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Maxine Brown (soul singer)
Encyclopedia
Maxine Ella Brown is an American
soul
and R&B singer.
based gospel
groups called the Angelairs and the Royaltones when she was a teenager. In 1960, she signed with the small Nomar record label
, who released the smooth soul ballad
"All in My Mind" (which was written by Maxine) late in the year. The single
became a hit, climbing to number two on the US R&B charts
(number 19 pop), and it was quickly followed by "Funny", which peaked at number three.
Brown was poised to become a star and she moved to the bigger ABC-Paramount
in 1962, but left the label after an unsuccessful year and recording several non-chart singles for the label, and signed to the New York-based uptown soul label, Wand Records
, a Scepter Records
subsidiary, in 1963.
Brown recorded a string of sizable hits for Wand over the next three years. Among these were the Carole King
/Gerry Goffin
songs "Oh No Not My Baby
", which reached number 24 on the pop charts in 1964, and "It's Gonna Be Alright", which peaked at #26 the following year. She also recorded duets
with label-mate Chuck Jackson
, including a reworked version of an Alvin Robinson hit, "Something You Got", which climbed to #10 on the R&B chart. However, the company turned its focus to other bigger-selling acts, especially Dionne Warwick
.
All backing vocals for Maxine's records were performed by Cissy Houston
and the Sweet Inspirations
(the same group that backed Elvis Presley
), plus emerging writer-producers Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson
. Hoping to increase the line of hits for Maxine and her singing partner, Chuck Jackson
, Ashford and Simpson took their song catalog to Scepter Records looking for a deal. When they were turned down, the couple approached Berry Gordy
at Motown Records
who immediately hired them. Songs that were penned for Maxine and Chuck became blockbuster hits for Ray Charles
, such as "Let's Go Get Stoned" (co-written by Jo Armstead
), as well as Marvin Gaye
and Tammi Terrell
's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough
".
In 1969 Maxine left Wand for Commonwealth United, where she recorded two singles, the first "We'll Cry Together" reached #10 in the Billboard R&B chart and also made the lower reaches of the Hot 100. A spell with Avco Records
followed, but her later recordings
generally met with little commercial success. Despite her seeming lack of visibility, Brown is acknowledged as one of the finer R&B
vocalist of her time, able to handle soul, jazz
, and pop
with equal aplomb.
Note
* no RnB charts published during these chart runs
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and R&B singer.
Background and career
Maxine Brown began singing as a child, performing with two New YorkNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
based gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
groups called the Angelairs and the Royaltones when she was a teenager. In 1960, she signed with the small Nomar record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, who released the smooth soul ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
"All in My Mind" (which was written by Maxine) late in the year. The single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
became a hit, climbing to number two on the US R&B charts
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
(number 19 pop), and it was quickly followed by "Funny", which peaked at number three.
Brown was poised to become a star and she moved to the bigger ABC-Paramount
ABC Records
ABC Records was an American record label, founded in New York City in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records. It originated as the main popular music label operated the Am-Par Record Corporation, the music subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company . ABC-Paramount Records' first president was Samuel H....
in 1962, but left the label after an unsuccessful year and recording several non-chart singles for the label, and signed to the New York-based uptown soul label, Wand Records
Wand Records
Wand Records was started by Florence Greenberg in 1961 as a subsidiary of Scepter Records. In 1976 Florence Greenberg decided to retire from the business and sold her record labels to Springboard International. When Springboard went bankrupt, Gusto Records acquired the catalog.Artists on Wand...
, a Scepter Records
Scepter Records
Scepter Records is a record company founded in 1959 by Florence Greenberg. She had just sold Tiara Records with The Shirelles for $4000 to Decca Records. When The Shirelles didn't produce any hits for Decca, they were given back to Greenberg, who promptly signed them. By 1961 Greenberg launched a...
subsidiary, in 1963.
Brown recorded a string of sizable hits for Wand over the next three years. Among these were the Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
/Gerry Goffin
Gerry Goffin
Gerry Goffin is an American lyricist. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 with former songwriting partner and first wife, Carole King. he has co-written six Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers.-Career:Goffin enlisted with the Marine Corps Reserve after graduating from...
songs "Oh No Not My Baby
Oh No Not My Baby
"Oh No Not My Baby" is the name of a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. The song's lyrics describe how friends and family repeatedly warn the singer about a partner's infidelities, but the singer refuses to believe them...
", which reached number 24 on the pop charts in 1964, and "It's Gonna Be Alright", which peaked at #26 the following year. She also recorded duets
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
with label-mate Chuck Jackson
Chuck Jackson
Chuck Jackson is an R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961...
, including a reworked version of an Alvin Robinson hit, "Something You Got", which climbed to #10 on the R&B chart. However, the company turned its focus to other bigger-selling acts, especially Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
.
All backing vocals for Maxine's records were performed by Cissy Houston
Cissy Houston
Emily "Cissy" Houston is a Grammy Award–winning American soul and gospel singer. She led a very successful career as a backup singer for such artists as Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson, Wishbone Ash and Aretha Franklin, and is now primarily a solo artist...
and the Sweet Inspirations
Sweet Inspirations
The Sweet Inspirations were founded by Cissy Houston , mother of Whitney Houston, and sister of Lee Warrick...
(the same group that backed Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
), plus emerging writer-producers Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson
Ashford & Simpson
Nickolas Ashford , and Valerie Simpson , were a husband and wife songwriting/production team and recording artists....
. Hoping to increase the line of hits for Maxine and her singing partner, Chuck Jackson
Chuck Jackson
Chuck Jackson is an R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961...
, Ashford and Simpson took their song catalog to Scepter Records looking for a deal. When they were turned down, the couple approached Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
at Motown Records
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
who immediately hired them. Songs that were penned for Maxine and Chuck became blockbuster hits for Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, such as "Let's Go Get Stoned" (co-written by Jo Armstead
Jo Armstead
Josephine "Jo" Armstead , often known as "Joshie" Jo Armstead, is an American soul singer and songwriter. She co-wrote Ray Charles' hits "Let's Go Get Stoned" and "I Don't Need No Doctor", among other songs written with Ashford & Simpson...
), as well as Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
and Tammi Terrell
Tammi Terrell
Thomasina Winifred Montgomery, known as Tammi Terrell was an American singer-songwriter most notable for her association with Motown and her duets with Marvin Gaye. As a teenager she recorded for the Scepter–Wand, Try Me and Checker record labels. She signed with Motown in April 1965 and enjoyed...
's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Ain't No Mountain High Enough
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is an R&B/soul song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson in 1966 for the Tamla Motown label. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, becoming a hit again in 1970 when recorded by former Supremes...
".
In 1969 Maxine left Wand for Commonwealth United, where she recorded two singles, the first "We'll Cry Together" reached #10 in the Billboard R&B chart and also made the lower reaches of the Hot 100. A spell with Avco Records
Avco Records
Avco Records was a record label started in 1968 by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and Joseph E. Levine as Avco Embassy Records. In the late 1960s, they released a psychedelic rock album by the group Bead Game, titled Welcome. The Embassy name was dropped in 1971 making the label Avco Records...
followed, but her later recordings
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
generally met with little commercial success. Despite her seeming lack of visibility, Brown is acknowledged as one of the finer R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
vocalist of her time, able to handle soul, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
with equal aplomb.
Hit records
| Year | Single | Chart positions | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
||||||||||||||||||
| 1961 | "All In My Mind" | 19 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| "Funny" | 25 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| "After All We've Been Through" | 102 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 1962 | "I Got a Funny Kind of Feeling" | 104 | — | ||||||||||||||||
| "My Time For Cryin'" | 98 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 1963 | "Ask Me" | 75 | — | ||||||||||||||||
| 1964 | "Coming Back To You" | 99 | * | ||||||||||||||||
| "Oh No Not My Baby" | 24 | * | |||||||||||||||||
| 1965 | "It's Gonna Be Alright" | 56 | 26 | ||||||||||||||||
| "Something You Got"(with Chuck Jackson) | 55 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||
| "One Step At a Time" | 55 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Can't Let You Out of My Sight"(with Chuck Jackson) | 91 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "I Need You So"(with Chuck Jackson) | 98 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" | 63 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 1966 | "I'm Satisfied"(with Chuck Jackson) | 112 | — | ||||||||||||||||
| "I Don't Need Anything" | 129 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 1967 | "Hold On I'm Coming"(with Chuck Jackson) | 91 | 20 | ||||||||||||||||
| "Daddy's Home"(with Chuck Jackson) | 91 | 46 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1969 | "We'll Cry Together" | 73 | 15 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1970 | "I Can't Get Along Without You" | — | 44 | ||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | |||||||||||||||||||
Note
Selected discography
- Maxine Brown - Released: 01.01.61
- The Fabulous Sound of Maxine Brown - Released: 01.01.62
- Maxine Brown, Irma Thomas & Ronnie Dickerson - Released: 01.01.64
- Spotlight on Maxine Brown - Released: 01.01.64
- Maxine Brown's Greatest Hits [LP] - Released: 01.01.67
- We'll Cry Together - Released: 01.01.69
- Blue Ribbon Country, Vol. 1 - Released: 01.01.75
- One in a Million - Released: 01.01.84
- Like Never Before - Released: 01.01.85
- Oh No Not My Baby: The Best of Maxine Brown - Released: 01.01.90
- She's F***N Crazy- Released: 01.09.98
External links
- Maxine Brown Official Site
- [ Allmusic]