Marilyn Maye
Encyclopedia
Marilyn Maye is an American
cabaret
singer and musical theatre
actress. She began her career as a young child performing in Kansas in both live concerts and on the radio. After graduating from high school, she moved to Chicago where she drew the attention of Steve Allen
, performing first on The Steve Allen Show and later The Tonight Show
. She holds the distinction of being the most frequently heard singer in the history of the latter program. She made numerous recordings with RCA
during the 1960s, after which she has had a highly successful career as a cabaret artist, continuing to this day. She has also occasionally appeared on the stage in musicals.
, she began her career as a child, competing in amateur contests in Topeka, Kansas
, where her father, a pharmacist, owned a drugstore. She was accompanied on piano by her mother, who had named her daughter for her own favorite entertainer, musical theater star Marilyn Miller
. In 1942, after her parents divorced, she moved with her mother to Des Moines, Iowa
. She began her musical training with her mother at the age of 3. At the age of 9 she began taking voice lessons with Rosamond Nyman, a teacher of classical singing, in Topeka.
At age 14, while attending Amos Hiatt Junior High School, she sang for songwriters Hugh Martin
and Ralph Blane
and got her own 15-minute radio show on station KRNT. Another source puts the 13-week show on WIBW
(580 AM), followed by a live broadcast from the Jayhawk Theater each Saturday morning for two years. She graduated from East High School. After moving to Chicago
, she played "every Moose and Elks club in the state of Illinois" Moving then to Kansas City
, she came to the attention of Steve Allen
, who invited her to appear on his show; shortly thereafter, she signed a recording contract with RCA
. She appeared on the Tonight Show a record 76 times, and received a Grammy Awards nomination for “Best New Artist” of 1965.
In addition to recordings and regular guest-appearances on television, she worked the nightclub circuit (calling the venues “upholstered sewers”). As supper-club culture declined, she took roles in musical theater, including Can-Can
, Mame and Hello, Dolly
. Her career revived with a 2006 concert appearance at Lincoln Center's Rose Hall for the Mabel Mercer Foundation.
. 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 and Kansas City's CODA Jazz Fund.
She was named an Official Jazz Legend by The American Jazz Museum. She was listed as one of the Best Performers of the Best Compositions of the 20th Century by The Arts Council of The Smithsonian Institution for her recording of Lerner and Lowe¹s composition, Too Late Now.
referred to her as "the greatest white female singer in the world."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
singer and musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
actress. She began her career as a young child performing in Kansas in both live concerts and on the radio. After graduating from high school, she moved to Chicago where she drew the attention of Steve Allen
Steve Allen
Steve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
, performing first on The Steve Allen Show and later The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
. She holds the distinction of being the most frequently heard singer in the history of the latter program. She made numerous recordings with RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
during the 1960s, after which she has had a highly successful career as a cabaret artist, continuing to this day. She has also occasionally appeared on the stage in musicals.
Life and career
Born Marilyn Maye McLaughlin to Lyle (or Kenneth) and Lila (or Lyla) McLaughlin in Wichita, KansasWichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
, she began her career as a child, competing in amateur contests in Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, where her father, a pharmacist, owned a drugstore. She was accompanied on piano by her mother, who had named her daughter for her own favorite entertainer, musical theater star Marilyn Miller
Marilyn Miller
Marilyn Miller was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, but it was the combination of these talents that endeared her to audiences. On stage she usually played rags-to-riches Cinderella characters who...
. In 1942, after her parents divorced, she moved with her mother to Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
. She began her musical training with her mother at the age of 3. At the age of 9 she began taking voice lessons with Rosamond Nyman, a teacher of classical singing, in Topeka.
At age 14, while attending Amos Hiatt Junior High School, she sang for songwriters Hugh Martin
Hugh Martin
Hugh Martin was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He is best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me In St...
and Ralph Blane
Ralph Blane
Ralph Blane was an American composer, lyricist, and performer.-Life and career:Born Ralph Uriah Hunsecker in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Blane was the son of grocery store owners. He attended Tulsa Central High School...
and got her own 15-minute radio show on station KRNT. Another source puts the 13-week show on WIBW
WIBW (AM)
WIBW is a Topeka, Kansas, area news, talk, and sports radio station that airs such local programming such as On the Other Hand , Sports Sanity with Bruce Steinbrock, and SportsTalk with Mark Elliott. WIBW also carries national programs such as Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, and Kim Komando...
(580 AM), followed by a live broadcast from the Jayhawk Theater each Saturday morning for two years. She graduated from East High School. After moving to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, she played "every Moose and Elks club in the state of Illinois" Moving then to Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, she came to the attention of Steve Allen
Steve Allen
Steve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
, who invited her to appear on his show; shortly thereafter, she signed a recording contract with RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
. She appeared on the Tonight Show a record 76 times, and received a Grammy Awards nomination for “Best New Artist” of 1965.
In addition to recordings and regular guest-appearances on television, she worked the nightclub circuit (calling the venues “upholstered sewers”). As supper-club culture declined, she took roles in musical theater, including Can-Can
Can-Can
The Can-can is a dance. It may also refer to:* Popularly, the Galop Infernal movement of Jacques Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, commonly associated with the dance* Can Can , a 2007 fragrance by Paris Hilton...
, Mame and Hello, Dolly
Hello, Dolly! (musical)
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....
. Her career revived with a 2006 concert appearance at Lincoln Center's Rose Hall for the Mabel Mercer Foundation.
Awards
In 2008, she received a Distinguished Arts Award from the Governor of KansasKansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. 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 and Kansas City's CODA Jazz Fund.
She was named an Official Jazz Legend by The American Jazz Museum. She was listed as one of the Best Performers of the Best Compositions of the 20th Century by The Arts Council of The Smithsonian Institution for her recording of Lerner and Lowe¹s composition, Too Late Now.
Other
Ella FitzgeraldElla Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
referred to her as "the greatest white female singer in the world."
Hit Singles
- Cabaret #9AC 1966
- Sherry! #8AC 1967
- When We All Get Together #25AC 1967
- Step to the Rear #2AC 1967
- Til You Come Back #35AC 1968
- Feelin' #14AC 1968
- Think Summer (w/Ed Ames) #17AC 1969