Musician. poet and a diehard Harley enthusiast who worked for Harley-Davidson for much of the ’90s, Martin Jack Rosenblum passed away in his sleep overnight last Friday January 10 at age 67. He was not ill.
With more than a dozen CDs of original songs and more than 20 books of poetry, Rosenblum was an established, internationally recognized singer/songwriter, poet and musician who touched the lives of so many and will be greatly missed.
In 1989 he established an alter ego, the Holy Ranger, a kind of cowboy poet for the Harley-Davidson crowd. He wrote the book “The Holy Ranger: Harley-Davidson Poems” and the albums “I Am the Holy Ranger” and “The Holy Ranger’s Free Hand”. The character attracted a cult following among riders and was known by famous Harley fans such as Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Lou Reed.
As Harley-Davidson official historian in the 90’s, he was responsible for organizing the motorcycle archives and materials that stretched back to 1903, a massive task that would play a significant role in establishing the Harley-Davidson Museum in 2008. He also worked at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts where he was a Senior Lecturer, Music History & Literature and founder/creator of the Rock and Roll Certificate Program, the only one of its kind in the United States. In his UWM career, Rosenblum taught poetry, creative writing, and music courses to thousands of students over the years.
A memorial will be held on Thursday, January 16th at 3 p.m. at the Music Recital Hall at UWM. Rosenblum is survived by his wife of 44 years, Maureen, and their daughters, Sarah Terez Rosenblum and Molly Dvora Rosenblum.
Met him, listened to his poetry. A superb human being.
Some People called him Doctor
Others called him Martin Jack
But he was The Holy Ranger
And you can rely upon that!
His Evopoetics were as nice to look at on the printed page as they were to hear.
http://youtu.be/Fuw3mCygCtA
He was the real deal.
Good article on a good man!
God speed brother.
Ran into hima lot in Milwaukee, Was on a run one fine day through downtown Milwaukee and we looked over on the on ramp and there ws his tan Jeep blocking traffic. Never just around motorcycle but always in the middle of them. A true sole who will be greatly missed. Our Prayer are with his family.
A Great Man that will surely be missed by many!
Rest In Piece Brother,
Boss Hawg
So sorry to hear Marty has left us too soon. He was one-of-a-kind. Such a special person I won’t ever forget. Met him many years ago and thought he was certainly talented and such a nice guy.
We can’t afford to loose any Members of the “Tribe” that are Talented Die Hard American Motorcycle Riders and Lovers!
Thank you for this.
Addendum: due to anticipated attendance my father’s memorial has been moved to the
Helen Bader Concert Hall
Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts
2419 E. Kenwood Blvd, Milwaukee, WI
It is just across the street from the recital hall where he stood and taught for decades.
Same day, same time.
Excellent article on a man who will surely be missed
Have admired & enjoyed his work
Vaya con Dios, Holy Ranger
Will see you at sundown …….
Does anyone know where he lived in the 60’s ? ..Z
One of the first inspirational personalities I met at the Motor Co, his creative input
helped me a great deal in the beginning. I will miss him.
A real motorcycle literary guru. He was inspired, and passed that on to everyone he met. I’m sure there are many biker poets out there, but Martin is the one we all remember. I always looked for him at events, and hadn’t seen him lately. He’ll be missed by many… My condolences to his family.
I Met him years ago at the archives. He told me that he went to swap meets all across the country to find original Harley parts in order to make the archive bikes complete. He showed me 2 nova project bikes and the first softail with a shovelhead motor in it.
Zipper,
MJR lived in Madison, WI for part of the 60s, I believe.
Mike Greenwald, thank you. I knew a Martin Rosenblum in 64 when I worked at Phillips Bros. HD. in Cambridge Ma. I wondered if he was the man. ..Z
We were fortunate enough to have Martin on the Hog Radio Show for an interview this past year. He was one of our favorite guests. He really enyoyed his time with us.
You can hear it here http://blog.hogradio.net/2013/02/22/hog-radio-episode-269-martin-jack-rosenblum-interview-.aspx
The Holy Ranger was awesome! Marty you will be missed: all ready sorry I did t spend more time with you on my rides to ‘Mecca’!
Whenever we met Marty at the open house in Milwaukee, he would take us into parts of the complex that we’re off limits and show us cool shit. It was always a blast hanging out with him, We will miss you brother!