Marie Queenie Lyons

 

Marie Queenie Lyons

 

 

1. Marie Queenie Lyons - See And Don't See.mp3                           
2. Marie Queenie Lyons - Daddy's House.mp3                               
3. Marie Queenie Lyons - You Used Me.mp3                                 
4. Marie Queenie Lyons - Your Thing Ain't No Good Without My Thing.mp3   
5. Marie Queenie Lyons - Snake In The Grass.mp3                          
6. Marie Queenie Lyons - Your Key Don't Fit It Anymore.mp3               
7. Marie Queenie Lyons - Fever.mp3                                       
8. Marie Queenie Lyons - I Don't Want Nobody To Have It But You.mp3      
9. Marie Queenie Lyons - We'll Cry Together.mp3                          
10. Marie Queenie Lyons - I'll Drown In My Tears.mp3                     
11. Marie Queenie Lyons - I Want My Freedom.mp3                          
12. Marie Queenie Lyons - Try Me.mp3      

 

 

Ashtabula HS 1961

Biography (from https://www.jazzapedia.com/artists/marie-queenie-lyons)

Marie "Queenie" Lyons is an American soul and funk singer born in Archibald, Louisiana, who moved to Ashtabula, Ohio at a young age. She first performed professionally in 1963 at Club Castaway in Geneva, Ohio, and quickly became a fixture on the Chitlin' Circuit, a network of venues catering to Black performers and audiences. In the late 1960s, Lyons' career gained momentum when she was hired by James Brown as one of his "Funky Divas" and served as a vocalist with the King Curtis Band in New York City in 1964. She performed alongside major artists including Jackie Wilson, Fats Domino, The Coasters, and Jerry Lee Lewis, establishing herself as a talented and versatile performer during the soul music era.

In 1968, while touring with James Brown, Lyons traveled to Cincinnati and recorded at King Records studio what would become her only album, "Soul Fever," released on DeLuxe Records in 1970. The album, produced by Henry Glover with pianist Don Pullen as bandleader, showcased Lyons' powerful and captivating voice through a combination of covers—including "Fever" and "Try Me"—and original compositions. Billboard awarded the album "Four-Stars" in its October 10, 1970 edition, recognizing its sales potential within the soul music category. The album was also released in Brazil that same year and later in Spain on Vampi Soul in 2018.

Despite the critical acclaim and the album's eventual cult classic status, Lyons mysteriously disappeared from the music industry after "Soul Fever's" release, never recording or performing publicly again. Over the decades, the album has become recognized as one of the rarest and most prized Southern soul albums from the early 1970s, with critics praising it as one of the funkiest soul LPs ever recorded. According to reports from the Buckeye Beat, Lyons remained active in her community, operating Queenie's Lounge, a bar in Ashtabula, Ohio, which was still open as of 2014.
Fun Facts

    Lyons performed under the pseudonym "Shelley Shoop And The Shakers" and released a 1965 single titled "Fair Shake" before her Soul Fever album.
    Her rendition of the jazz standard "Fever" begins with breathy, spoken lyrics as an homage to earlier versions by Sarah Vaughan and Peggy Lee, and is considered one of the best embodiments of the soul-funk hybrid sound of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
    Soul Fever was released in Brazil in 1970 and remained relatively obscure until nearly 40 years later when it was finally issued in Spain on the Vampi Soul label in 2018, eventually achieving cult classic status.
    Lyons penned one song and co-penned two songs on the Soul Fever album, demonstrating her talents as both a vocalist and songwriter during the recording sessions.

Mentors/Influences

    James Brown - Hired Lyons as one of his "Funky Divas" and she toured with him; he was her idol and inspiration (Soul Fever album (James Brown classic "Try Me" covered by Lyons)) [Late 1960s]