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Marcella Detroit (born Marcella Levy, June 21, 1959, Detroit, Michigan
Michigan

Michigan is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Anishinaabe language term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
) is a singer, musician and songwriter
Songwriter

File:Beethoven.jpgA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer....
. She was a member of the band Shakespears Sister
Shakespears Sister

Shakespears Sister was a synth-pop-rock musical band formed by former Bananarama singer-songwriter Siobhan Fahey in 1988. It was Fahey's first musical project since leaving Bananarama....
, along with Siobhan Fahey
Siobhan Fahey

Siobhan Fahey was a founding member of the 1980s United Kingdom girl group Bananarama, and later founded the musical outfit Shakespears Sister....
 of Bananarama
Bananarama

Bananarama are an United Kingdom girl group who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Although there have been line-up changes during the years, the group enjoyed its most popular success as a trio, made up of lifelong friends Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward and Sara Dallin....
. Detroit's soprano
Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody....
 voice provided the lead vocals on their biggest hit, "Stay", which was number one in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
 for eight weeks in 1992.

oit began playing with the Bob Seger
Bob Seger

Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock musician and singer-songwriter.After years of local Detroit-area success, recording and performing in the mid-1960s, Seger achieved superstar status by the mid-1970s and continuing through the 1980s with the Silver Bullet Band....
 band in the early 1970s, then toured and recorded with Leon Russell
Leon Russell

Leon Russell is a singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist. Russell attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.First known mostly as a session musician, Russell has played with artists as varied as Jerry Lee Lewis, Phil Spector, Joe Cocker, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Elton John, BB King, Freddie King, Eric Clapton, Bill Wyman...
 and the Gap Band
Gap Band

The Gap Band is a United States rhythm and blues, funk and soul music group who rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s with their heavily-charged dance anthems and their sentimental and ethereal love songs....
 in early 1974, before joining Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton

Eric Patrick Clapton Order of the British Empire is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. He is "probably most famous for his mastery of the Stratocaster guitar." Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream , and as a solo performer, being the only person to...
’s band in September 1974.






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Marcella Detroit (born Marcella Levy, June 21, 1959, Detroit, Michigan
Michigan

Michigan is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Anishinaabe language term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
) is a singer, musician and songwriter
Songwriter

File:Beethoven.jpgA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer....
. She was a member of the band Shakespears Sister
Shakespears Sister

Shakespears Sister was a synth-pop-rock musical band formed by former Bananarama singer-songwriter Siobhan Fahey in 1988. It was Fahey's first musical project since leaving Bananarama....
, along with Siobhan Fahey
Siobhan Fahey

Siobhan Fahey was a founding member of the 1980s United Kingdom girl group Bananarama, and later founded the musical outfit Shakespears Sister....
 of Bananarama
Bananarama

Bananarama are an United Kingdom girl group who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Although there have been line-up changes during the years, the group enjoyed its most popular success as a trio, made up of lifelong friends Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward and Sara Dallin....
. Detroit's soprano
Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody....
 voice provided the lead vocals on their biggest hit, "Stay", which was number one in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
 for eight weeks in 1992.

Career

Detroit began playing with the Bob Seger
Bob Seger

Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock musician and singer-songwriter.After years of local Detroit-area success, recording and performing in the mid-1960s, Seger achieved superstar status by the mid-1970s and continuing through the 1980s with the Silver Bullet Band....
 band in the early 1970s, then toured and recorded with Leon Russell
Leon Russell

Leon Russell is a singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist. Russell attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.First known mostly as a session musician, Russell has played with artists as varied as Jerry Lee Lewis, Phil Spector, Joe Cocker, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Elton John, BB King, Freddie King, Eric Clapton, Bill Wyman...
 and the Gap Band
Gap Band

The Gap Band is a United States rhythm and blues, funk and soul music group who rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s with their heavily-charged dance anthems and their sentimental and ethereal love songs....
 in early 1974, before joining Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton

Eric Patrick Clapton Order of the British Empire is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. He is "probably most famous for his mastery of the Stratocaster guitar." Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream , and as a solo performer, being the only person to...
’s band in September 1974. While working with Clapton she wrote several songs with him, including "Lay Down Sally
Lay Down Sally

"Lay Down Sally" is a single by Eric Clapton. It appeared on his November 1977 album Slowhand, and reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart....
." After leaving Clapton's band, she did session work for a number of artists, including Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter and pianist commonly referred to as "The Queen of Soul". Although renowned for her soul recordings, Franklin is also adept at jazz, rock and roll, blues, Pop music, Rhythm and Blues and Gospel music....
, Al Jarreau
Al Jarreau

Alwyn Lopez "Al" Jarreau is an United States singer. A seven-time Grammy Award winner, he is the only vocalist in history to win in three separate categories: jazz, pop music, and R&B....
, Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper is an American rock music singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades. With a stage show that features guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, and boa constrictors, Cooper has drawn equally from horror movies, vaudeville, heavy metal music, and garage rock to create a theatrical brand of rock musi...
 and Bette Midler
Bette Midler

Bette Midler is an American singing, actress and comedienne, also known as The Divine Miss M. During her career, she has won four Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards, and a Tony Awards, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards....
. In 1981, she provided the singing voice for the character Frankie in Ralph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi

Ralph Bakshi is an American director of animation and live-action films. As the American animation industry fell into decline during the 1960s and 1970s, Bakshi tried to establish an alternative to mainstream animation through independent animation and adult animation-oriented productions....
's animated movie American Pop
American pop

American pop is a vague and nebulous term, applied generally to whatever form of music is most popular among mainstream United States adolescent audiences....
. She recorded her first solo album, Marcella, under her birth name, in 1982, and wrote material for Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan

Chaka Khan is an American singer known for hit songs such as "I'm Every Woman", "I Feel for You" and "Through the Fire ", also sang a modernized theme song for the hit children's TV show, Reading Rainbow in the show's later years....
 and Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Carlisle

Belinda Jo Carlisle is an United States singer. Carlisle has enjoyed success twice during her career, first as lead singer and founding member of the seminal, all-female band New Wave music band The Go-Go's, then as a successful international solo artist....
, and Al Jarreau and Phillip Bailey, amongst others. In 1985 she worked for Clapton again, and performed with him at Live Aid
Live Aid

Live Aid was a multi-venue rock music concert held on . The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia....
.

In 1989 she joined Shakespears Sister as a band member and songwriter after being introduced to Fahey by mutual friend and producer, songwriter, Richard Feldman. At about this time she adopted the name Marcella Detroit, after her birthplace
Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Wayne County, Michigan. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwestern United States of the United States....
. By the second album she had been promoted to "50% member", but Fahey ended the partnership in 1993 and continued by herself as Shakespears Sister for one more album. After leaving the duo, Detroit restarted her solo career and had three UK top 40 hits: "I Believe
I Believe (Marcella Detroit song)

"I Believe" is a single released by singer Marcella Detroit shortly after the breakup of English based duo Shakespear's Sister. Released in March 1994, it peaked at #11 in the UK, spending 8 weeks on the UK charts....
" (UK #11), "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing" (a duet with Elton John
Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John Order of the British Empire is an England singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.In his four-decade career, John has been one of the dominant forces in rock and popular music, especially during the 1970s....
) (UK #24), and "I'm No Angel" (UK #33). She made a number of solo albums: Jewel (1994) (UK #15), Feeler (1996), and Dancing Madly Sideways (2001).

In 2004 she began using her birth name again, as she returned to her blues roots and started playing with Carlos Guitarlos. She also signed a publishing deal with A7 music and started writing music for Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church

Charlotte Idris Church is a Wales singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a European classical music before branching into pop music in 2005....
 and Alex Parks
Alex Parks

Alexandra Rebecca Parks is an England singer-songwriter. She is best known for winning Fame Academy in 2003, for her singles, and for the albums Introduction and Honesty ....
, among others. In September 2006 she released a blues album, The Upside of Being Down under the name Marcy Levy Band.

In April 2007 she released digitally a pop/dance song called "Mystery to Me" with Loverush UK. In 2008, she collaborated with Swedish band Vacuum
Vacuum (band)

Vacuum is the name of a Swedish song-writing/production duo consisting of Mattias Lindblom and Anders Wollbeck. They also work together as a pop-group under the same name....
 on the song "My Friend Misery".

Other appearances have included a 1996 episode of Absolutely Fabulous
Absolutely Fabulous

Absolutely Fabulous is a BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning British sitcom written by and starring Jennifer Saunders and co-starring Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha, June Whitfield and Jane Horrocks....
, in which Detroit played an angel (and performed a few songs alongside Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull

Marianne Faithfull is an award-winning England singer, songwriter, actor and diarist whose career spans over four decades. Her early work in pop and rock music in the 1960s was overshadowed by her struggle with drug abuse in the 1970s....
), and the novelty album The Simpsons Sing the Blues
The Simpsons Sing the Blues

The Simpsons Sing the Blues is the 1990 album released as an offshoot of The Simpsons. The album contained originally recorded music not featured in the series save for the first verse of the track "Moaning Lisa Blues" which was first featured in the episode "Moaning Lisa" aired February 11 1990....
, on which Detroit was a vocal talent.

Personal life

Detroit is married to Lance Aston (one time member of Prima Donna
Prima Donna (band)

Prima Donna were the United Kingdom representatives in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980. The group comprised sisters Kate Robbins and Jane Robbins, Sally Ann Triplett, Danny Finn, Alan Coates and Lance Aston ....
 and brother of Bucks Fizz
Bucks Fizz (band)

Bucks Fizz are a England pop group, formed in 1981 to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest that year. They won with "Making Your Mind Up", which is still their best-known song....
 star Jay Aston
Jay Aston

Jay Aston is a singer who was formerly with the Great Britain pop group, Bucks Fizz . She was the youngest member of the group's original line-up....
). They have a child, Maxwell, born in 1991.

Discography


Albums

  • Marcella
    Marcella

    NamesMarcella is an Italy given name, the Female version of Marcello.Notable people called Marcella:* Saint Marcella* Marcella Albani, Italian actress...
     (1982) (as Marcy Levy)
  • Jewel (1994) UK
    UK Albums Chart

    The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website ; the full Top 200 is published exclusively in ChartsPlus....
     #15
  • Feeler (1996)
  • Without Medication Plus MTV "Buzz Live" (1996) Japanese release
  • Abfab Songs (1999)
  • Dancing Madly Sideways (2001)
  • The Upside of Being Down (2006) (as Marcy Levy Band)


Singles

YearTitleChart positionsAlbum
U.S.
Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
UK
UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
1978"Millie and Billie" (as Marcy Levy with Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper is an American rock music singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades. With a stage show that features guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, and boa constrictors, Cooper has drawn equally from horror movies, vaudeville, heavy metal music, and garage rock to create a theatrical brand of rock musi...
)		--From the Inside
1980"Help Me" (with Robin Gibb
Robin Gibb

Robin Hugh Gibb Order of the British Empire is a singer and songwriter. He was born in Douglas, Isle of Man, to English parents, the twin brother of Maurice Gibb , and younger brother to Barry Gibb....
)		50-Times Square OST
Times Square (film)

Times Square is a 1980 in film film starring Trini Alvarado, Robin Johnson, and Tim Curry. The plot of the film essentially embodies a punk rock ethic - misunderstood youth forming a band and, through music, articulating their frustrations toward adult authority, personified in the film as parents, the medical establishment, and politicia...
1982"Close to Her"--Marcella
1986"Come and Follow Me" (with Max Carl
Max Carl

Max Carl is an American rock singer, keyboardist, and songwriter. He is the current lead singer of the classic rock band Grand Funk Railroad. In addition, he spent several years as the keyboardist and lead singer for the mainstream rock band 38_Special_, for whom he co-wrote and sang lead on the hit song "Second Chance."...
)		--Short Circuit OST
1994"I Believe
I Believe (Marcella Detroit song)

"I Believe" is a single released by singer Marcella Detroit shortly after the breakup of English based duo Shakespear's Sister. Released in March 1994, it peaked at #11 in the UK, spending 8 weeks on the UK charts....
"		-11Jewel
"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing
Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing

"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" is a 1968 single released by United States R&B/soul music duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, on the Motown label in 1968....
" (with Elton John
Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John Order of the British Empire is an England singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.In his four-decade career, John has been one of the dominant forces in rock and popular music, especially during the 1970s....
)		-24
"I'm No Angel"-33
1995"Perfect World"-135
1996"I Hate You Now..."-108Feeler
"Boy"-102
"Somebody's Mother"--
1997"Flower"--
2001"Lust for Like"--Dancing Madly Sideways
2002"If You Could Read My Mind" (with Aurora)--Aurora
2007"Mystery to Me" (with Loverush UK)---
2008"My Friend Misery" (with Vacuum
Vacuum (band)

Vacuum is the name of a Swedish song-writing/production duo consisting of Mattias Lindblom and Anders Wollbeck. They also work together as a pop-group under the same name....
)		---


External links