Marilyn Duke
| Marylin Duke | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Manfrey Lecta Duke |
| Born |
October 3, 1916 Jackson, Georgia |
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Died | August 7, 1995 (aged 78) Clayton County, Georgia |
| Genres | Vocal jazz, jazz blues, torch songs, swing, blues, R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1933–1966 |
| Labels |
Bluebird RCA Victor |
| Associated acts | Vaughn Monroe |
| Website |
www Vaughn Monroe Appreciation Society |
Marilyn (Marylin) Duke (née Manfrey Lecta Duke; 3 October 1916 Jackson, Georgia – 7 August 1995 Clayton County, Georgia), was a popular 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. 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, 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.
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 (the year she died) in the Atlanta Constitution, at an early age, she preferred the gospel music of a nearby black church.
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