Maryanne's Bio

MaryAnne is someone who has lived a colorful life that has taken her from performing in cowboy bars of the South and Midwest to the resort areas of Hawaii, Mexico and now living amongst the bright lights of Las Vegas. She's seen it all too! "In Louisiana, it was legal for them to carry guns and shoot them in the bars as long as they didn't injure anyone," she said.

She was discovered in a pool hall in Austin, Texas, while moonlighting as a performer when she was attending cosmetology school. MaryAnne was 17 at the time. Those who gave her an opportunity to sing and travel often commented on her unusual singing voice. She went to LA for a short while to pursue music as part of a new venture, then left for Hawaii where her mom still lived. There, she performed at the Hilton in Waikiki which had a more sedate crowd than the ones she performed to earlier on in her career. In Hawaii she started doing some recording work.

Her next resort city was Acapulco where she stayed for about six months and performed for the lunch-time shows. She said the women in the audience especially appreciated her music. After a short stint back in Texas, she returned to Mexico, this time Mexico City. She was next discovered while dancing with friends at a club.

The keyboardist brought her on stage, had her sing a few songs, liked what he heard. He then took her to another club that night to do the same. Both crowds loved MaryAnne, so he had her record a single in his studio, the famed LaGabe, in Mexico City, which was also renowned for it's architechture. Frank Sinatra had his home in Palm Springs modeled as an exact replica of the studio. Sinatra's recording engineer, Val Valentine, also happened to be the recording engingeer during the session for MaryAnne. Valentine loved her unique voice and advised her to record in America. Her next stop: Los Angeles.

The first meeting was with Motown, who was interested but suggested she contact Harvey Cooper who was then president of 20th Century Fox Records. Cooper liked her voice and described it as being both intimate and unique in sound. He also suggested she stay in America and record.

MaryAnne's life, however, look a tragic turn not long thereafter when her mom passed suddenly. She put everything on hold for a few years. "It's very hard to lose a mom," she said. "Musically everything came to a halt." After a few years in Los Angeles, MaryAnne moved to Las Vegas. "I wanted a change," she said. "It was difficult to make a living after my mom passed."

MaryAnne describes her style as Adult Contemporary, mixed with a little R&B. She was raised on music and has been singing since she was 12. Her mom was an opera singer in London while dad was a clarinetist. "There was a lot of music in our family," she said. "Music is essential."

"They have proved than music is very necessary and makes people feel better," she philosophizes. Since that has been proven time and again, Chapters is a must-listen and a fork in the road for MaryAnne. It's also a new "chapter" in her life and a long way from both the cowboy bars and the resort cities of her youth.

"I am the vocalist, but Harvey (Cooper) is the catalyst for this record," MaryAnne said, adding that he is "one of a kind" in the music industry. Cooper, who has been in music since 1958, executive-produced the album and selected most of the music for the CD, which was recorded in Las Vegas. Internationally-renowned producer Jerry Marcellino (Michael Jackson) also penned two of the songs, while Eric Bikales (Neil Sedaka) also handled production on the record.