Marilyn Duke


Marilyn Duke '', was an American singer from the swing era of the mid to late 1930s and early 1940s. She began as a soloist in 1933 on radio in Atlanta, then, beginning 1936, was carried on syndicated and network radio from New York City. In the first half of the 1940s, Duke traveled and recorded as a featured singer with big bands, notably with Vaughn Monroe. She distinguished herself as a rhythm singer – that is, a singer who swings. And, while with the Monroe Orchestra, she was acclaimed for having an engaging personalty. Duke was a tall brunette, and, according to journalists, attractive. As for her hair color, Duke was a blonde when she re-joined Monroe's band in 1944. After her career with big bands – after 1945 – and into the late 1960s, she performed on-and-off as a nightclub pianist-singer in the metropolitan areas of Boston, New York City, and Newport, Rhode Island. Her recorded hits with Vaughn Monroe include "There'll Be Some Changes Made" and "The Trolley Song" — the latter being a late-1944, post-Petrillo-ban, rush-to-market, swing band vocal duet with Monroe.

Career highlights

Growing up

Marilyn Duke learned to sing in a choir at her church, likely the Macedonia Baptist Church in Jackson, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Though, according to a 1995 interview in the Atlanta Constitution, at an early age, she preferred the gospel music of a nearby black church.

Atlanta radio career

In 1933, under the product brand pseudonym of "Miss Seiberling," Duke performed on broadcast radio WGST, Wednesdays, 7:15 pm. The radio name was that of the Seiberling Rubber Company, a national tire manufacturer distributed by the Brooks-Shatterly Company, Inc., of Atlanta. In 1934, Duke, under her birth name, Manfrey Duke, sang regularly on WSB radio in Atlanta.

New York radio career

After winning a radio audition contest around 1934, Duke headed to New York City, where, from December 30, 1934, to 1936, she sang regularly on NBC radio and the Mutual Broadcasting Company. She was billed as a blues singer and contralto. Her radio broadcasts included performances with the orchestras of Leon Brusiloff and his brother Nathan Brusiloff and Paul Whiteman. In 1935, her broadcast performances were sometimes with The Charioteers, a male choral quartet. Beginning December 30, 1934, Duke sang on WOR two or three times a week – typically Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 5:15 pm. She sang 15-minute segments, usually. The WOR broadcasts were carried on the Mutual Network.

Early dance orchestra career

From Mid to late-1930s, Duke, as vocalist, was the star attraction for Manny Gates Orchestra in Miami She joined Jolly Coburn's Orchestra, a society band, around July 1937 after playing a piano stint at a Boston nightclub. Duke also sang with the Shep Fields Orchestra in 1937.

Joined Vaughn Monroe's Orchestra in 1940

On New Year's Eve 1940—at age twenty-four— after the death of her father—Duke debuted with the Vaughn Monroe Orchestra at the Statler Hotel Boston, eight months after Monroe founded the Orchestra. Her father died January 8, 1940, of injuries as a pedestrian struck by a truck. Monroe formed his orchestra April 1940 in Miami at the urging and sponsorship of band agent Willard Alexander and New England-based band leader Jack Marshard '', who saw an opportunity when offered two simultaneous bookings. Marshard became his manager. Marylin Duke was Monroe's first female vocalist. She had been working as a pianist-singer at a Boston nightclub; but because an infected finger interrupted her playing, she auditioned for Vaughn Monroe and was promptly signed. Her notoriety rose rapidly during her tenure with Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra as a featured singer.

Departure from Vaughn Monroe's Orchestra in 1943

She left the Monroe Orchestra in around June 1943 to join the WAAC, but instead, continued performing, which included a two-month stint with Tommy Dorsey. That same year, Duke also sang with Will Osborne and His Orchestra. Filling the void, Monroe hired Phyllis Lynne July 31, 1943, in Los Angeles, to replace Duke. Monroe gave Lynne her East Coast debut on September 14, 1943, in New York City at the Paramount.

Rejoined Vaughn Monroe's Orchestra in 1944

Around June 1944, Duke began a 10-week solo engagement at the Frolic Club '', in Revere, Massachusetts, at 155 Revere Beach Boulevard. But, apparently before finishing, she was back with Vaughn Monroe by mid-July 1944, replacing Del Parker. In September 1944, she married Peter O'Brien, a Boston amusement park owner.
She then permanently left the orchestra around January 1945. Yet, on April 14, 1945, Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra featured Duke, with Bobby Ricky, in Dayton, Ohio, at the Lakeside Park Ballroom.
A large part of Vaughn Monroe's repertoire featured the singing of Monroe, himself, as well as Marilyn Duke, Ziggy Talent, The Murphy Sisters, and The Moonmaids.

On and off solo career

In December 1945, she was performing at the Music Box in Boston.

Popularity

Polls

Jolly Coburn and His Orchestra

Wally Bishop (pseudonym of Jolly Coburn) and His Band

[Vaughn Monroe] and His Orchestra on Bluebird">Bluebird Records">Bluebird

Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra on Victor

is a sub-label of RCA Victor. During the WWII years, Victor reissued hundreds of jazz records from its Bluebird library. After World War II, the Bluebird label was retired and its artists were re-issued on the RCA Victor label.

Selected radio transcriptions

Selected live performances

Family

; Parents
Manfrey Lecta Duke was born to William Franklin Duke, Jr., and Gussie Mae Vaughn — William Duke's second of two wives. Gussie, after the death of William Franklin Vaughn, married John Richardson. Manfrey Duke had 2 brothers and 1 sister. She also had 2 half-sisters and 1 half-brother from her father's first marriage to Margaret L Scarbrough.
; Husbands
; Death
Duke suffered a stroke in 1990 and was treated at Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta. Her maternal 1st cousin, Marilyn Jean Howell , cared for her until her death August 7, 1995. Duke is buried in Crest Lawn Memorial Park, Atlanta, in the family plot of her maternal Aunt Clara Belle Tarrant

Images

  2. "Victor 20000–20500"

Inline citations

Inline citations from ''Billboard''

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