Marva Whitney

Marva Whitney

born on 1/5/1944 in Kansas City, KS, United States

died on 22/12/2012

Marva Whitney

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Marva Whitney

Marva Whitney (born Marva Ann Manning, May 1, 1944 – December 22, 2012), was an American funk singer.[1] Whitney was considered by many funk enthusiasts to be one of the "rawest" and "brassiest" music divas.[2]

Biography

Early life

Born in Kansas City, Kansas, her performing career started as early as three years old while touring with her family's gospel group, the Manning Gospel Singers. At the age of 16 she joined the Alma Whitney Singers, later marrying singer Harry Whitney, and began singing R&B music for the first time. She studied music at college in Kansas City. While working at a garment factory, she also began performing in nightclubs and local talent competitions, and in the mid-1960s joined local group Tommy & The Derbys as their lead singer. The group opened for many leading performers passing through Kansas City. In 1967, she left the group, and turned down offers to tour with Bobby Bland and Little Richard before joining the James Brown Revue as a featured vocalist.[2][3]

Career

Her first solo single, "Your Love Was Good To Me", was recorded for King Records in mid-1967, but was unsuccessful as were two follow-up singles. She toured Europe, Asia and Africa with James Brown, and in early 1968 he produced her fourth solo single, "Unwind Yourself", in a more funky style.[3] Although the record was not a chart hit, it was later sampled numerous times, most recognisably by DJ Mark the 45 King on his 1987 track "The 900 Number", which was then sampled by DJ Chad Jackson on his 1990 hit single "Hear the Drummer (Get Wicked)" (UK number 3 in July 1990), by DJ Kool on his 1996 hit "Let Me Clear My Throat" (UK number 6 in March 1997), Sway on his 2009 track "Mercedes Benz" and Mac Miller on his 2011 track "Party on Fifth Ave."

Whitney's first chart hit came with "It's My Thing (You Can't Tell Me Who to Sock It To)," a response to The Isley Brothers' hit "It's Your Thing"; her record reached number 19 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 82 on the Hot 100 in 1969. She followed up with two smaller hits, "Things Got To Get Better (Get Together)" (R&B number 22) and "I Made A Mistake Because It's Only You Pt. 1" (R&B number 32),[4] and also made a name for herself with powerful songs like "I'm Tired, I'm Tired, I'm Tired (Things Better Change Before Its Too Late)", and "If You Don't Work (You Can't Eat)." After recording three albums - Unwind Yourself (1968), Live and Lowdown at the Apollo (1969) and It's My Thing (1969) - and about 13 singles with James Brown as producer and writer or co-writer, Whitney left the Brown stable in 1970 and returned to Kansas City.[2][3]

She recorded several singles for the Isley Brothers' T-Neck label, with limited success. After divorcing Harry Whitney, she married Ellis Taylor of Forte Records, and recorded further singles for the label, including "Daddy Don't Know About Sugar Bear". However, they were unsuccessful and she retired from the music business for several years. In the early 1980s, she briefly joined a group, Coffee, Cream & Sugar, formed by singer Alfred "Pico" Payne. Later in the 1980s, she began performing again more regularly with former James Brown band members such as Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis, and Lyn Collins, as the JB Allstars.[3]

In 2006, Whitney collaborated with German born DJ/collector/manager DJ Pari and Japanese funk orchestra Osaka Monaurail to produce a new single, "I Am What I Am". Osaka Monaurail style themselves on the James Brown sound and the single was produced in the fashion of an authentic release of the recordings she produced with Brown in 1969. Two successful tours of Japan and a full length album release followed, also entitled "I Am What I Am". In 2007, 2008 and 2009, the tour was also brought to Europe.

Illness and death

In December 2009, Whitney collapsed on stage in front of thousands of fans in Lorne, Australia, while performing with The Transatlantics at Falls Festival. She was immediately rushed to Geelong Hospital, where doctors diagnosed a stroke. The remaining dates of her tour had to be canceled, but Whitney made a recovery and performed again in 2010. In December 2012, Whitney died from complications of pneumonia at her home. She was 68.[5]

Discography

Album discography

Title Label and catalog no. Year
I SING SOUL KING KSD1053 (Unissued)
IT'S MY THING KING KSD1062 Late 1969
LIVE AND LOWDOWN AT THE APOLLO KING KSD1079 February 1970
[6]

Single discography on King Records

No. Title Label and catalog no. Month and Year
1 "Your Love Was Good For me"
b/w "Saving My Love For My Baby"
FEDERAL F12545 June 1967
2 "If You Love Me"
b/w "Your Love Was Good For Me"
KING K6124 September 1967
3 "Unwind Yourself"
b/w "If You Love Me"
KING K6146 January 1968
4 "Your Love Was Good For Me"
b/w "What Kind Of Man"
KING K6158 April 1968
5 "Things Got To Get Better (Get Together)"
b/w "What Kind Of Man"
KING K6168 May 1968
6 "I'll Work It Out"
b/w "All My Love Belongs to You"
KING K6181 August 1968
7 "I'm Tired, I'm Tired, I'm Tired (Things Better Change Before It's Too Late)"
b/w "If You Love Me"
KING K6193 September 1968
8 "What Do I Have To Do To Prove My Love To You"
b/w "Your Love Was Good For Me"
KING K6202 November 1968
9 "Tit For Tat (Ain't No Taking Back)"
b/w "In The Middle, Part 2 (Inst.)"
KING K6206 November 1968
10 "You Got To Have A Job (If You Don't Work You Can't Eat)" (duet with James Brown)
b/w "I'm Tired, I'm Tired, I'm Tired (Things Better Change Before It's Too Late)"
KING K6218 March 1969
11 "It's My Thing (You Can't Tell Me Who To Sock It To)"
b/w "Ball Of Fire"
KING K6229 June 1969
12 "Things Got To Get Better (Get Together)"
b/w "Get Out Of My Life"
KING K6249 August 1969
13 "I Made A Mistake Because It's Only You," Parts 1&2 KING K6268 September 1969
14 "He's The One"
b/w This Girls In Love With You
KING K6283 January 1970
[7]

References

  1. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Telephone interview with Marva Whitney at WeFunk Radio, November 2006. Retrieved 24 December 2012
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004, Record Research.
  5. Jon Caramanica, Marva Whitney, Singer in the James Brown Revue, Dies at 68, 2012-12-31. URL accessed on 2013-03-12.
  6. http://jb-escape.sakura.ne.jp/jbfamily/female/femalelp.html
  7. http://jb-escape.sakura.ne.jp/jbfamily/female/femaleep.html
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