted high on various radio charts, some even made it all the way to the top spot of the European Country Music Charts, the Ramgatie International Country Music Charts and the GTE International Country and Gospel Music Charts.
After some time away from the recording studio, in early Summer 2018, Marty started working on what it turns to be his most ambitious project so far; 14 original songs, which he co-wrote with his longtime collaborator, Joe Spiteri. The new album 'Maltese Falcon', was once again produced in Nashville by Gary Carter and it features some of the best musicians Nashville has to offer. The first single, taken from the album, 'Why Don't You' topped the Ramgatie Top 40 Charts on the first week of January.
Discography
- Marty Rivers (1999)
- Out Of The Blue (2009)
- Midnight Sky (2011)
- Maltese Falcon (2019)