Country singer Brad Martin, best known for his 2002 track “Before I Knew Better,” died last Friday at 48.
According to Martin’s sister Melissa Lea Hobbs, the singer suffered “severe internal damage” in “a work related injury” in January exasperated by an “existing health crisis.” (Singer Shannon Lee Lawson wrote on social media that Martin had cirrhosis.)
On March 9, Martin was described as “alert and oriented” in a health update shared on an online fundraising page.
John Ramey, who formed a duo with Martin in 2008, shared in a Facebook post: “I am absolutely heartbroken … Rock on my brother!!! You were a great friend, true talent and it was an honour making music with you.”
An Ohio native who moved to Nashville in his early 20s, Martin was signed to Epic Records in 2000 but released only one album, 2002’s Wings of a Honky-Tonk Angel.
Musician Paula Jo Taylor paid tribute to Martin on Facebook, describing him as “one of the most talented people I knew as both a writer and a singer and he was a genuinely kind soul.”