Eric Lee Martin (born October 10, 1960, in Long Island, New York) is an American rock singer and musician who was active throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, both as a solo artist and as a member of various bands. He earned his most prominent success as the frontman for the hard rock band Mr. Big, which scored a big hit in the early 1990s with "To Be with You", a song that Martin wrote during his teen years. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Martin first started his career in the music industry in 1978. Early years Eric is the son of Frederick Lee "Pepper" Martin and Iris Martin. He has three younger siblings Dan, Joan and Laurie; and is half-Irish, half-Italian. Musically, Eric Martin was first influenced by his father, who had a gig as drummer for the band "The Buzz". This first gig would actually be an opener for Sérgio Mendes, a renowned jazz/bossa nova artist. Eric Martin was a drummer for a short while. Realizing it fit his personality better, he opted for front man/lead vocalist in the next bands he joined. He played in a handful of teen rock groups such as S.F. Bloodshy and Backhome while attending Foothill High School in Sacramento, California. He performed in a punk band in the mid-1970s called The Innocents with Connie Champagne and Ric Walz-Smith. Also in 1974 and 1975, he played college clubs with Jim Preston in The J.C. Michaels Band. He started to make it big when he joined Stark Raving Mad (which also included future Winger guitarist/keyboardist Paul Taylor) in Santa Rosa, California. Stark Raving Mad, which also included Donavan Stark and Brian Stark, cut a demo with Bearsville Records that was produced by Chris Nicks, brother of Stevie Nicks. During the summer break in 1974, Martin joined a musical comedy workshop held at Mira Loma High School in Sacramento. He auditioned for the part of Judas; although he ultimately did not get the role, he did become the understudy. Martin credits the honing of his voice to his teacher, Judy Davis. She taught him diction, stamina, and breath-control. The Martin family finally settled in the San Francisco Bay Area in about 1976. Martin attended Galileo High School and met up with some of the band members who would join him in his first successful venture: Kid Courage. Kid Courage opened for AC/DC