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MARGE RAYMOND has had a long, varied and
continuous music career, attributing to her virtuoso
vocal talents. Following is just a brief description of
her career.
Marge Raymond was discovered singing Doo Wop on a street
corner on Ave D in the East Flatbush section of
Brooklyn, N.Y. She was brought to the famous Brill
Building on Broadway and presented to the President of
Coed Records where she was immediately signed to the
label. Marge was only 14 years old.
MARGIE AND THE FORMATIONS was formed and they recorded
(Sad Illusion) and (Better get what goes for you), a
moderate hit that went to #22. Marge also was hired as a
demo singer for the numerous songwriters that were
housed in the Brill Building. It was the era of Motown
and girl groups. A Little Known Fact: Marge was asked to
be the lead singer of the #1 hit group The Shangri-las.
She turned it down. "I was only 16 yrs old and was
totally scared of touring and not being with my
boyfriend. Little did I know that they were destined to
be one of the biggest girl groups of the 60's".
In the 70's Marge joined a group with her childhood
friend, singer/songwriter SUSAN COLLINS (Sweet Life
w/Paul Davis), along with NANCY O'NEILL (Fanya All
Stars). SUMAGNA was formed and signed to DON KIRSCHNER
entertainment. PAUL SCHAEFFER (David Letterman Show) was
their musical director. At that time, they were in
constant demand as a background vocal trio. "We had the
most amazing vocal harmonies. Everyone wanted us as
their background singers" exclaims Marge. They toured
with "THE NEW RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE", recorded with
BENNY MARDONES (Into the Night) with RITCHIE HAVENS as
producer and ELEPHANTS MEMORY (John Lennon's band) to
name just a few. Marge was noticed while SUMAGNA, along
with ELLIE GREENWICH (60's singer/songwriter
extraordinaire), was recording the background vocals
with the ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTERA on their smash hit
album FACE THE MUSIC at the RECORD PLANT STUDIOS in New
York City. "JEFF LYNN of ELO gave me center mic"
exclaims Marge, "He liked a background vocal arrangement
I came up with for "Evil Woman" (Evil Woman went to #1).
To this day, I still hear my voice loud and clear on
that part, in fact it was just used in the AUSTIN POWERS
GOLDMEMBER movie." JEFF LYNN also gave Marge a small
solo part on the track (Down Home Town) and asked the
group to go on a National tour of arenas. During those
sessions, JIMMY IOVINE (Founder & Chairman of INTERSCOPE
records), who was the engineer, told Marge "You have one
of the most incredible singing voices I've ever heard,
you should have your own band". Jimmy, at that time, was
also engineering BRUCE SPRINGSTEENS' (Born to Run) album
and just completed JOHN LENNONS' (Walls & Bridges)
album.
The band FLAME was formed with JIMMY IOVINE producing
two albums on the RCA Label. Marge was also signed as a
songwriter to WARNER/CHAPPEL music publishing. Appearing
on the album were members of BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S band,
CLARENCE CLEMENS playing sax, STEVE VAN ZANT arranging
(The Sopranos, Little Steven). LUTHER VANDROSS can be
heard on background vocals on the track Too Many Cooks.
FLAME toured the country along with FOREIGNER, BACHMAN
TURNER OVERDRIVE, NECKTAR and many other 70's groups.
After moderate success FLAME disbanded. "The music
industry had absolutely no clue as to how to market me.
I was the first woman to front a rock band since Janis
Joplin and they only knew how to market men. I was a
true pioneer for women in music," states Marge. Marge
teamed up with FLAME band mate lead guitarist/songwriter
JIMMY CRESPO (Aerosmith, Rod Stewart, Billy Squire).
They landed in the offices of STEVE LEBER AND DAVID
KREBS who ran the music industry's #1 rock n roll
Management Company. During that time, Marge recorded
with MICHAEL BOLTON, STEVE MARRIOT of HUMBLE PIE and
many others. JIMMY CRESPO went on to join AEROSMITH.
Marge joined the band KICKS as lead vocalist and became
AEROSMITH'S opening act on tour. "I remember the
audience yelling for Aerosmith. Marge exclaims, "When I
came onstage, they just didn't know what to expect
because they never saw a women front a hard rock band
before. I remember seeing them with their eyes and
mouths wide open in awe. I kicked ass and took names
later. They absolutely loved me and screamed for more."
She even joined STEVEN TYLER on stage and sang
background vocals. KICKS recorded an album with Producer
FELIX PAPPALARDI (Mountain, Cream, Eric Clapton), and
STEVEN TYLER sang on the background vocals. Due to
Felix's untimely death, the project was discontinued.
Quoting David Krebs, "MARGE RAYMOND has one of the best
Rock n Roll voices in the world and a commanding
charismatic stage presence. She was way ahead of her
time and was lost in a male dominated music industry".
Marge exclaims, "I remember David calling me an enigma,
because once again, there was no marketing formula for a
female front person in a rock band. He was at a loss as
to how to successfully promote me. I was one of the
first to do what I did"!
EDITORS NOTE: Given the opportunity that
women have today in the music industry along with talent
showcases like American Idol, MTV, VH1, etc, there is
absolutely no doubt that MARGE RAYMOND would be a huge
superstar and a household name.
AEROSMITH was having internal problems. JOEY KRAMER-(Aerosmith,
drummer) formed a band called RENEGADE which consisted
of MARGE RAYMOND-(lead vocals), JIMMY CRESPO-(Flame,
Aerosmith-lead guitar), TOM
HAMILTON-(Aerosmith-bass) & BOB MAYO-(Peter
Frampton-keyboards/guitar), recording at the POWER
STATION with producer TONY BONGIOVI. 8 tracks were
recorded with CBS behind the project. RENEGADE/MARGE
RAYMOND recorded some of the most powerful rock vocals
ever to be recorded by a female singer.
Those tracks are much sought after to this day and have
never been publicly released. As RENEGADE started to
buzz the music industry, STEVEN TYLER decided to fulfill
his contractual obligations to CBS and the project was
put on hold indefinitely.
NOTE: MARGE RAYMOND of Renegade has been
mentioned in 2 biographical books on AEROSMITH, "The
Fall and Rise of Rock's Greatest Band Aerosmith" and
"The Biography of Aerosmith" along with numerous
websites on the internet.
Marge went on to form another band called PROTON who
recorded an album at THE HIT FACTORY in NYC, but before
the recordings could be released, a band member passed
away. Raymond states, "I disbanded Proton and decided to
change my musical direction". Seeking a change in her
career, Marge reverted back to her musical theater roots
and was cast in the production of A Tale of Two Cities
as Madame De Farge. The songs were written for her
incredible belting voice. This is slated to go to
Broadway of which a date is to be announced. She also
sang jingles some of which you probably heard for
Mountain Dew, Leggs Panty hose, Michelob Beer, Pontiac
and many many more. "I needed a vocal challenge," states
Raymond, so she joined the esteemed COLLEGIATE CHORALE,
which bases out of CARNEGIE HALL and is under the baton
of Maestro ROBERT BASS. The Chorale preformed and
recorded classical pieces at Carnegie Hall, Avery
Fischer Hall and the Metropolitan Opera. Among some of
the most notable concerts were several with LUCIANO
PAVAROTTI for his PAVORATTI PLUS concerts which were
televised on PBS, The RICHARD TUCKER Gala which was also
on PBS, the Carnegie Hall Centennial Celebration and THE
PAUL MCCARNTNEY ORATORIO. "Being such a huge Beatle fan,
I was so thrilled and honored to work with PAUL
MCCARTNEY and be a part of his production at Carnegie
Hall," exclaims Marge.
Marge has had an enduring music career as a major label
recording artist, playing the worlds biggest arenas,
festivals and elite stages such as Carnegie Hall and
Lincoln Center with the music industries top stars.
Today she is Lead Vocalist with THE GENERATION GAP,
which is a musical entertainment production that caters
to weddings, private parties, corporate parties, etc.
Marge continues to be hired to record, arrange and
produce, sing background vocals, jingles and private
solo projects. She is also a vocal coach to aspiring
young singers. As well as singing, Marge has acted in
several short films and has appeared on TV. She just
loves to sing and it shows. Her virtuoso ability and 3
octave range gives her the ability to sing so many
different styles and has made the GENERATION GAP much
sought after for weddings, private parties and corporate
parties in the tri-state area.
GENERATION GAP, over the years, has become one of New
York City's prestigious and in demand live music
entertainment groups. They have state of the art
equipment and play every genre of music from 50's
doo-wop, Motown, Beatles, Standards, Sinatra, 70's
disco, 80's, 90's, Broadway and current top 40 and they
get out into the crowd and entertain. They are famous
for their musical theater show that features MARGE
RAYMOND in Phantom of the Opera, Grease and West Side
Story along with singer AL MANO (Guy and Dolls,
Oklahoma) and singer TONY GAP (DJ, various instruments
and engineer). GENERATION GAP is available for your
wedding or party. You can see them play publicly or hear
them on their CD. "You have to hear us to believe what
we can do. You will be blown away by our energy, vocal
precision and harmonies. We have something for everyone
and will make your party a musical success" exclaims
Marge.
For more information and bookings please contact MARGE
RAYMOND at:
marge@margeraymond.com
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