Early life

Martin grew up in Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

. He attended Lynwood High School

Lynwood High School

Lynwood High School is one of the three high schools in Lynwood, California. It is a part of the Lynwood Unified School District.- History :...

 and then Magnolia High School

Magnolia High School (California)

Magnolia High School is a public high school in Anaheim, California and is part of the Anaheim Union High School District. It serves approx. 1,763 students in grades nine through twelve. 71 percent of its students are Hispanic, 16 percent Asian, 11 percent Caucasian and 3 percent Black...

 in Anaheim

Anaheim, California

Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...

. He then attended Cypress College

Cypress College

Cypress College is a community college located in Cypress, California. Opened on September 12, 1966 , the southern California college offers a variety of general education , transfer courses , and 141 vocational programs leading to Associate's degrees and certificates.-Overview:Cypress College's...

 before transferring to San Diego State University

San Diego State University

San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...

, where he began working at campus radio station KCR-FM.

Martin's first experience in the entertainment industry was in 1968 on the Art Linkletter

Art Linkletter

Arthur Gordon "Art" Linkletter was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of House Party, which ran on CBS radio and television for 25 years, and People Are Funny, on NBC radio-TV for 19 years...

 Show, on the segment known as "Kids Say The Darndest Things".

Career

Upon completion of college, Martin was hired by KGB-FM

KGB-FM

KGB-FM is a classic rock radio station in San Diego, California. It is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications.-History:...

 in San Diego, where he worked from 1978 to 1988, with a one year break in between to work at KMET-FM in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

in 1986-1987. In 1988, Martin accepted a job at KRXQ-FM. He has run the midday shift (10 am to 2 pm) since August 8, 1988. He has the longest running consecutive show in Sacramento radio history.