Early Years
Marshall began singing at the age of three years old. She began playing piano by ear, at the age of six, however, she took music lessons which according to her music instructor could not last too long because she was playing unusual chord changes better than the music teacher. Marshall liked to write poems and soon wrote lyrics to melodies she composed. She played both piano and organ.
In the fall of 1965, during an afternoon of rehearsal, a bandleader approached asked if she would be interested in joining his group as an organist and vocalist. The group was already contracted for engagements at the Officer’s Club at McGuire AFB as well as the Fort Dix Officer’s Club in New Jersey.
Marshall was the lead vocalist for a variety of acts including touring the Jersey shore circuit in the 1970s with the Jackie Vee Band. She was a featured vocalist for the Count Basie Orchestra. She worked at Club Harlem in Atlantic City opening for James Brown and Junior Walker and the All-Stars.
Her television appearances include being a regular entertainer on "Dialing For Dollars" with Larry Ferrari, and on Al Alberts Showcase airing on WPVI-TV 6 ABC in Philadelphia. She also made a guest appearance on Bill Cosby's "You Bet Your Life" television show. She has shared the stage and opened for The Intruders, Delfonics, G.C. Cameron, The Blue Notes’ Gil Saunders, Bunny Sigler, and Richard Street and Damon Harris.
Her debut album, Just Us Two, was released in 1996, and the featured track "Give Me Back Romance" gained local airplay on WCBS FM, WDAS-FM, WBZC and WRDV FM in Philadelphia.
Her philanthropic efforts include performances for a 2001 benefit for the national Damon Harris Cancer Foundation; Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation, 2002; Bill Deal Cystic Fibrosis Fund, 2003; and donates a portion of the proceeds from her album "Hold On" and entertains at the annual fundraiser for Hold on to Education Foundation Inc.
Read more about this topic: Marilyn Marshall (singer)
Famous quotes related to early years:
“I believe that if we are to survive as a planet, we must teach this next generation to handle their own conflicts assertively and nonviolently. If in their early years our children learn to listen to all sides of the story, use their heads and then their mouths, and come up with a plan and share, then, when they become our leaders, and some of them will, they will have the tools to handle global problems and conflict.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)