# Lena Martell

Lena Martell (born Helen Thomson; 15 May 1940) is a Scottish singer, with a long career in theatre, television and musicals. She has recorded thirty albums which include the number one UK single with "One Day at a Time" in 1979.

## Biography

Martell was born on 15 May 1940 and raised in Hamiltonhill, Glasgow. She began singing at the age of 11 with her eldest brother's band. She became a singer for the Jimmie McGregor Band at the Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow. After his untimely death, she decided to pursue a career in music as a tribute. She released a number of standards in the 1970s on the Pye record label, drew crowds at cabarets and concert halls and became a major recording star with silver, gold and platinum awards. Much of her work took place aboard many cruise ships accompanied by her new 5 star pianist George Paxton of Saltcoats, Scotland. Her cover of the song "One Day at a Time", written by Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson, reached the top of the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in October 1979. She placed six albums in the UK Albums Chart between 1974 and 1980, including four that reached the top 20.
In the 1970 and 1980s her Saturday Night TV shows for BBC Television ran over a period of ten years, with evening audiences of over 12 million. Moving to the US she sang in New York and Las Vegas with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and others and toured the world performing in concert halls. She has starred in musicals in Broadway, first when deputising for Barbra Streisand, and headlining in London`s West End theatres. Her successes at London Palladium equalled the box office of Shirley MacLaine and Bette Midler.
Although out of the limelight for a period while nursing her sick mother, Martell returned to the music industry. She has released a few albums on the ScotDisc label. Her double album One Day at a Time: An Anthology of Song was released on Castle Records in 2003.

### Health

Martell has had surgery to replace a valve in her heart, and in March 2008 underwent a triple heart bypass operation.

## Discography
### Albums
#### Studio albums

| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| Year | Title | Details | UK | Certifications |
| 1964 | Some New Someone Blue | Released: 1964 Label: London | — | |
| 1972 | Presenting Lena Martell | Released: 1972 Label: Pye | — | |
| 1972 | The Touch of Lena Martell | Released: 1972 Label: Pye | — | |
| 1973 | This Is Lena Martell | Released: 1973 Label: Pye | — | |
| 1974 | That Wonderful Sound of Lena Martell | Released: 1974 Label: Pye | 35 | |
| 1974 | Songs | Released: 1974 Label: Pye | — |
| 1976 | Country Style | Released: 1976 Label: Pye | — | |
| 1977 | Hello Misty Morning | Released: 1977 Label: Pye | — | |
| 1977 | From Lena Martell With Very Special Love | Released: 1977 Label: Pye | — |
| 1978 | Somewhere in My Lifetime | Released: 1978 Label: Pye | — | |
| 1979 | Lena's Music Album | Released: October 1979 Label: Pye | 4 | BPI: Platinum |
| 1982 | Songs of Life | Released: 1982 Label: Ronco | — | |
| 1982 | Songs of Love | Released: July 1982 Label: Ronco | — | |
| 1984 | Today | Released: 1984 Label: Country House | — | |
| 1985 | The Love Album | Released: 1985 Label: Hallmark Marble Arch | — | |
| 1991 | Sometimes When I'm Dreaming | Released: 1991 Label: Scotdisc | — | |
| 2005 | Songs from a Woman's Heart | Released: 2005 Label: Scotdisc | — | |
| 2006 | Stand by Me | Released: 2006 Label: Scotdisc | — | |
| 2007 | The Rose | Released: 2007 Label: Scotdisc | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |||||

#### Compilation albums

| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| Year | Title | Details | UK | Certifications |
| 1972 | The World of Lena Martell | Released: 1972 Label: Decca | — | |
| 1975 | The Magic of Lena Martell | Released: 1975 Label: Pye | — | |
| 1976 | The Best of Lena Martell | Released: 1976 Label: Pye | 13 | BPI: Gold |
| 1978 | The Lena Martell Collection | Released: August 1978 Label: Ronco | 12 | BPI: Silver |
| 1979 | 12 FM Golden Greats | Released: 1979 Label: Pye | — | |
| 1980 | By Request | Released: 1980 Label: Ronco | 9 | BPI: Gold |
| 1980 | Let the Music Play | Released: 1980 Label: One-Up | — | |
| 1980 | Spotlight on Lena Martell | Released: 1980 Label: PRT | — | |
| 1980 | Lena Martell | Released: September 1980 Label: Pickwick Super Stars | — | |
| 1980 | Beautiful Sunday | Released: November 1980 Label: Ronco | 23 | BPI: Gold |
| 1981 | Feelings | Released: March 1981 Label: Hallmark | — | |
| 1981 | Something Simple | Released: 1981 Label: Decca | — | |
| 1981 | The Best of Lena Martell | Released: 1981 Label: Reader's Digest | — |
| 1994 | Feelings – The Best of Lena Martell | Released: 1994 Label: True Trax | — | |
| 1996 | The Best of Lena Martell – One Day at a Time | Released: 1996 Label: Pulse | — | |
| 2004 | My Homeland | Released: 2004 Label: Scotdisc | — | |
| 2008 | One Day at a Time: The Ultimate Collection | Released: January 2008 Label: Sanctuary | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |||||

### Singles

| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| Year | Single | IRE | UK | Certifications |
| 1961 | "Love Can Be" | — | — | |
| 1962 | "The Reason Why" | — | — | |
| 1963 | "Let the Music Play" | — | — | |
| 1963 | "I Wish You Well" | — | — | |
| 1964 | "I'm a Fool to Want You" | — | — | |
| 1967 | "The Pop Group Song" | — | — | |
| 1967 | "Somewhere My Love" | — | — | |
| 1968 | "In Time" | — | — | |
| 1968 | "Come September" | — | — | |
| 1969 | "It's Another World" | — | — | |
| 1970 | "Love Made a Fool of Me" | — | — | |
| 1970 | "For the Love of Him" | — | — | |
| 1971 | "I'm Going Home" | — | — | |
| 1971 | "Somewhere My Love" (re-release) | — | — | |
| 1972 | "It's Too Late Now" | — | — | |
| 1973 | "While We're Still Young" | — | — | |
| 1973 | "Four and Twenty Hours" | — | — | |
| 1973 | "A Scottish Trilogy" | — | — | |
| 1974 | "Billy" | — | — | |
| 1974 | "Hasta Manana" | — | — | |
| 1975 | "After All Is Said and Done" | — | — | |
| 1976 | "Call Collect" | — | — | |
| 1976 | "Christmas Every Other Year (Six Weeks Every Summer)" | — | — | |
| 1977 | "Times Were" | — | — | |
| 1977 | "One Day at a Time" | — | — | |
| 1978 | "Somewhere in My Lifetime" | — | — | |
| 1979 | "One Day at a Time" (re-release) | 27 | 1 | BPI: Gold |
| 1980 | "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" | — | — | |
| 1980 | "Why Me (Why Me, Lord?)" | — | — | |
| 1981 | "Pray with Me" | — | — | |
| 1984 | "You're My Hero (The Wind Beneath My Wings)" | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |||||