Maxine Brown (soul singer)

Maxine Brown
Brown performing in Colne, England 2005 Photo: Phil Wight
Background information
Birth name	Maxine Ella Brown
Born	(1939-08-18) August 18, 1939 (age 77) Kingstree, South Carolina United States
Genres	Soul, R&B,gospel
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1960–present
Labels	ABC-Paramount, Wand Records, Avco Records,
Associated acts	Cissy Houston, Sweet Inspirations, Don Wise, Nomar Records,
Website	Maxine Brown Official Site

Maxine Ella Brown (born August 18, 1939) is an American soul and R&Bsinger.

Maxine Brown began singing as a child, performing with two New York based gospel groups called the Angelairs and the Royaltones when she was a teenager. In 1960, she signed with the small Nomar record label, who released the deep soul ballad "All in My Mind" (which was written by Maxine) late in the year. The single became a hit, climbing to number two on the US R&B charts (number 19 pop), and it was quickly followed by "Funny", which peaked at number three.

Brown was poised to become a star and she moved to the bigger ABC-Paramount in 1962, but left the label after an unsuccessful year and recording several non-chart singles for the label, and signed to the New York-based uptown soul label, Wand Records, a Scepter Records subsidiary, in 1963.

Brown recorded a string of sizable hits for Wand over the next three years. Among these were the Carole King/Gerry Goffin songs "Oh No Not My Baby", which reached number 24 on the pop charts in 1964, and "It's Gonna Be Alright", which peaked at #26 the following year. She also recorded duets with label-mate Chuck Jackson, including a reworked version of an Alvin Robinson hit, "Something You Got", which climbed to #10 on the R&B chart. However, the company turned its focus to other bigger-selling acts, especially Dionne Warwick.

All backing vocals for Maxine's records were performed by Cissy Houston and the Sweet Inspirations (the same group that backed Elvis Presley), plus emerging writer-producers Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson. Hoping to increase the line of hits for Maxine and her singing partner, Chuck Jackson, Ashford and Simpson took their song catalog to Scepter Records looking for a deal. When they were turned down, the couple approached Berry Gordy at Motown Records who immediately hired them. Songs that were penned for Maxine and Chuck became blockbuster hits for Ray Charles, such as "Let's Go Get Stoned" (co-written by Jo Armstead), as well as Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".