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. 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. Marilyn Maye McLaughlin was born on April 10, 1928 in Wichita, Kansas to father Kenneth and mother Lyla McLaughlin. She was named after Marilyn Miller, a 1920s singer and performer. Maye's cousin was Broadway actress Joy Hodges. Her father was a pharmacist who relocated the family to nearby Topeka where he ran a drugstore. 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. Lyla McLaughlin had her daughter begin singing and dancing at age three. She also had Maye train with a classical vocal coach in Topeka. 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, which would be equivalent to $67 in 2025. In 1939, she performed in a children's revue program in Topeka's Jayhawk Theatre. In her childhood, Marilyn's parents divorced. Her mother relocated to Des Moines, Iowa and Marilyn moved with her. 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. She had own her weekly radio program during her teenage years in Iowa. She often skipped her high school Spanish class so she could make regular radio appearances. In 1946, Marilyn graduated from East High School in Des Moines. Following her 1946 high school graduation, Maye became a staff vocalist for WHAS radio in Louisville, Kentucky. There she performed with combos and orchestras. She then embarked as a solo performer throughout the Midwest United States, including nightclubs in Chicago, Illinois. 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. 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. 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. The arrangements and musical routines she developed at the Colony would later be used on her first albums. Maye then recorded her first album in an attempt to bring her to the attention of major record labels. In 1961, the Holly record label released Marilyn...the Most. It featured compositions by Midwest writer Carl Bolte, Jr. and was a locally distributed album in Missouri. In 1963, Maye was performing at a nightclub when she was heard by television personality Steve Allen. He was also brought to the attention of her debut album, which impressed him enough to book her for several appearances on The Steve Allen Show. She also continued to perform at the Colony Steakhouse in Kansas City. 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. 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. It was given a positive review from Billboard magazine, who named it a "Pop Special Merit" pick in its weekly list of albums. Maye was then heard at a New York City nightclub by Ed McMahon of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He advocated for her to appear on the late-night television program and she first appeared there in 1966. Maye went on to appear on The Tonight Show for a record 76 times, the most of any music artist. RCA Victor also released two albums of Maye's material in 1966. This began with the release of a live LP titled The Second of Maye. It was recorded at The Living Room in New York City and featured accompaniment from Maye's husband's quartet. A studio project titled The Lamp Is Low was then released in October 1966. Most of the tracks were new material that were cut in a jazz style. After recording "I Love You Today" for an upcoming musical, producer Joe René was inspired to bring Maye more show tune material. In 1966, René had Maye record "Cabaret" from the Broadway musical of the same name. Released as a single, "Cabaret" became her breakthrough recording. In 1966, it reached number nine on America's Billboard adult contemporary chart. It was followed by "Sherry!", which would appear in the Broadway show of the same name. Similar to its predecessor, "Sherry!" climbed into the top ten of the Billboard adult contemporary chart. Both were included on Maye's fourth studio album titled A Taste of "Sherry!" (1967). It was her next single that became her most commercially successful recording. Taken from the Broadway musical How Now, Dow Jones, Maye's version of "Step to the Rear" reached number two on the adult contemporary chart in 1968. It was then included in Maye's fifth studio album of the same name. Now in popular demand, Maye made appearances on many popular television programs. During this period, she appeared periodically on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Dick Cavett Show, The Merv Griffin Show and The Mike Douglas Show. She continued to be a concert attraction in New York City's nightclub circuit. She also performed at political functions, including Iowa Governor Robert D. Ray and US Senator Bob Dole. In 1966, she was nominated by the Grammy Awards for Best New Artist, but ultimately lost to Tom Jones. In 1969, "Step to the Rear" began being featured in televised advertisements for the Lincoln and Mercury automobiles. Maye recorded the song with new lyrics to match the advertisement. She received a new car from Lincoln–Mercury for several years. RCA Victor kept Maye under contract until 1970