Holle Thee Maxwell
| Holle Thee Maxwell | |
|---|---|
Maxwell at Lincoln Center
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Holly Thee MarClaRoDe' Maxwell |
| Also known as | Holly Maxx; Holly Maxwell; Holle Maxwell;Holle Thee Maxwell; The Original Black Blonde Bombshell |
| Born |
October 17, 1945 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | Opera, jazz, soul, blues, R&B, pop, country |
| Occupation(s) | Vocalist, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1950–present |
| Associated acts | Ike Turner, Jimmy Smith, the Temptations, the Impressions, Johnny Taylor, the Spinners, the Dells, Captain & Tennille, Fred Williamson, Reynaldo Rey |
Holle Thee Maxwell (born October 17, 1945) is an American vocalist and songwriter who performs opera, jazz, soul music, blues, R&B, pop, and country music. She has performed with soul and blues artist Ike Turner and jazz organist Jimmy Smith. She wrote a song for Bobby Bland's 1978 album, Come Fly with Me. Her seven-decade career includes opera training in childhood, performances as a soul balladeer in the 1960s, European tours, and appearances at the Chicago Blues Festival. The Cannes Musical Festival named her "Queen of Entertaining Entertainers".
Maxwell first sang professionally at the age of five. She studied classical voice and piano from ages nine to seventeen. At age twelve, she was featured at the Chicago Civic Opera House. Maxwell holds two degrees in music from the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University and the Juillard School.
Her mother sent her to modeling and finishing school and made her take classical musical training, but Maxwell discovered soul when she was in high school. She said, "Around the age of seventeen, I started sneaking around off to the nightclubs and looking at Harold Burrage, Otis Clay, Little Johnny Williams. I used to watch these artists because they had so much soul, so much whatever." She briefly sang with a girl group, the Tourjourettes, while attending Parker High School in Chicago.
Bunky Sheppard discovered Maxwell in early 1965 and produced her first singles for Constellation Records, starting with "One Thin Dime", which received airplay in Chicago. In the summer of 1965, Maxwell was featured in Beatrice Watson's column in the Chicago Defender. Chicago Soul historian Robert Pruter wrote the following about Watson's report:
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