Marilyn Maye
Marilyn Maye McLaughlin (born April 10, 1928) is an American singer, musical theater actress and masterclass educator. With a career spanning eight decades, Maye has performed music in the styles of cabaret, jazz and pop music. She has received one nomination from the Grammy Awards and had commercial success as a recording artist.
Marilyn Maye
- Singer
- theater actress
- masterclass educator
1946–present
3, including:
-
Jimmy De Fore(divorced)
-
Sammy Tucker(divorced)
1
Joy Hodges (cousin)
Vocals
- Holly
- RCA Victor
- Marilyn Maye
Maye was raised in both Kansas and Iowa. With her mother's encouragement, Maye performed onstage and on the radio during her childhood. In her teenage years, she had her own radio program in Des Moines, Iowa. Maye performed locally during the 1940s and 1950s until being discovered in 1963 by Steve Allen, later appearing on his television show. She also began a 76-episode run on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. This led to her signing a recording contract with RCA Victor.
Between 1965 and 1970, Maye recorded a series of albums for RCA. Her debut studio album Meet Marvelous Marilyn Maye was released in 1965. Producer Joe René brought Maye Broadway show tunes to record prior to them appearing in musicals. Many of these songs were issued by RCA as singles and some became successful. Three singles reached the American adult contemporary top ten: "Cabaret" (1966), "Sherry!" (1967) and "Step to the Rear" (1967).
By the 1970s, the nightclub circuit began to disappear and Maye found performing work elsewhere. For two decades, she made regional appearances in musicals like Hello, Dolly!, Mame and Follies. She also continued her recording career, releasing an album of music from Hello Dolly in 1985 and a tribute album of songs to Ray Charles in 2005. She also continued working across the United States in smaller venues. In 2006, she gained attention after performing in New York City at the Mabel Mercer Foundation. This led to Maye gaining a new audience in her late seventies and a renewed interest in her concert appearances. Now in her nineties, Maye has continued to appear regularly in concert.
Early life[edit]
Marilyn Maye McLaughlin was born on April 10, 1928[1] in Wichita, Kansas to father Kenneth and mother Lyla McLaughlin.[1] She was named after Marilyn Miller, a 1920s singer and performer.[2] Maye's cousin was Broadway actress Joy Hodges.[3] Her father was a pharmacist who relocated the family to nearby Topeka where he ran a drugstore.[1] During this period, her mother encouraged her daughter to sing and perform. "Mother was a very strong lady, so thank God I had talent, because she was determined to make me a singer," she told Theatre Mania in 2007.[3] Lyla McLaughlin had her daughter begin singing and dancing at age three. She also had Maye train with a classical vocal coach in Topeka.[1]
At age nine, Marilyn won a Topeka talent contest. This led to her landing a 13-week radio spot on WIBW and she earned a total of three dollars,[2][1] which would be equivalent to $64 in 2023.[4] In 1939, she performed in a children's revue program in Topeka's Jayhawk Theatre.[5] In her childhood, Marilyn's parents divorced. Her mother relocated to Des Moines, Iowa and Marilyn moved with her.[2] By age 13, she was performing inside ballrooms often singing big band music. Since she was underage, prompting Maye's mother kept a book where to record the false ages of her daughter to remember to tell it to agents.[2] She had own her weekly radio program during her teenage years in Iowa.[6] She often skipped her high school Spanish class so she could make regular radio appearances.[7] In 1946, Marilyn graduated from East High School in Des Moines.[8]
Career[edit]
1946–1961: Early career in the Midwest[edit]
Following her 1946 high school graduation, Maye became a staff vocalist for WHAS radio in Louisville, Kentucky. There she performed with combos and orchestras.[7][9] She then embarked as a solo performer throughout the Midwest United States,[9] including nightclubs in Chicago, Illinois.[1] Among her Midwest gigs was the President Hotel, located in the downtown district of Kansas City, Missouri. At the hotel she met dancer Jimmy De Fore, whom she later married. De Fore became the opening act in her shows.[10]
After marrying De Fore, Maye relocated permanently to Kansas City. During this period, the couple operated a children's dance studio in Kansas City. De Fore taught dancing and Maye taught singing.[10] Maye also took on a gig as the permanent performer at Kansas City's Colony Steakhouse. She worked alongside pianist (and her now second husband) Sammy Tucker. She remained at Colony Steakhouse for 11 years.[7] The arrangements and musical routines she developed at the Colony would later be used on her first albums.[5] Maye then recorded her first album in an attempt to bring her to the attention of major record labels.[5] In 1961, the Holly record label released Marilyn...the Most.[11] It featured compositions by Midwest writer Carl Bolte, Jr.[5] and was a locally distributed album in Missouri.[12]
1963–1970: Breakthrough at RCA Records, The Tonight Show and peak years[edit]
In 1963, Maye was performing at a nightclub when she was heard by television personality Steve Allen.[13] He was also brought to the attention of her debut album, which impressed him enough[5] to book her for several appearances on The Steve Allen Show.[13] She also continued to perform at the Colony Steakhouse in Kansas City.[10] Maye performed on The Steve Allen Show a total of six times. On the sixth show, she was heard by a label executive from RCA Victor. She officially signed with the label in 1965.[14] Maye then began recording with Joe René, who produced her first RCA Victor album. Titled Meet Marvelous Marilyn Maye, the album was released in August 1965 and featured liner notes from Steve Allen.[15] It was given a positive review from Billboard magazine, who named it a "Pop Special Merit" pick in its weekly list of albums.[16]
Masterclasses and coaching[edit]
In addition to her music career, Maye also teaches masterclasses about stage presence and singing. She regularly works with performers ranging from young adults to older adults. Maye has also provided individual vocal coaching and performing lessons for aspiring singers. "The teaching has been really inspirational to me," she told Kansas City Magazine.[7] She was approached to teach master classes in her senior years and was originally reluctant to take the opportunity. Ultimately, she agreed to teaching after realizing that she was passing on a legacy to other music artists.[57] "The more I work, the more I learn, and the more I like to pass on to people who have the passion for singing," she told The Observer.[58]
Artistry[edit]
Maye's musical style encompasses cabaret,[59] jazz[60] and pop.[61] For performing in many of New York's nightclubs for several decades, she has been referred to as the "Queen of Cabaret".[62][63] "To attend one of her shows is to be at an exalted master class of 'how it’s done'," wrote Marilyn Lester of the publication Night Life Exchange.[63] Maye's jazz musical style is shown through her live performances which often include scat singing and vocal swinging.[63][64] Bruce Ferrier of The Desert Sun called Maye one of the last "scat-singing" jazz artists and compared her to Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae and Anita O'Day.[64] Ricky Pope of BroadwayWorld said, "The fact that she managed to scat sing in 'NY State of Mind' is a testament to her great artistry."[65]
Maye has cited Edith Piaf and Jo Stafford as musical influences.[39][2]
Legacy, honors and recognition[edit]
Nate Chinen of NPR called her "one of our greatest living songbook singers".[62] The New York Times called her "the last of a great generation of American Songbook singers.".[2] Ella Fitzgerald (a friend of Maye's and a fan of her work) referred to Maye as "the greatest white female singer in the world".[2][66][67] Her version of "Too Late Now" was included in the Smithsonian Institution recordings of the 20th Century.[6]
Maye has been the recipient of awards and honors in her later years. In 2008, she received a Distinguished Arts Award from the Governor of Kansas.[68] Other honors include the Jazz Heritage Award, the Kansas City Jazz Ambassador's Award of Excellence, the Elder Statesmen of Jazz Award, and lifetime achievement awards from both the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame[69] and Kansas City's CODA Jazz Fund. She was given a lifetime achievement award by the American Jazz Museum and inducted into its Walk of Fame.[70][71] She has also received lifetime achievement awards from the Great American Songbook Foundation, Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, and the Chicago Cabaret Professionals Association.[72][73] On September 18, 2012, the Native Sons and Daughters of Greater Kansas City honored Maye with the organization's Outstanding Kansas Citian Award.[74]
Personal life[edit]
Maye has been married three times. She also had one long-term partnership.[2] At age 18, she married her first husband who was a dancer. The pair briefly moved to Florida before divorcing one year later. Maye later cited his gambling and alcohol addictions for the marriage's demise.[75] Her second marriage was to Jimmie De Fore. Their union resulted in Maye's only child, daughter Kristi Tucker.[76] Maye's daughter is a singer and vocal instructor in Kansas City.[76] Tucker is employed at the Marley School of Dance in Overland Park, Kansas.[10] Her third marriage was to Jazz performer Sammy Tucker.[5] He adopted Maye's daughter. However, she found him abusive and their marriage also ended in divorce.[2] Maye was involved in a long-term relationship with a man for roughly ten years. When the pair ended their relationship, Maye purposely sang "I Will Survive" on The Tonight Show and told her partner to watch the show.[27]