Mary Arnold (singer)

Last updated
Mary Arnold
Birth nameMary Margaret Arnold
Born (1947-09-19) September 19, 1947 (age 76)
Carroll, Iowa
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
Years active1968–1992

Mary Margaret Arnold (born September 19, 1947 in Carroll, Iowa [1] ) is an American singer. She performed with the rock group Kenny Rogers and The First Edition from 1968 to 1976.

Contents

Early life and education

Arnold was born in Carroll, Iowa and attended Drake University in Des Moines. While at Drake University, Arnold had her own TV show. [2] While studying at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, Arnold auditioned for the show choir The Young Americans. She took a year off of school and toured with the group, meeting fellow singer Kenny Rogers. Her roommate was singer Thelma Camacho, who sang with Rogers in the band The First Edition.

Career

When Camacho was dismissed from Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, Arnold took her spot in the band, beating out Karen Carpenter for the role. [3] She stayed with the band until it disbanded in 1976.

After the two were introduced by Rogers, Arnold married singer Roger Miller. [4] After The First Edition disbanded, Mary toured and recorded with Roger until his death in 1992. [3] After his death, Mary became president of Roger's musical trust. In 2004, she sued Sony/ATV Music Publishing to regain the rights to Roger's music. She won in district court in 2010, gaining the rights and $900,000 in damages. [5] However, the verdict was overturned upon appeal, and Sony retained the rights to Roger Miller's catalogue. [6] [7]

Arnold also performed with Waylon Jennings, Glen Campbell, and George Burns. She performed at the White House twice, before the Nixons with The First Edition and before the Fords with Roger Miller. She was inducted into the Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. [3] She last appeared with The First Edition at a 2015 panel at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Setzer</span> American singer, songwriter (b. 1959)

Brian Robert Setzer is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with his swing revival band, the Brian Setzer Orchestra. In 1987, he made a cameo appearance as Eddie Cochran in the film La Bamba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carroll, Iowa</span> City in Iowa, United States

Carroll is a city in, and the county seat of, Carroll County, Iowa, United States, along the Middle Raccoon River. The population was 10,321 in the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Rogers</span> American country singer and songwriter (1938–2020)

Kenneth Ray Rogers was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted more than 120 hit singles across various genres, topping the country and pop album charts for more than 200 individual weeks in the United States alone. He sold more than 100 million records worldwide during his lifetime, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. His fame and career spanned multiple genres: jazz, folk, pop, rock, and country. He remade his career and was one of the most successful cross-over artists of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Miller</span> American country musician (1936–1992)

Roger Dean Miller Sr. was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country hits "King of the Road", "Dang Me", and "England Swings".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The New Christy Minstrels</span> American large-ensemble folk music group

The New Christy Minstrels are an American large-ensemble folk music group founded by Randy Sparks in 1961. The group has recorded more than 20 albums and scored several hits, including "Green, Green", "Saturday Night", "Today", "Denver" and "This Land Is Your Land". The group's 1962 debut album, Presenting the New Christy Minstrels, won a Grammy Award and remained on the Billboard 200 albums chart for two years.

"Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" is a song written by Mel Tillis about a paralyzed veteran who lies helplessly as his wife "paints [herself] up" to go out for the evening without him; he believes she is going in search of a lover. As he hears the door slam behind her, he claims that he would murder her if he could move to get his gun, and pleads for her to reconsider. A line in the song about a "crazy Asian war" and the time of the song's release led to the assumption the song was about a veteran of the Vietnam War, though this was never stated in the lyrics. However, Tillis stated that the song was about a veteran of World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Rogers and The First Edition</span> American country rock band

Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, until 1970 billed as The First Edition, were an American rock band. The band's style was difficult to singularly classify, as it incorporated elements of country, rock and psychedelic pop. Its stalwart members were Kenny Rogers, Mickey Jones and Terry Williams. The band formed in 1967, with folk musician Mike Settle and the operatically trained Thelma Camacho completing the lineup.

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1977.

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P. P. Arnold</span> American singer (born 1946)

Patricia Ann Cole, known professionally as P. P. Arnold, is an American soul singer. Arnold began her career as an Ikette with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in 1965. The following year she relocated to London to pursue a solo career. Arnold enjoyed considerable success in the United Kingdom with her singles "The First Cut Is the Deepest" (1967) and "Angel of the Morning" (1968).

"Mary, Did You Know?" is a Christmas song addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, with lyrics written by Mark Lowry in 1984, and music written by Buddy Greene in 1991. It was originally recorded by Christian recording artist Michael English on his self-titled debut solo album in 1991. At the time, English and Lowry were members of the Gaither Vocal Band, and Greene was touring with them. The song reached number six on CCM Magazine's Adult Contemporary Chart. In 1993, the second singer to record the song was Country singer Kathy Mattea on her album Good News, which won the Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album. Lowry would record the song several times himself, most notably with the Gaither Vocal Band on their 1998 Christmas album, Still the Greatest Story Ever Told.

Terry Williams is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He formed the band The First Edition with musicians Kenny Rogers, Mike Settle, and Thelma Camacho. He is the only member of the group other than Rogers to play on every album by the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">She Believes in Me</span> 1979 single by Kenny Rogers

"She Believes in Me" is a song recorded by American country music singer Kenny Rogers. It was released in April 1979 as the second single from his 1978 album The Gambler. The song was written by American singer-songwriter Steve Gibb who first released his version as a 7" single in 1978. A version by T. G. Sheppard appears on his 1978 album Daylight, released a month before Rogers' album.

<i>Ruby, Dont Take Your Love to Town</i> (album) 1969 studio album by The First Edition

Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town is the fourth album by American rock band The First Edition. This was the first album to credit the group as Kenny Rogers & The First Edition. The title song reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. "Reuben James" became a top-30 hit in 1969 for The First Edition before also being recorded by Conway Twitty for his 1970 Hello Darlin' album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony Music Nashville</span> Country music branch of Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Nashville is the country music branch of the Sony Music Group.

Joe Chemay is an American bassist and background singer, known for his recording session work.

The 24th annual Billboard Latin Music Awards which honor the most popular albums, songs, and performers in Latin music took place in Miami.

Thelma Camacho Ivie is an American opera and rock and roll singer known for her membership in the groups the New Christy Minstrels and the First Edition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reservoir Media</span> Music company

Reservoir Media, also known as Reservoir Media Management, Reservoir, Reservoir Holdings, Inc., is an independent music company based in New York City with additional offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, Toronto, London, and Abu Dhabi.

References

  1. ↑ "Mary Miller". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  2. ↑ Cameron, Sue (February 5, 1972). "Kenny Rogers and the First Edition". Billboard. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  3. 1 2 3 "2009 - Women Who Rock". Iowa Rock 'n Roll Music Association. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  4. 1 2 "First Edition to appear at Hall". The Tennessean. January 15, 2015. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  5. ↑ "Roger Miller's Widow Wins Copyright Battle". The Boot. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  6. ↑ "Roger Miller Music, Inc. v. Sony/ATV Publishing, LLC". Loeb & Loeb LLP. February 22, 2012. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  7. ↑ Burke, Shiela (February 22, 2012). "Appeals court rules against Roger Miller's widow". Washington Times. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.