Former MuchMusic director of programming and the man behind The New Music, producer John Martin died in Toronto on Feb. 23 from complications related to throat cancer. He was 57.

Martin was at CHUM Television from 1979 – when he and Moses Znaimer first put the landmark New Music magazine on the air, launching the careers of J.D. Roberts and Jeanne Beker along the way – through 1992. He is remembered as ‘the father of rock video in Canada’ and a pioneer of music journalism.

Martin is survived by a son, his sister, and two ex-wives.